Outsourcing Employee Training – When does it
make Sense?
When you first
started your company, you likely had some vision of what the customer
experience would look like. Depending on your market, it could have looked
something like the highly polished Front Desk staff of New York’s Plaza
Hotel, or maybe the sarcastically surly wait staff of San Diego’s Dick’s
Last Resort. Whatever the market, you definitely wanted to create a
distinctive customer experience.
Fast-forward a few years…You’re standing off to the side of your
restaurant/coffee bar/bookstore/clothing boutique and you realize, despite
your best efforts at conveying your vision, your staff is just not “getting
it.” If that’s the case and you want to distinguish your establishment, it
may be time to bring in some training experts.
The big question is this: What makes more sense for your business – doing
your training in-house or outsourcing your employee training?
Market Placement and Reach
Your decision on whether to insource or outsource your employee training is
typically impacted by how many people you need to have trained. Is it a set
number of people at exact intervals? Many businesses can take advantage of
on-demand training to reduce costs and ensure your employees are trained
quickly and properly by having an external provider handle the training
function.
Additionally, if you have trainees located in geographically diverse
locations, a vendor can easily take a classroom-learning module and create
web-based training. This can be hosted in-house or remotely, depending upon
your business needs.
Outsourcing Training May Cost Less
If you have full-time employees that are specifically dedicated to training
your staff, it can be a costly endeavor. Many small and mid-sized companies
just don’t have the monetary resources to dedicate man-hours to
development, design, implementation, and evaluation of training for their
employees. There's also the management and tracking of these functions to
think about.
Instead of hiring one or two employees dedicated solely to training, it may
make more economic sense to use an outside organization to send your
employees to before you let them loose with customers.
Risk Reduction
Training your employees is not just about creating that distinctive
customer experience. You also want to ensure that your employees have the
proper tools to do the job efficiently and safely. Think of training as a
way to safeguard your business and reduce the risk of injury, loss, and
(gasp!) lawsuits.
There are a host of web-based training programs out there addressing topics
like proper money handling, OSHA safety, and dealing with difficult
clients.
Access to Expertise
Training takes a specialized skill set. Vendors that specialize in training
have the ability to create customizable training systems at a fraction of
the cost of having them built in-house. The individuals that design,
develop, and implement training are professionals that know how to transfer
knowledge to a wide variety of learners.
The bottom line here is that these outside vendors are in the business of
training. In-house training is hard to beat if you have the financial means
and the ability to keep a steady stream of projects in the pipeline.
However, if this is not the case, it may make sense to look to outside
options for excellent employee training. However you choose to train your
employees, taking the time to ensure your employees know their jobs well
will mean your customers will thank you!
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