How to Hire THE Awesome Training Vendor You Need

How to Hire THE Awesome Training Vendor You Need

In this post, you will learn the common questions you need to ask in order to hire an awesome training vendor to help you and your company. The answers to these questions will help you make an informed decision. A successful training program should be affordable for your company. I urge you to think beyond dollars and cents when it comes to cost. That’s right, I’m talking about what makes sense for your company. Will the vendor lead you to measured success? Will they be reliable, reachable, and return investment by delivering a sustainable strategy? Let’s dive in and look at step 1: ask people you know.

Ask people you know

The best vendor is the one you know. This adage applies to most things in life. It’s easier to work with someone you know or someone who has been deemed trustworthy by someone you trust. So, first things first ask your colleagues, friends, and family.

• Do you know anyone who makes online learning?
• Do you know a training vendor who makes great learning videos?
• Who do you use to make eLearning for you?
• Who knows someone who can help us improve our business with better learning and development?

Next, it’s time to think about creating a proposal or an RFP thing (Request for Proposal)!

Create an RFP thing

The most efficient way to buy anything is to go to the store with a clear understanding of what you need. Buying services from a training vendor is no different. To make training, even if you are hiring a vendor, you start by analyzing the training need. To create a request for proposals or to start asking vendors for quotes, you need to answer the following questions:

1. 1. Why do we want to create training?
   2. Who are my learners?
   3. What do we want the learners to accomplish?
   4. Why isn’t the current training effective?
   5. What are my learners’ knowledge gaps?
   6. What challenges will we face?
   7. How will the training help my business?
   8. When do we need it?
   9. How much time and money can we invest?
   10. How long do we need this training to last?

I send a google form to my future and existing clients to help them analyze their needs. From there, we can have an informed discussion about strategy, cost, and timeline. Do you need help creating your proposal? DM (Direct Message) or email me at chris@learningcarton.com. I’ll send you the form and we can chat about your training needs. Once you have a clear picture of what you need to make, send an RFP out to a few vendors and ask them for a quote. Or, post your training need on LinkedIn.

Next, it’s time to ask for quotes.

Get quotes

The best way to compare potential training vendors is to get a proposal from them and compare apples to apples. If you use the 10 questions from the Create an RFP thing above, you’ll arrive at quotes that you can compare not only on price but the thoroughness of the vendor. Training is about creating learning experiences for your employees that result in improved knowledge, skills, and behaviors. However, the improved knowledge, skills, and behaviors must improve the needs of the business.

Ask yourself:

1. Did the vendor offer an accurate quote for each category of the RFP?
2. What is the pricing for the entire project? What could cause the price to go up?
3. What is the timeline for deliverables?

Price is important, but it does not guarantee quality. A solid training vendor will be able to talk about price as comfortably as they are able to discuss a three-year plan for measurement and obsolescence.

Next, it’s time to get your questions ready to do the vetting.

Get your questions ready

Now you need to get ready to ask some qualifying questions to evaluate your training service providers. If you put out an RFP or simply invited vendors to bid on a project you need a codified way to evaluate the vendor. Make a list of questions that result in validating the ideal vendor. Here are some excellent questions to get you started.

1. How well does the vendor understand my business needs?
2. Is the vendor articulate about pricing and the value of their approach to content development?
3. Are they skilled and building strategy, long-term project management, and training plans that include a plan for obsolescence?
4. Do they offer a clear assessment plan for measuring the effectiveness of the learning experiences?
5. Do they have experience creating training for my type of business?
6. Does the training vendor have a style that will vibe with my employees and the company culture?
7. What have others said about them? Testimonials? Recommendations?
8. Have they won awards for their work?
9. Will I like working with them?

Use your list of questions to compare your vendors to each other. Prep your team (if you have one), or create a folder to track the answers to these questions. Then, take time to evaluate each vendor on their merits.

Finally, it’s time to choose a vendor and commit to a plan.

Commit to the plan

Once you select a vendor, it’s time to make the plan a reality. Sign a contract, agree to payment terms, and verify exactly how the project plan will be executed. The project development process blends instructional design theory with agile project management practices. Usually, a dedicated project manager will maintain a connection with your team from the kick-off call through testing and localization. You’ll find a typical project development process below.

1. Kick-off Call (Week 1)
   • Introductions between your project manager (PM) and any Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the vendor’s project manager, instructional designer, and visual producer
   • Call agenda: review the project plan, initiate the design document, review communication protocols, establish a timeline
2. Instructional Design (Week 2-5)
   • The instructional Designer (ID) writes the design document with two review cycles with the PM and SMEs
   • The ID uses the design document to write the storyboard with two review cycles that include the PM and SMEs
   • Preliminary visual planning begins during weeks 4 and 5
3. Visual Design Phase (Week 6 – 11)
   • PMs plan for on-screen graphics, animations, narrations, and videos
   • The creative team produces the necessary assets: video, images, and audio narration; edits the production assets, and shares them with the developer
4. Development Phase (Week 12-13)
   • PM and developer create the course with two review cycles that include the PM
   • Distribution and Testing of the course on the Learning Management System (LMS)
5. Localization (Week 14-19)
   • Translate the course(s) into needed languages

Helpful Links

A Training Needs Analysis Guide

7 Steps To Map Your Training Content After You Analyze Your Training Needs

Pre-Production #1 – Review the Learning Needs

4 Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training

4 More Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training

Guide to Custom ELearning Cost

Conclusion

In this post, you learned about the common questions you need to hire an awesome training vendor. The answers will help you make an informed decision when it comes to hiring a training vendor for your company. You should start by asking people you know. Then, create an RFP (Request for Proposal) to start asking vendors for quotes. While you wait for quotes to come in, prepare to vet the vendors by getting your evaluation questions in order. Then, choose a vendor and commit to a plan.

Do you need help creating your proposal? DM (Direct Message) or email me at chris@learningcarton.com,

I can make your training for you or consult with you to help your people create it!