There are thousands of corporate learning developers. More and more companies are entering in this industry. How do you assess these learning providers? How do you know which one will worth your money? Let’s discover 5 steps to a Successful Corporate Learning Program. The five steps are listed below:
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Needs Assessment
Internal Needs Assessment is the key for the successful corporate learning program. For the corporate learning program to be effective, analyze your entire company. Find the current learning styles and patterns, check for employee preferences about learning ways, the most suitable time for learning and if they are open to eLearning or mobile learning. This needs assessment will go a long way for your fruitful corporate learning program.
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Know Your Audience
Once your Needs Assessment is done, compile all of your data. You now have a comprehensive analysis of your organization. You are now aware of the learning trends of your learners. You now know the preferences of your different departments’ employees. Which time is most suitable for them to learn? Which platform is better for them? These insights are valuable for you to find the most suitable development partner.
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Budget, Budget, Budget
The most important thing is the budget. Know where the money will come from? Is it coming from L&D department or from every organizational department (Marketing, HR, Finance, and IT etc.) as per their respective departmental training needs? Before getting a partner on-board, sort out the approvals in your organization. Having these things in place will speed-up the process. You won’t have to deal with nitty-gritties after you reach an agreement with your learning partner. For all your corporate learning purchases, develop a standard buying process. This will greatly benefit your organization in all such future purchases.
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Get the IT Department Involved Early
This is also a vital part of this process. IT department might be heavy invested in this program. With their early involvement they will be able to sort out necessary details with your development partners like integration, system requirements, feasibility, timing, etc. This is too have a positive impact on your overall corporate learning process.
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Finding Your Best Fit
After the first four steps, you are ready to start meeting with potential vendors. You will have your own set of needs as per your early analysis of your organization. You can easily shortlist the vendors who can provide you with the program that best matches your needs and requirements. They key here is to start small. Find the best vendor and start from small courses and gradually scale up. Small courses will let you if the vender in question has the potential to fulfill your needs.
Final Word
These steps are the foundation for the future success of your learning program. With the New Year approaching, it is extremely important to spend your budget where it will benefit you and your staff the most. The better you are prepared internally for vendor conversations, you greatly increase your success rate and ultimately guarantee a higher return on your investment!
