6 Responses

1. Start with a TNA
   Hopefully a company this large already has already conducted some individual and departmental TNA.

   If not unfortunately you’ll need to start with this before you can proceed. The TNA should include needs (ideally related to individual but if not job role) and the priority for meeting these needs.

   If so collate all the training plans and identify the common areas of training need (ignore needs for 1 or 2 people for the moment).

   Then determine – how many people you need to run a particular course, the availability of dates and importantly how many people any department can cope with being out of the office on one day. Also determine your budget etc.

   Then build a plan that incorporates all this information. So that you have x courses running in a year, the availability is on y days, the attendees should by z number of folk from which departments based around the business priorities and ensure that it comes in under your budget (by about 20% if you can).

   The surplus can be used for meeting specialised needs (the 1 or 2 that you ignored earlier) again in the order of business priority.

   Once you’ve done this – you’ll need to negotiate everything in it with your senior managers.

   It’s not an easy job and I would have thought it would take between 6 months and a year, at a minimum to get right (and that depends on having a training needs analysis in place before you start). But once finished it should be a very rewarding exercise. Unfortunately you’ll need to constantly review it, update it and the TNA to get the best out of it – so you should have a job for life here!

2. Many hands make light work.
   Building on what Nik has said, perhaps you should start by talking to each of the departmental managers to find out what their departmental objectives are for the coming year and what training is likely to be needed on a departmental basis (eg how to use a new piece of software, improve customer service, etc). You can also ask them to think about training needs for individuals within their department (some of this may have been identified in appraisals) – give them a pro-forma with each person’s name and space to write in what training is needed, why it is needed (ie what outcome is desired), how it is envisaged (course, coaching, secondment, etc), and when it has to be done by.

   Get the managers to complete this and return it to you – it can then be basis for discussion between you and them and form a basis for your training plan (to which you will need to add dates, numbers involved, cost, etc as Nik has pointed out).

   Getting the managers involved should ease your workload (although you will probably have to chase them) and should get their committment.

   I’ll be happy to help more if you want – email me and i’ll give you my contact number (peterd.pda@virgin.net)

   Peter

3. Training Plan
   Dear Kerie,

   Creating a Training Plan falls in the Cycle of Training & Development Process. This is part of the number one sub-process in Training – Training Need Identification / Analysis.
   One methodology used by many organisations is the three tier methodology. This means getting the needs from the individual in the first level, then from his boss and then from the super boss. Then the needs are consolidated, programs identified for people as in-house & external programs, dates fixed and that would give us the Individual Training Plan. Using the overall plan the training calendar may be prepared.

   For more details & clarification, get in touch with swarnasudhas@tii.murugappa.com

4. Business Improvement Plan
   one tip I’ve found helpful. However you describe “training”, try to articulate what you write/say as a part of “business improvement”, rather than as something that “trainers and trainees” do. It helps to locate the plan firmly in the business of the organisation.
   regards
   Dick Townsend

5. TNA is the way!
   Kerri,

   I’d also agree wholeheartly with Nik in that you really do need the Training Needs Analysis. Without this, you could end up with a training programme that doesn’t hit the core training needs.

   I’m project managing a training solution myself at the moment that involves large scale delivery. If you want to chat through anything, then feel free to email me – I’ll be more than happy to give you a call to chat through things.

   Email – melanieedley@halifax.co.uk

6. Bottom up is okay, but you need to look broader too and think ab
   I’d agree broadly with what’s ben said, but there are dangers in taking a purely bottom-up approach. Any training /development activities should be put in the business context and linked to bussiness objectives, organisation’s vision, strategy, etc. You also need to look at the wider environment, eg upcoming legislation, changes in technology / structure / skills requirements, etc so that you can build in things which may not be immediately evident to line managers.

   I’d also encourage line managers to look at different methods of meeting the need (eg coaching, shadowing, on-line learning, etc, to reduce dependence on training courses.

   They should also be identifying what success criteria they want for the activities and how they’ll be measured (eg through review / performance management processes, department performance figures, reduced error levels / costs / time scales, etc)for evaluation purposes.