“If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll find something else
and it won’t necessarily be in your self-interest.”
- Angie Katselianos
Most training works for the companies providing it, not necessarily the businesses or people who pay for it. A key reason for this phenomenon is that the lion’s share of firms in this moneymaking industry focuses on their ability to do rather than on the client’s ability to improve.
Self-aggrandizing claims, details on methodologies, pricing, and touchy-feely testimonials conspire to dazzle prospective clients with sophisticated approaches. But none of that is in the client’s interest. Consequently, vendors sign a contract that meets their needs, but where does that leave you?
Deliberate preparation is essential to protecting your interest.
- Put Yourself First
Even if money is no concern, consider your time and effort. You shouldn’t care, really, how good your training sources are. Your primary interest is how good you are going to be by the time they’re done with you! Ultimately, this factor determines value for you. - Clarity is Key
Establish clear objectives before exposing yourself to external influences from providers. Ideally, what would you like to accomplish? What specific improvements do you seek in your life or job? Prioritize your goals and do not sacrifice them to accommodate the provider’s agenda. - Focus on Outputs, Not Inputs
Learning is a process that enables you to do something you could not do before. A common mistake is to confuse the means with the end. In determining desirable performance objectives, focus on results, never on inputs, “deliverables,” or tasks.Input
- Conduct sales training
- Enhance leadership capability
- Create better senior management teamwork
- Empower service personnel
Output
- Increase sales closing rates
- Accelerate making the tough calls
- Speed cross-functional collabo-
ration and knowledge sharing - Improve customer response times
- Measure Success in Advance
Objectives are worthless if you can’t tell whether they’ve been achieved. Prior to selecting training, define success.Quantitative (or objective) metrics include market share, employee turnover, customer ratings etc. Qualitative (or subjective) metrics are often more challenging to define, but have a powerful influence on degree of satisfaction. Examples include effectiveness, teamwork, and stress. It’s still important to measure the unmeasurable – “I’ll know it when I see it” won’t suffice. Consider how you would demonstrate success to a third party, and choose specific behaviors and evidence that will indicate progress.The key is to agree with development firms beforehand on the success-measuring criteria, devices, and standards, as well as who will do the measuring.Done properly, this approach will help you avoid mistakes and favorably influence training design and delivery to ensure you achieve your goals. - Serve YOUR Best Interest
Training expenditure must secure a clear return on investment. This return is directly proportionate to your benefits from achieving the pre-established objectives. The greater the benefits, the stronger the payback. (See Fig. 1).
- Fig.1 – Alan Weiss, Value-Based Fees ©. Published with permission.
Determining the value of your expected outcomes is essential when deciding whether to spend organizational or personal resources to achieve them. Ask the following questions:
- How will you be better off by doing this?
- What would be the effect on performance/ productivity/ profitability?
- What is the opportunity cost of doing nothing?
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