How to Develop a Training Strategy

1) What is a Training Strategy?

Training and development in an organization requires implementation to achieve success. Therefore, the strategy will require vision, focus, direction and an action planning document. A training strategy is a mechanism that establishes what competencies an organization requires in the future and a means to achieve it.

2) Why have a Training Strategy?

Many points can be put forward in favor of why you need a training strategy. The most compelling though rests in the results of a recent study of 3,000 companies done by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

They found that 10% of revenue –

            spent on capital improvements, boosts productivity by 3,9%

            spent on developing human capital, increased productivity by 8,5%

Remember, anything worth achieving, is worth planning for!

3) What are a Training Strategy’s Components?

There are many important aspects to consider here.  To create the Strategic Training and Development Plan, you will need a detailed profile of your;

• Employee Training and Train-the-Trainer needs

• Team Building and Team Development

• Leadership Development

• Executive Coaching

• Competency Requirements and Skills Profiling

• Objectives and Action Plans

• Vision

All of these profiles will further have to be considered within the realms of Equity and Diversity, Organization Values, Business Process Improvement, Change Management and Organization Design and Structure.

Sounds confusing? We have a diagrammatic representation of these elements which can be found at www.SergayGroup.com/training_that_counts2.html

4) How are Training Strategies Created?

After more than 20 years of experience working with Companies and Organization’s, our most successful and profitable approach has been to;

• Identify the customer’s training needs in terms of their organizational strategic plan, HR strategic plan, personal development plans and focus on comprehensive interviews or focus groups,

• Establish development gaps, present and future,

• Set organizational training objectives,

• Create a training action plan, which must ensure that the necessary systems are in place, access resources, source or design training and position the training. The training must then be delivered and co-ordinated,

• Monitor the training,

• Evaluate the training by assessment and verification, and

• Revise training and/or training plan.

5) How are Training Strategies Implemented?

A strategy designed but not implemented is worthless!

In order to bring about the best results for the training strategy, the training products or services need to be marketed and promoted by manipulating the following;

• Product/Service – keep the training cutting edge and future focused. Make sure there is a practical transfer of learning, put a development support network in place, and ensure alignment to quality standards.

• Promotion – commit to a core training value system. Create a slogan or tagline to brand your training. Bridge the gap between perception and reality. Give your training a personality and a brand, and remember your customers (your employees are customers) want to know, “What’s in it for me”.

• Price – cost the training accurately and calculate the value received.

• Place – decide between on-the-job, classroom, distance learning, web-based and virtual learning. Access, location, and distribution are key to consider.

• People’s needs – establish what your customers want and need. Ensure your customers know the training is meeting their needs and that these needs provide a base for decisions in all other areas.

• Project Management – Establish roles and responsibilities. Action the Training and Development Strategic Plan. Monitor and evaluate progress and make adjustments where necessary.

These can be viewed diagrammatically at www.SergayGroup.com/training_that_counts3.html.