The Benefits Of Customised In-house Training

By Andrew Whiteman

One of the best things about booking in-house (on-site) training, as opposed to sending your staff to a training centre on a pubic course, is that the training course can be tailored to suit the specific needs of your organisation. Whenever you book in-house training, you should ensure that you make this clear to the training company and fully brief them on your requirements. Send them a list of key topics that need to be covered after holding discussions with the people who will be attending the course, their manager(s) or people in your organisation who already have the skills the proposed trainees are looking to acquire.

Send a few examples of your work to the training company in advance of the training so that they have a good idea of the kind of documents your people will need to produce or edit (Be sure to remove any sensitive or confidential information first!).

A good software training session will offer users opportunities to practice the skills they are being taught. Ask the training company to incorporate your documents into the practical exercises given to delegates on the course. For example, if your people are being shown how to create corporate brochures, have the trainer ask them to create pages from some of your typical brochures during the training to check that they are mastering the relevant techniques.

You will need to find a suitable area where you can realistically conduct a training session and where the trainees can concentrate on learning without interruption, distraction or discomfort. If your organisation does not have a training room then a meeting room can be adapted for the purpose. Delegates should be able to see the trainer from their seat without having to twist around or crane their necks. Each delegate should also have the use of their own workstation or laptop for the duration of the course and enough space to use it.

The correct version of the software should be loaded on each person's machine and, ideally, all delegates should be using the same version of the software. For example, running a course on Microsoft Word where some delegates have Word 2007 and others 2003 would be a nightmare, since the two versions have such key differences.)

A laptop or workstation connected to a screen projector for use by the trainer is not always essential but is definitely useful, especially with a large group of delegates. If your company does not own a projector, one can be hired for around 25 per day. A whiteboard and pens are also useful.

To ensure that the training is effective, delegates must be available for the duration of the course and treated as off-limits to other staff members. Ideally, everyone should treat them as absent from the office until the course ends. As well as this, they should agree that the course will benefit them and be highly motivated to do the training having been shown how it will help them to work more effectively.

About the Author:

The author is a trainer and developer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering in-house training courses at their central London training centre.