One of the most critical components of a differentiated and successful business is the quality and the talent of your tech team. It has never been more important to ensure that your learning and development programs are giving you the return on investment that you need in order to innovate, stay ahead of your competitors, and meet your growth objectives. Today, competition in recruiting and hiring for technical positions is at an all-time high.
Organizations large and small are being forced to reevaluate how they develop and retain talented teams through L&D programs. Nurturing, training, and developing your talent is essential to your company’s growth and it’s vital that you choose the right training provider.
But in a crowded field, how do you know who to partner with? Your decision will have a tremendous impact on your business, and you need real information to know how to proceed. Here are the 6 questions you need answered to help you identify the training partner who can transform your learning initiatives and make your talent a winning team.
What to ask:
Who creates the curriculum?
Why ask:
You need to ensure that your training partner is providing leading edge content that is unique, innovative, and unrivaled; not generic, out-of-date, uninspired 3rd party content that will do little to move the needles you need to move.
The content of your L&D program is instrumental to its success. Your talent could be learning Android app development from Google or data science from the gurus at Facebook or it could be learning out of date, irrelevant material from a 3rd party course developer. So how do you know that your L&D program is getting its content from the leading subject matter experts?. Many training providers rely on content developed by outside resources and have limited quality control when it comes to exploring new courses for their programs. And, often those creating the curriculum haven’t been out in the field and aren’t up to date on the latest and greatest trends. It’s critical that the curriculum is created by the experts at companies that are leaders in their field, so that the training program is relevant and will truly enhance your talent.
What to ask:
How do I know if my team is learning?
Why ask:
Passive learning is impossible to track You need to find project-oriented solutions that produce demonstrable and measurable evidence of skill development and subject mastery.
Your team will be guaranteed to gain new skills if the program utilizes a hands-on approach with . projects that are evaluated and graded by real people who will provide your talent with feedback.. This facilitates active learning in which talent can learn from their triumphs and from their mistakes. The most important benefits of training cannot be evaluated using only static metrics like engagement and completion rates. You’ll know they’ve got it, when you can see the results. What apps have they built by the end of the program? What websites did they design? These projects will grant you the insight you need to assess the new skills that your team will bring to the job to achieve future innovations and progress. Many learning experiences are simply time spent in front of a computer screen: listening to hours of lecture, watching hours of videos, but there’s very little doing. Make sure that you choose a program that promotes doing instead of apathy.
What to ask:
What happens when my teams run into roadblocks? Is support available?
Why ask:
Mentoring, coaching, and project review are proven to enhance learning, so the program you choose needs to incorporate these features if you want to the best results.
In a rigorous program, your team is bound to encounter challenges and they might need help to conquer them. It’s important that they have access to coaches who can guide them, and be available for 1:1 sessions in which they can have in depth discussions about their code and receive advice on how to eliminate errors and optimize efficiency. It’s also helpful if the program fosters a community where students can help each other, whether that’s in smaller study groups, peer code reviews, or student forums.
What to ask:
Does the model scale?
Why ask:
Agility is critical to modern innovation. An L&D program must be able to meet the pace and the passion of the organization it serves head-on.
Be sure that your L&D training program can adequately accommodate the scope of your company’s training needs. The program must be able to realistically provide quality training to your talent, no matter their region or department, in a cost and time efficient way. You should also take into consideration the pros and cons of physical and virtual training. Which is a better model for your company and for your talent? For the majority of large enterprise organizations, physical programs are too difficult to scale and to coordinate with a global workforce, Companies like General Electric are transitioning to online programs because they scale easily and they are better able to support the diverse needs of teams across the world and in different parts of the organization. Take some time to reflect on the specific programs you need to offer and which training provider can appropriately deliver those skills at scale.
What to ask:
How flexible is the program?
Why ask:
An L&D program must be flexible for both the company and the talent. Today’s employee expects learning to be accessible anytime and anywhere.
In this fast paced tech environment, you need your talent to remain productive throughout the training program.When employees can access training from any device, it empowers them to accomplish their learning at all times: during the morning commute, after the kids go to bed, during lunch hour. Additionally, your training provider should offer an experience that promotes learning at any pace. Successful training tools focus on accommodating the individual learner, regardless of whether they master new material on the first try or the third.
A flexible program will enable your talent to both remain productive at work and maintain work life balance. Make sure that the flexibility of the program does not negatively impact its quality or its engagement.
What to ask:
What is the program’s training record?
Why ask:
You need a way to measure the program’s past success to gauge whether or not it is a good fit for your company and your talent.
You wouldn’t buy a car without reading some reviews and conducting some preliminary research first, right? Of course you wouldn’t, so don’t shop blindly for your L&D program. Ask the programs for case studies. Consider the endorsements of other companies that have trained their teams through the program. Do you respect the companies on their past clients list? Has the L&D group worked with companies similar in size and scope to yours? Do your homework to make sure that your team gets only the best.
Udacity
Now that you are prepared, you can begin searching for your L&D provider. Be sure to explore all that Udacity has to offer your talent. Udacity’s courses are built by the top tech talent for the development of top tech talent, which ensures that your workforce will receive the training they need to innovate and propel your company forward.
Learn more about Udacity today!