Many people who are tasked with the responsibility of collecting training bids, or making a professional development purchase for an organization are new to the task. Realizing this, I assembled this list of ideas that you might like to consider when purchasing training for your organization:
Training is Not Consulting or Coaching
Coaching and consulting are used to improve a situation over time. They require iterative processes and an ongoing relationship, necessitating observation of how actions affect circumstances over time.
In contrast, training is a vehicle to provide new understanding, and through it, an opportunity to develop a new skill set. While creating habits of the new skills is an ongoing process that does sometimes benefit from additional support, the knowledge transfer that occurs during training can usually be accomplished in a discrete and pre-determined time-frame.
Don’t pay for more than you need, but do find out what ongoing support options are available with the training program, and whether or not there is an additional charge for them.
Purchasing Training is Not the Same As Purchasing “Widgets:” It’s a Complex Process
In order to provide worthwhile return on your investment, an on-site corporate training program must address the specific needs of the participants, and the expectations of the decision-maker.
“Standard” pricing often means “off-the-shelf” training, which is “one-size-fits-all” and may not effectively impact the needs it was expected to address. A seasoned productivity trainer will want to speak with the decision-maker (and perhaps survey the participants) to help understand the specific challenges faced at the organization, help uncover these challenges when necessary, understand the desired outcomes, and get a sense of a budget range the organization has to devote to addressing these challenges.
This will provide the facts necessary to suggest a training program of appropriate length, format, and content, that also fits within the budgetary constraints of the company. This strategic process saves time in the long run, and is more effective than simply collecting a pile of standard descriptions with pricing.
There is a Difference Between a “Trainer Delivering a Curriculum” and a “Subject Matter Expert.”
Large “training” companies that sell multiple different types of professional development courses typically provide packaged curriculum that was purchased at some point in the past, perhaps too long ago to be useful. This training is often delivered by a freelance trainer who has experience learning and delivering different types of training, but is unlikely to be a subject-matter expert on any of it.
A “jack-of-all-trades” corporate training provider can be a convenient single source when basic needs in multiple areas are to be addressed, although compare prices with specialists.
A specialty training firm typically offers products around a single topic, and is usually run by a subject matter expert who is continually studying that topic, using the techniques in her own life, and refining the content to keep pace with changing environments and technology. When long-term adoption of new behaviors is sought, a subject-matter expert can usually provide solutions with greater impact.
Consider Your Attendees When Planning Training
There are several factors, outside the course itself, which have a significant impact on the success of your employee training initiatives.
One is the attitude of the participants. Most corporate training courses require the adoption of new habits to have lasting effects, but participants who don’t want to attend, for whatever reason, can often undermine the effectiveness of the program for other participants, too. Look for a trainer who wants to discuss the attitudes of the participants, perhaps even offering a pre-training survey. Also, solicit input from your training partner to determine whether making the course optional or mandatory will produce the best results.
Another factor is the opportunity to get started on implementing the new behaviors. If participants are left to “find the time” to make the changes recommended in the session, the likelihood that they will, in fact, “get started,” decreases dramatically. If the program will not include group and/or individual work time that gives them a jump-start on the new behaviors, consider setting aside time afterwards, where participants are told not to “go back to work,” but to consider that the training is continuing.
Look for a trainer who will provide “homework”—specific instructions for the participants to follow that will help them make the recommended behavioral changes. This “getting started” time should allow the participants to be excused from responsibilities like answering the phone, attending meetings, and answering emails, just as if they were still in the training. An experienced trainer should provide information and guidance for you on this.
Hire Someone Who Will Partner With You
It’s common to view a discussion of training as the beginning of a negotiation, where the rules preclude you from “giving too much information away.” But a reputable productivity trainer can be viewed as your partner in the process (even if you don’t ultimately hire that person), who can help you uncover your needs, cover all your bases, give you options to choose from, and work with you to ultimately provide the best and most cost-effective solution, all within your parameters.
I look forward to discussing your professional development needs with you, and I pledge to be your ethical and honest partner in the process. Check out the Training Reviews to see what others had to say about their decision to work with me.
