5 Biggest Mistakes Multinationals make when Commissioning Training

Most if not all multinational companies run training courses and programs for their employees. Most have a Learning and Development department (L&D) or at the very least a Training Manager or a person responsible for organizing training courses. Their role is to ensure that the right skills are learned by the right people at the right time. Sometimes internal trainers are used and most often, external companies or trainers are called in to help. When organizing and managing training in your company, there are some mistakes that are easy to make – and just as easy to avoid if you know what they are. Here are the 5 main mistakes – and how to avoid them.

1. Not analysing the needs of the managers, teams and staff members

Creating an effective training program always starts with analysis. Take a step back and look at the situation as it currently stands. This gives you a foundation to build upon. L&D is always under the spotlight, particularly in terms of a return on investment. This is especially true if you were recently hired in your role. Skipping the analysis stage is a bad idea. This stage is crucial to your long term success, and that of the participants.

You should:

• Speak to all team leads about what training exists currently
• Get to know the challenges/barriers to effective training in your company
• Collect information on previous successes and failures
• Ask for support and participation from colleagues
• Decide your goals and objectives
• Share findings to get buy-in

2. Not considering the practicalities

Once your goals and objectives are in place you need to ensure that they are practical and can realistically be implemented. Define your time frame and budget, as well as the resources at your disposal, and then decide what is achievable. Be pragmatic.

• How many courses are needed?
• Can they be run virtually or do they need to be in-person?
• Can you use or produce video-based courses?
• How many Instructor-led sessions can you run per month, per year?

3. Doing it all yourself

During the analysis stage, you will have spoken with various team leads and managers. Now is the time to find subject matter experts to provide you and your team with the content. Bring in a trusted training partner to help you create the best courses. Building courses can often be a process of repurposing existing materials. Find guides, docs, videos, anything that can be pulled into a course. Ask your training partner to be creative and inventive, and use various methods and media. Once the courses are ready, make sure you run a pilot before you make them available to the rest of the staff.

4. Poor user experience

Creating a positive experience for the learner should be a top priority. Learner engagement depends on a frustration-free experience. Firstly, ensure that if they use a learning management system (LMS), it is easy to access and use and contains ALL the learning experiences available. Secondly, the experience for the participants during the training sessions must be positive. The trainer should create a safe, fun, interesting and interactive environment, helping participants learn what they need to know, and ensuring that the new learnings are quickly applied to their real world. Make sure there is less theory and more practice, as well as pre-work where possible to focus the participants’ minds.

5. Lack of feedback and follow-up

If you are not listening to the learners, you are ignoring the views of the most important people in the process. Create a way to gather feedback and set aside time to analyse it. Add surveys and ratings to courses to capture learner feedback. See what works and what doesn’t. Then implement any changes in the next iteration of your courses. Make sure that there is a follow-up in the weeks and months after the training session, otherwise participants may well forget and go back to their old habits, rendering the time, money and energy spent on the training totally lost. In conclusion, being responsible for training in a company takes time and energy – and dedication to results. Stay focused, use the best training partner you can find, and ensure the right people learn and apply the right skills.

© Christine Petersen

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