How to Choose the Right IT Training Provider!

In today's fast-paced market place, high-level job performance is the difference between success and failure.  Selecting the right computer or Information Technology training provider is crucial to the continuing success of your company.  Whether you look at individual providers, private companies or public institutions, you are making an investment in time and money. The task becomes even more difficult when you consider the wide variation in content offered, teaching methods and quality of training. You need results that are relevant to your business. This article will help you focus on six steps to finding the right training provider.

1: Do you know what you need to know?

• Do you have a readily available pool of replacements for personnel who move on or move up in the organization?
• Do you have the knowledge base to adopt and use the most current technology relevant to your business?
• Is your business efficient and effective because staff is up-to-date on business and information technology best practices?

If you are unsure or answered "No!" to any of these questions, it would be beneficial to conduct an organizational skills assessment.

2: Organizational Skills Assessment

Meeting your company's organizational objectives requires planning.  Start by looking at the current status of your company.

• Audit: What inventory of employee skills is currently available to you?
• Benchmark: Where do you want your company to be in five years?
• Forecast: What skills will be needed to get to that level?
• Identify: Any discrepancies between actual and anticipated skill levels, identifies a basic training need.

3. Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

You are now ready to carry out a training needs analysis (TNA) for each identified training need.

A TNA is a systematic way to investigate your business training needs and will focus your selection of the most relevant training provider.  

• List exactly what training is needed and outline the deliverables required from the training program.
• Consider whether the organization is financially committed and conduct a cost/benefit analysis for each training need.
• Consider all training sources available, such as professional and personal training, and process-related skills
• Never lose sight of your goals and objectives. Training for the sake of training is a waste of time and money.

4. The Pros and Cons of In-House Training

Once you have identified your IT training needs, you must decide how best to meet them. Sometimes, you may find the skills your business needs already exist within your organisation. Considering how best to transfer those skills to others is the best way forward.

For example, your skill audit may have identified individuals within your own company who could provide valuable, customized instruction to other staff. Such in-house training can have very real advantages.

Pros:

• focused on your business' specific needs
• timed to cause minimum disruption to your business
• cheaper than outsourcing your training
• monitored carefully and its pace adjusted accordingly

However, it may be that using experienced employees has limitations:

Cons:

• It may not be a cost-effective use of their time.
• Skilled workers may be unskilled communicators with little knowledge of how adults learn and how best to communicate with adults.
• Their knowledge may need updating and they could inadvertently pass on bad habits.

For these reasons, it is often a good investment to "train the trainers".

5. Asking "HOW?"

You are well on your way to matching the needs of your business with the best computer or information technology provider. The most important considerations before the final step involve asking, "How?"

• How up-to-date is the provider with the current and future technology demands?
• How is the success of the training assessed? Do they offer a learning guarantee?
• How professional does the training provider appear to be and how happy are they to answer all your questions?
• How much will it cost? Be sure to compare value as well as cost. Remember that achieving your objectives will more than offset the few dollars saved by shopping for the lowest price.
• How much should I pay? Whatever basis you use to determine budget, try to assign a dollar value to the project before requesting bids. It will keep you focused on your objectives.

6. Decision Making Time

You have decided what you need. Now you can request bids from service providers.

BEFORE you meet with Potential Training Providers:

Compare your requirements with the descriptions of the training providers' services.

Make a list of the providers that offer the services you need.

 WHEN you meet with Potential Training Providers:

• Communicate the same requirements to each training provider. Clear communication will save time and make it easier to compare training providers and their service offerings.
• The clearer you can be about what you need and what you want to get out of it, the more likely you will get what you're aiming for.

Weighing the Options - A checklist of Questions:

• Does the training provider fully understand my training objectives?
• Is the training set at the right level for those in my business?
• Do they offer to do complete skills assessment and develop customized learning plans for each individual in your organization?
• Will the training lead to an accreditation or qualification?
• Does the provider have experience of my sector and businesses of my size?
• Will the training be tailored to my business' needs or be more generally applicable?
• Does the provider offer a learning environment best suited to my people? For example, some people prefer classroom learning, whereas others prefer seminar work or workshops.
• Is the training at times and places convenient to both my business and my people?
• What facilities does the training provider supply and will I be expected to supplement these?
• Can the provider put me in touch with satisfied clients or offer testimonials?
• Does the course represent value for money? Remember, this doesn't necessarily mean it is the cheapest.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Finding a training provider that that is committed to developing a successful customized solution to your IT training is imperative. Take the time to find a training provider that will work with you to develop the customized solution that will guarantee the success of your business.  "Training should be right the first time!"

Take your free personalized skill assessment relative to a course of interest, a class you have registered for, a technology or office platform, or even a certification.