Is automation of booking facilities going to smooth out your training service? Accessplanit's Dave Evans makes the case.
More and more training companies are opting for online booking to liberate themselves from the administrative shackles that have always been synonymous with the training industry.
There seems little point in explaining what online booking is. It has become such a popular functionality in modern day society that you'd be pushed to find any chain retailer that doesn't offer its customers the chance to buy online. More often than not, it's actively encouraged with loyalty schemes and cost-cutting options.
The world of training is no different, and today a growing number of organisations are opting for a training management system with online booking functionality.
So, rather than go back to basics we thought it could be more valuable to investigate the key benefits of online booking when training companies get it right. And, then in part two we will focus attention on the potential pitfalls that trainers should be on the lookout for when they opt for online booking within training management software.
How a training company can expect to benefit from the simple integration of an online booking system to its website:
24-hour booking
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. In today's mobile world people don't want to be dictated to as to when they buy clothes, do their food shopping or book training and development programmes. Just as retailers have doubled their opening hours by letting customers buy online at any time of the day, training companies are realising the benefit of being constantly 'open'.
Increase sales
This is especially important today as elearning grows in popularity. Imagine being in a global market – so once your London office shuts, your Australian office is opening up.
Training companies are boosting sales through online booking because they are exposing their products and services to a far wider audience.
Real time - no double bookings
Increase effectiveness of the business by removing the issue of double bookings. It's the age old challenge that faces any business involved in taking bookings. What happens when two people try to book delegates on at the same time? Double bookings are embarrassing, but an online booking system can remove the chance of it happening again.
Save time and money
Consider the administration savings with an online booking system - when companies take booking via the telephone it involves booking staff and admin work to get forms and instructions sent out to the applicant.
Online booking takes all of that away by initially allowing the individual to book without any input from the training company, and then it can automate the sending of joining instructions. This is streamlining.
Get paid faster
Online booking systems can also take payments as part of the process.
This means training companies can improve cashflow by reducing the need to invoice and track whether payments have been made. Simply, it can be part of the booking process.
As with all changes to business systems, there will be a period of integration but when the benefits are as transformational as they are with online booking there is little argument as to whether it is worthwhile.
In part two we take a delve further into the world of online booking for training companies, and now that we have established the key benefits of the system we ask this: what could possibly go wrong?
Dave Evans is commercial director at training management software house accessplanit
