Let’s face it, when it comes to corporate training, our clients challenge us to design and build a customized solution that promises to deliver the next workplace nirvana. Is all this work necessary? Do we continuously need to reinvent content or is there something we are missing that we could bring to the situation at hand?
According to Bersin and Associates figure for global spending 2018, companies spend up to $200 billion a year to train employees in the skills they need to improve corporate performance. Standard training topics like sales strategies, communication and marketing techniques are what identified most by our corporate clients.
With the emphasis on having skilled employees, companies have an opportunity to do better at creating them. As trainers wishing to contribute to improving the skills of our workforce, we have an opportunity to take the lead.
Involve the leaders. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin famously quoted “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Outcomes of identified training are much better when business leaders participate in the design and delivery of the training programs and connect them to the desired performance valued. This sounds like you are throwing the reins into the wrong hands, however, when subtle customizing includes contribution from your client you build commitment through ownership,
Create workplace relevance. Design training programs to include workplace scenarios as part of the delivery. Along with contribution and involvement from your business leaders, building in case studies that are specific to the organization is a game changer for results.
Measure the impact vs effectiveness. While we all enjoy praise and acknowledgment, as trainers our exceptional opportunity is to lead in measuring the training impact. Most of us keep track of participants feedback from our training program, however we sometimes fly blindly about our impact. The solution is to look at the hard business metrics with our clients and align the training impact to improve upon those.