5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Training Provider

Training and developing your people should be a key focus of any organisation, as we know it’s the people that make the real difference to an organisations success.

It’s important therefore, to ensure we employ the right training Provider.  There are many things to consider when engaging or looking for a suitable Provider, but as a start, here are 5 key things to consider.

1. The Training Provider Organisation’s Awarding Body Credentials

If you are engaging a Provider then you must ensure that they have the correct associations/affiliations and awarding body credentials for the programmes they are covering.  Some examples may include specific ISO:9000 accreditations, Awarding Body accreditations (e.g. ILM, HRCI, PMI, IOSH, IAM, etc).

One key differentiator in the market today is the ISO 29990:2010 standard, ‘Learning Services for Non-formal Education and Training’. It sets an international benchmark for training and learning services ensuring that the Provider’s quality systems, management, evaluation, audits etc., are to the highest standard, taking the guess-work out of your decision.

2. Training Provider’s Experience (including their Trainers)

Experience counts for a lot in training and development, both of the Provider and the Trainers they supply.  Take into account their history, experience and reputation in the industry or topic area they are delivering; don’t be afraid to ask for references/examples of previous work.  (In most cases the Provider will willingly advertise client feedback publically on their website, or in promotional literature, these being in the form of testimonies, or testimonies from the delegates.)

Another important factor will be the quality of the Trainers that they employ.  The Trainer must have: knowledge in the area being delivered; must be trained or qualified in the topic area (including any membership of the professional Institution / Awarding Body – ILM, PMI, etc); they must have credible experience in the topic area.  In addition, they must have relevant experience of being able to deliver that topic area, as well as engage with the delegates (see Point 4).  Remember – if they give your employees the wrong information – and they do not know it – this can have disastrous consequences. Again, don’t be afraid to ask for the individual’s CV/Profile as well as evidence of feedback/evaluation scores/comments.

3. The Provider’s Product(s) – Specialism, Flexibility

What makes one provider different/better than the next?   In most cases it will be the product(s) that they can offer.  This can include the quality as well as the variety, as well as bespoke courses.

A key product factor may be a particular specialism or delivery of specialist courses/programme.  Again, you should ensure that either the Provider, or the Trainer they supply, is accredited or qualified accordingly, and that they have a good reputation in this area (e.g. testimonies, pass rate, or evaluation).  This will be true of any other specialist course and associated specialist accreditation.

In addition, you may require a good degree of flexibility from your Provider.  This can be in the form of global or national reach, including venues, locations and times.  Do they run open courses?  Or, alternatively can they run these in-house, bespoke to your organisational needs?

4. Working Relationship: – the ‘Chemistry’

Building a good working relationship (or ‘chemistry’) is vitally important.  Having a reputable provider, who you can actively work with, lessens the stress of engagement. So, are they willing to look at building a good solid working relationship with you and your organisation?

It’s not just the Provider organisation that you need to consider, but also the Trainer delivering the course.  Could you see them standing up in front of the Board, or holding a course with operatives?  Do they have the correct behaviours you want to see?  There have been many good Trainers who have not been able to ‘connect’ with the people and, whilst the Product was ideal, the Provider and Trainer had all the correct accreditations and an impressive CV, the connection or ‘chemistry’ wasn’t there.  So, where possible, contact the Trainer, call the Trainer in, speak to them and get a feel of who and what they are.

5. Customer Service

Defined in many organisations as one of the key USP (Unique Selling Point) or ‘differentiators’ (Emirates, Etihad, Mercedes, etc.) customer service is a very important factor to consider in your choice of Provider.

Are they able to offer good sound advice and work with you for the long-term, and not just this one quick win?  Do they provide support as needed? Are the people you speak to or directly deal with, friendly and helpful?  Do you feel confident and supported by their approach?  All of these, and other questions, you will need answering either directly, or through your feelings and intuition.

In addition to these Top 5 that have been identified (and I’m sure you can think of others for your own Top 5) you will also have the commercial aspects of ensuring that the Provider organisation holds relevant insurance, as well as any Terms and Conditions are favourable and, if the working ‘chemistry’ is right, this can make this area a little easier.

At AZTech we pride ourselves on meeting and going beyond these 5 key areas and others.  As a reputable, experienced Provider with over 20 years in the field, working with 100’s of clients (SABIC, KNPC & ORPIC to name a few), ranging from major blue-chip through to small organisations, we work to build sustainable relationships.  We employ world-class Trainers and experts in their field.  We have an unrivalled number of open and specialist courses, accredited by the respective Awarding Body, as needed. We can design and develop in-house bespoke courses to suit your organisational culture, behaviours and needs. We operate globally, with prime locations and venues across the world.  Our excellent customer service will be with you from the beginning – through to the end of the programme – and beyond.  Finally, we were one of the first in the industry to gain ISO: 29990:10, the leading standard for quality assurance in learning and development provision, giving you peace of mind in the service we offer.

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