4 Responses

1. Hi Sophie
   What areas part of the business are the design and delivery team training?

   If they are involved with the Customer Management and Contact Centre side of things I can recommend you look at the CCA Framework for best practice….I believe there is also something on e-skills

   Hope thats helpful

   Andrew Owen
   Calcom Group Ltd

2. Benchmarking T&D
   Sophie
   There are a wealth of choices. You could use quality models such as ISO9001 for consistency of processes (though I am not keen personally) or the excellent European Foundation for Quality Mangagement’s Business Excellence model for linking training to organisational progress. These need some expertise or accreditation. If you want to really benchmark seriously you could use the European Benchmarking Association but it is not cheap (and probably not what they are after). To benchmark specific aspects try the American Society of T&D (www.astd.com) benchmark forum. Perhaps the most sophisticated approach is used in the Australian public sector (www.apsc.gov.au/publications03/capability2.htm) – a good source of inspiration for a bespoke auditing tool.
   For the purposes of a tender I would be inclined to benchmark what the team does against well-established training models, such as the Systematic Approach to Training and Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation.
   In any event a good read is ‘How to Take a Training Audit’ by Michael Applegarth.
   Good luck (unless it turns out I am bidding too!!!)
   Graham

3. Benchmarking
   Hi Sophie,

   Can I suggest that you look at “Practical Benchmarking – the Complete Guide” by Mohamed Zairi and Paul Leonard Published by Chapman Hill ISBN 0-412-57410-1.

   This is an excellent introduction to Benchmarking and TQM.

   Hope you have success

   David

4. Use the national occupational standards as a model of best pract
   You could use the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Learning and Development as a benchmark for good practice. As they are nationally-recognised and have been agreed with employers, trainers, etc., across the country, they are an appropriate model. They address standards at various levels, from trainers through to senior managers of training organisations, and different units relate to different aspects and functions within the learning and development profession. They are revised every four or five years, so are never too far out of date. A consultancy exercise is currently in progress, and includes practitioners from the public, private and voluntary sectors.