Sometimes not everything is about training. What? Did a training person just say that? This was another lesson (from Lesson 3) in our CPTM class through Training Industry that really made us think.
Maybe sometimes the best thing to do is say no to training? We learned that while training is certainly a huge priority, being a good business person should be first. Does training align with your business goals? Are you strategically thinking about what’s best for your organization? Or are you just pushing training?
In Lesson 3 we learned about creating strategic alignment to help training managers understand the business’s strategy and goals to better prepare them to identify the proper training opportunities. Not all business problems can be solved with training. Sometimes things need to be eliminated or changed and working with business leaders to identify those situations is also the job of a training manager.
Once you’ve been able to determine impact for training (or whether it’s NOT needed) you should have a comprehensive Learning & Development plan that includes “training goals that target high priority business goals”, and a “matrix that illustrates the alignment of the training initiatives to business goals”, according to our CPTM manual.
Creating a ‘business-centric’ learning approach puts you on the right path to success not only as a training manager, but as a business. Your training should focus on what’s best for the business, not just what learners want. This makes the training department essential to an organization achieving their business goals.
You can have supply-based learning, or demand-based learning as an organization. Both can be beneficial, but demand-based learning helps keep business goals as top priority.
“Under a supply-based learning model, the training function focuses on 3 things, the number of courses delivered, the number of learners completing them and the learners reaction to the courses,” according to the Training Industry. “The objective of the demand-based learning model is to align training objectives with business priorities and drive value.”
Training should be more about strategy and solutions, not attendance.
If you’re unsure if your training is really beneficial, you might want to consider going through a portfolio rationalization process. This 4-quadrant model can help you decide what are the most important and beneficial programs you have based on how strategic they are and how much proprietary content they have. Are they unique to your organization and strategically aligned with your goals? They are keepers! Anything that’s off-the-shelf, out of date, or low on business specific content can probably be eliminated.
This was a great lesson in how complex a training department’s goals can be. But also in how beneficial training is when it’s strategically aligned with business goals.
Just joining us for Lesson 3? Read more about the other lessons we’ve learned here:
-L&D thoughts
-Have a thought on our blog post? Please comment below, we love to start new discussions!