Company Culture & Change Management
I heard a very sad story from a colleague a few years back. He was in talks with an auto manufacturer (one of the Big Three) about a large training purchase that involved a mix of instructor-led public and private training, as well as some e-learning. However, the client was concerned about e-learning, because they had purchased a huge package (over $5 million) from an e-learning vendor the year before, but they only had 5% utilization. The company essentially flushed away 4.75 million dollars with absolutely nothing to show for it.
It turns out the company did several things wrong. The first is that the company didn’t consider whether e-learning was a good fit for their culture. Another is that the end-user population had never had e-learning before, and didn’t receive a proper introduction. Finally, there was no change management plan to set expectations for usage.
Change Management MUST accompany any large cultural shift, whether it is a new training methodology, or a customized upgrade described in our scenario above.
The Value of Your Time
Training managers are pulled in many different directions. In a smaller organization, training is probably an additional duty, and your primary role may be in HR, IT, etc. In a larger organization, you may be part of a training team, but the company is always looking for ways to do more with less. (Do either of these situations sound familiar?) Either way, your time is precious. Following a methodology will save you time and frustration. Lean on your vendors as well. If you need information you don’t have, make sure you get it.
Several online tools exist that can simplify your research process. TrainingIntelligence.com is a fantastic search engine for instructor-led courses. Bersin and Associates has a number of comprehensive studies on a large variety of training topics.
The Importance of Feedback
You should be getting regular feedback on the progress of training. Feedback is important for a number of reasons, depending on the depth of your training need.
In the case of John Smith and his pivot tables, detailed feedback may lead you to qualify or disqualify a vendor from future opportunities.
For our Project Management scenario, regular feedback will allow you to tweak the curriculum for future courses to improve the experience for other courses.
And in the case of our custom upgrade, ongoing feedback will ensure that the curriculum is being developed to your specifications, and ensure that the trainers are delivering a quality experience for your organization’s end users.
Summary
In today’s complex environment of various training delivery methods, a procurement methodology will help ensure that your dollars, as well as your time, are spent as effectively as possible. By defining your need, researching available delivery methods, and matching your need to the correct product for your company and corporate culture, you can meet your company’s training needs head-on, with the right solutions in place.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
To RFP, or not to RFP…
Many organizations issue a request for proposal (RFP) with the express intent of procuring their need at the lowest price possible. While price is definitely important, it is more important to get VALUE for the money spent. There are many reasons to go through the formal RFP process, the most notable being ethics and compliance. If your organization requires you to issue an RFP, ensure your requirements are well defined (per our initial step discussed earlier). Allow a long period for questions & answers, and give yourself the opportunity to interview the vendors in person to get a better feel for their capabilities and qualifications. Given enough time, anyone can draft a well-written proposal; it’s another thing to articulate that same response in person. Most RFP’s define a scoring system by which the organization will select a vendor; for example, 30% of the score will be based on price, 25% on vendor qualifications, 25% based on curriculum, etc. For the most part, such systems are unrealistic, as they attempt to quantify very subjective criteria in the name of being impartial. Whatever criteria you use, ensure that your RFP process enables effective procurement, rather than inhibiting it.
Match the Product
Once you’ve defined your need, it’s time to match it to a vendor’s solution. Assuming you can’t meet the need with company internal resources, you should have a general idea of which vendor most closely meets your need. If a public training course is the best option, then it’s simply a matter of finding a class date that works for the student. If private training is better suited for you, then arrange conference calls with the trainer(s) to qualify them, and ensure they can focus on your specific needs. Again, it never hurts to ask for references.
Custom needs
Private training for your department or company should always be customized for your environment. You’re all from the same organization – why not make sure the course is tailored to your specific need? This may involve nothing more than going through an outline with an instructor and adding or removing topics, or it could involve some company-specific examples that require the instructor to create additional content. If it’s the first scenario, you shouldn’t pay extra for it. The second scenario may involve some costs for preparation time, but ROI is generally worthwhile.
In the 4th and final part of this series, we'll dicuss some final thoughts such as company culture, feedback, and the value of your time.
Many organizations issue a request for proposal (RFP) with the express intent of procuring their need at the lowest price possible. While price is definitely important, it is more important to get VALUE for the money spent. There are many reasons to go through the formal RFP process, the most notable being ethics and compliance. If your organization requires you to issue an RFP, ensure your requirements are well defined (per our initial step discussed earlier). Allow a long period for questions & answers, and give yourself the opportunity to interview the vendors in person to get a better feel for their capabilities and qualifications. Given enough time, anyone can draft a well-written proposal; it’s another thing to articulate that same response in person. Most RFP’s define a scoring system by which the organization will select a vendor; for example, 30% of the score will be based on price, 25% on vendor qualifications, 25% based on curriculum, etc. For the most part, such systems are unrealistic, as they attempt to quantify very subjective criteria in the name of being impartial. Whatever criteria you use, ensure that your RFP process enables effective procurement, rather than inhibiting it.
Match the Product
Once you’ve defined your need, it’s time to match it to a vendor’s solution. Assuming you can’t meet the need with company internal resources, you should have a general idea of which vendor most closely meets your need. If a public training course is the best option, then it’s simply a matter of finding a class date that works for the student. If private training is better suited for you, then arrange conference calls with the trainer(s) to qualify them, and ensure they can focus on your specific needs. Again, it never hurts to ask for references.
Custom needs
Private training for your department or company should always be customized for your environment. You’re all from the same organization – why not make sure the course is tailored to your specific need? This may involve nothing more than going through an outline with an instructor and adding or removing topics, or it could involve some company-specific examples that require the instructor to create additional content. If it’s the first scenario, you shouldn’t pay extra for it. The second scenario may involve some costs for preparation time, but ROI is generally worthwhile.
In the 4th and final part of this series, we'll dicuss some final thoughts such as company culture, feedback, and the value of your time.
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