Finding the Best Corporate Training
The first of three initial challenges faced by HR managers tasked with sourcing corporate training for their firms’ employees is the abundance of training formats. Is on-line training better than weekly in-house workshops or would two or three day off-site intensives be more effective?
Every training professional is familiar with the statistics that say less than 20% of what is taught in corporate training sessions is retained. As they want the training to “stick,” the choice of format can be critical.
The second is the huge number of “Corporate Training Firms,” “Corporate Training Programs” and “Corporate Training Experts” that must be assessed when new corporate training needs are identified.
The third challenge is to review the programs that are being provided through existing suppliers to avoid redundancy. It recently came to light that an astounding number of successful, profitable and “lean” organizations are “double dipping” on corporate training. Because the corporate training decision makers are not the same people who set up the organizations employee benefits plan, the professional skills, effective communication and stress management programs that the benefits plan offers are all too often re sourced and duplicated by the corporate training providers.
Corporate training decision makers must consider three more questions that involve the extent to which the training will be outsourced.
- Should you hire a Corporate Training Expert to write custom programs tailored to fit your employees’ unique training needs?
- If your employees’ training needs are not particularly unique, can you buy the required training elements from of an “off the shelf” training program and have them “white labeled” for your organization?
- Would you get more buy in from employees if you choose a “brand name” training program, one that is known for its engaging and effective training techniques? If you choose the branded provider, the premium you pay for the brand could be outweighed by the cost of selecting specific trainings from a less well known training company and skinning them with your organization’s brand and corporate identity elements.
Once you know that the corporate training programs that your employees need…
a) are not available through any other existing channel, and
b) will be most effective if delivered through an external corporate training company that is known and respected by your employees*…you will have significantly narrowed the field of possible 
contenders.
Ask around in your professional network. Find out which corporate training providers are generating the best results for corporations with comparable needs. Wherever your colleague’s feedback aligns with your own research and the results of your employee survey, you have a qualified candidate!
*Conducting a brief employee survey will give you this information. More importantly, it will lay the groundwork for “buy in” when you let your employees know that you are giving them what they asked for!
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