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Mission Critical Training Acquisitions
Thursday, September 29th, 2005

On mission critical training acquisitions, experience suggests that a supplier’s ability to meet the customer’s needs regarding scheduling, responsiveness, and logistics is a key determining factor on whether the contract is renewed.

The reasons are simple…. First, the training’s alignment with the customer’s objectives is not negotiable. Second, customers are typically large organizations and their managers are accustomed to suppliers that jump through hoops to keep them happy.

What is your experience with regard to mission critical training acquisitions? What have you used as your critical success factors on such acquisitions.

Posted in Business Trends, Sourcing, Training | No Comments »



Training - One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Thursday, September 29th, 2005

When you evaluate training, the most important question to ask is what the student will be able to do at the end of training that the student is unable to do today. Sourcing professionals handling training should focus on the changes in behavior because the changes are measurable, the desired behavior can be described, and most customers purchase training to change the students’ behavior.

When it is aligned with your business objectives, training saves you time. Training that is not aligned with your business objectives costs you time. The time that is saved or wasted is that of the sourcing person, training representative, and others involved in the acquisition as well as that of every student who attends the training. Mistakes can cost more in terms of lost productivity than the total value of the contract.

Tailor the training to your business objectives. If the audiences are different or perform different tasks, consider whether you need two (or more) versions of the training. After all, when employees aren’t on the floor, you may be wasting time.

Posted in Sourcing, Training | 1 Comment »



Training Sourcing
Thursday, September 29th, 2005

Sourcing is predicated on the idea that if you have consistent inputs and use the same processes, you will get the same outputs. Training and knowledge transfer acquisitions are the most difficult of all acquisitions for many sourcing professionals because you never have the same inputs, the processes are never the same, and the desired outputs often vary as well. Let’s break that down a bit.

The inputs include students and instructors. They are people. People are constantly changing.

The processes vary from one class to the next. The training process requires students to interact with the materials, each other, and the instructor.

The desired output is students who know what they need to know in order to perform their jobs. The precise knowledge that students need may vary from one student to the next or from one class to the next.

Sourcing of training is more complex than most types of acquisitions. It is also one of the most important to an organization’s success.

Posted in Sourcing, Training | 1 Comment »



Business Judgment
Thursday, September 29th, 2005

Experience suggests that we must understand our customers, suppliers, and possible business partners before we decide to move forward. I’ve seen many situations where suppliers committed to something before they knew what the customers needed, customers committed to something before understanding what the supplier offered, and business partners where halfway down the path before they realized that their goals were different.

One of the techniques that I’ve heard suggested is to always indicate that you will have to check with your business partner in order to decide whether or not to proceed. In one case, I heard that the business partner was actually the owner’s cat. (Can you imagine that conversation, “meow once if you want to go forward or twide if you don’t?” Lol.)

What tips have you used to slow yourself down and give yourself time to evaluate options so you can make the right decision for your business?

Posted in Business Tips, Negotiations, Sourcing | No Comments »



The Vision
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005

Practical Solutions to Business Puzzles will be a repository for practical business tips that address basic business questions without being subjected to advertising.

In order to be maintained and updated over the long-term, it will have to generate revenue.

the vision

How can this vision and goal be achieved?  How can results be measured?  What constitutes success?

These are three important questions to ask at the start of any project. 

Posted in Achieving Goals, New Ideas | No Comments »



Negotiate Contracts with Implementation in Mind
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005

Sometimes, contracts discuss the terms and conditons, and overlook the practical considerations relating to implementation. In the context of training agreements, customers should ensure that contracts address questions like who the site contact will be, where materials will be shipped, when the supplier can have access to setup the classroom, whether a pre-test is required, and who owns the information that students may raise during the class.

Posted in Negotiations, Training | No Comments »



What are we trying to accomplish
Wednesday, September 28th, 2005

It is important for teams to be able to describe what they are trying to accomplish, why accomplishing the goal is important, and how they will know if the goal has been accomplished. The team should also propose a strategy for measuring the results.

Posted in Planning Tips, Team Building | No Comments »



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