Deciding on Training: Should You Develop In-House or Purchase External Programs?

Dear Friend,

May the following information helpful to you while making decision about Training Program.

Regards,

Shailendra

Training - Make Or Buy Decision

In this: -

1. The make decision involves designing and developing a new training course (tailored planned program)

2. The buy option involves using as course either: -

Ø Purchased from an ‘inside' supplier

Ø Purchased from an ‘outside' supplier

The choice to make or buy decision depends on following four factors as: -

Ø The size of population that needs to be trained

Ø The nature of competencies to be trained

Ø The timing for training program

Ø The type of training experience required

Factors Make decision is the most appropriate when: Buy decision is the most appropriate when:

Size of training population Large size and cost for developing course is less per trainee Small size and developing cost of program per trainee is more as compare to readymade course

Nature of competencies For job specific or company specific competencies For developing general competencies

Timing for training Have long time and already carried out perfect planning. Quick training need arises.

Type of training experience Good for developing team spirit, foster behavior and attitude changes, sharing knowledge and experiences, for developing sensitive interpersonal issues, etc. Good for developing outside the company knowledge and giving all round information to trainees.

Development cost

These are the costs that are associated with taking the training specification and turning it into effective training program that is ready for delivery and includes the following activities as: -

Ø Designing the form and structure of the training.

Ø Designing the training materials, e.g. handouts, OHP, training rooms, CBT or WBT, applications for business games, etc.

Ø Preparing pre-course materials.

Ø Preparing handouts and materials that gives ‘bird eye view' of training.

Ø Preparing evaluation tools.

External consultant who charges fees for it or by internal employees and their managers either carries out all above-mentioned activities.

The next step in this is piloting the course at small level of internal employees. Thus if properly developed costs makes this pilot training successful, then it will be easy to train other employees in the organization.

Delivery cost

These are those costs associated with delivering a developed course and are compiled on a per course basis and it includes the following as: -

Ø Cost of trainer(s) – includes external consultants, guest speakers, or cost of using internal training staff.

Ø Cost of the venue – training rooms, equipments, catering, accommodation, etc.

Ø Cost of duplicated training materials and handouts, and license fees for use of copyright materials.

Ø Administrative cost involved with making the arrangements for the course, trainers, and for trainees.

In addition, there are common costs related with trainees, which includes: -

Ø Costs of trainees' time due to absence at work, if relevant.

Ø Travel and subsistence cost.

Wow, Shailendra,

Superb article.

If one is doing all this costing before the concept of the program, it would be helpful to complete it by arranging to track the Return on Investment on the training.

Regards,
Ryan

Dear All,

Thank you all for your information. We have started the training programs and will inform you about the dates for further negotiations.

Thanks,
VV Reddy

Dear Saveeta,

I take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am a Bangalore-based Recruitment and Behavioral Training Consultant.

As rightly pointed out, soft skills can be provided. In addition to that, you can offer two more kinds of training: job-related or developmental. If you are facing a specific problem in the current job, for example, time to fill the position, you can provide specific training to your HR staff. Similarly, you can identify job-related issues and provide training. If you have an employees' growth plan, you can also opt for developmental training. For instance, some employees from your Training division will be taking care of PMS; you can upgrade them.

If you want your employees to be culture-sensitive, you can arrange Organizational Culture training. Additionally, you can gather suggestions from your employees on the type of training they would like to have.

Thanks,

Aparna Sethi
HR Consultant
Training and Recruitment
Bangalore
Email: [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Saveetad,

It seems like your company has a focus on 'green,' in which case you could explore experts in environment, health, and safety. One group I can think of is DNV; they offer short courses publicly on emergency management, personal health and hygiene, food safety, etc. I am not aware of the size of your requirement, but I am confident that they, along with others, might have specially designed courses for you. I last contacted them at [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]; please check if this number is still active. I hope you find what you need for the admin group. Best of luck.

Regards,
Rabraham06

In addition, you can also try to give them:

1. Finance for Non-finance People
2. Subjects on 5S and Kaizen
3. Problem-Solving Process
4. Effective Time Management
5. Pension Scheme for Employees
6. Logistics/Supply Chain Management

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Thank you.

Dear Saveeta,

Training programs such as those mentioned can be offered to Admin Officers. These programs include:

- Time Management: Getting Organized for Peak Performance.
- Negotiation Skills.
- Managing Conflicts.
- Effective Communication and Interpersonal Skills.
- Professional Business Writing Skills.

Additionally, job-based training courses can be provided tailored to specific roles, such as:

- Purchase Admin: Purchase Concepts.
- Sales Admin: Sales Concepts.
- HR Admin: HR Concepts.

Thank you,
Lovelina

Can somebody help me find training opportunities for facility management in India? The trainings currently available, as indicated by Mr. Al-Barwany Anayaat, are all from abroad.

Regards,
Pradhumna Dashora

Hi, will you please help me out? I need to conduct a training program about purchasing in my company. So, I want some format and suggestions.