Your business is losing out when you keep your training internal. Find out how bringing in a professional facilitator or consultant can help prevent your business from making costly mistakes.
You might think that keeping your employee training and development internal is the best option for your group. It can be easier, cheaper, and more familiar…
But there’s a whole lot your team is missing out on when you do internal training.
For example, while choosing someone to lead your sessions from within your company can help keep your cost down, it may not give you the best bang for your buck over the long run. Of 2,500 organizations surveyed in the United States, Huffington Post reported that the companies who spent more on training had a 24 percent higher profit margin than those who spent less. In addition to this long-term cost benefit, here are three other advantages an external facilitator or consultant can bring to your session.
THE TOP THREE BENEFITS OF BRINGING IN A PRO
1. Outside Experience
When you rely on employees to lead your training and development, they only know the systems and processes your company already has. This can spread bad practices, and lead to costly mistakes.
A professional facilitator or consultant can share best practices from other companies and industries, and provide insight from their past experiences.
Your team can use these tried and tested techniques back at the office to reduce inefficiencies and improve processes. A great example of this comes from a study done in India, where Accenture provided 14 factories with managerial consulting. Slate Magazine reports that after working with Accenture, defects in the factories were cut in half, and output increased by 5 percent, despite inventories falling by nearly 20 percent. With the outside guidance of the consultants, the factories became more efficient and profitable.
“You fit our group perfectly - we loved hearing the anecdotal stories. We can tell you have lived business versus just gone to school for business. Thank you.— Principia Consulting
2. Unbiased Instruction & Perspective
Having someone from outside your organization lead your sessions can give your group a fresh and impartial perspective on your goals and business objectives. An external facilitator or consultant can help your team break free of perceived limitations and approach long-standing roadblocks in a new way.
For example, the Royal Canadian Mint partnered with our team to help manage a major change to their business model. The group came out of the sessions no longer resistant to the change, with a fresh perspective on how to effectively deal with this large shift in focus.
“Lyndon was hired to facilitate a series of change sessions to prepare and condition our teams to what change would represent for us. His contribution went far deeper than a facilitator’s role: he supported the teams and engaged with them to ensure that everyone felt part of the process and had a voice. Lyndon’s professional experience in managing strategy and business requirements allowed the teams to learn about the complexities of change. We are grateful for the foundation he has helped us build.— Royal Canadian Mint
3. Employee Accountability
When you keep your training internal, someone on your team will need to lead the program or session.
Bringing in a facilitator or consultant means that all employees can take part. Your leadership or HR team won’t be tasked with running the session and holding everyone accountable afterwards. Instead, all employees can focus on learning the skills offered in the training and development program. This can help increase the likelihood of your team reaching their goals and finding success.
As an example, Dayton Superior partnered with our team to provide leadership training and development for a group of their top performing employees. In order to hold the participants accountable, our team provided follow-up check-ins after the program. Six months later, Dayton Superior told our team that employees are still using what they learned and benefiting from the sessions.
“We wrapped up our ‘A Player Academy’ last week, and all participants had great things to say about your training and how they are still using some of the tools you shared. Thank you so much again for helping to develop our leaders, and we look forward to working with you again in the future.— Dayton Superior
Talk to an event solutions expert today to find out more about partnering with our team of professional facilitators and consultants for your next training and development session.
