Helping a small training company

Background

We were approached by a small business that delivers bespoke, high-quality leadership and teamwork development solutions. They were familiar with the work we did, as we had previously worked together via another client.

They asked if we could help them with a large piece of business they were working on. They were desperate for project management, back-end and logistical support as they had never been involved in a project of this size. Their expertise is writing, developing and facilitating the project, not the logistics and the client didn’t have the know-how or resource to assist either.

Their client is fast paced, growing quickly and in need of management and leadership training across all areas. With offices in several locations, including international, the programmes would need to be set-up in multiple time-zones, both face to face and virtual.

The Brief

Management Enablement Programme:

• 20 cohorts with up to 12 delegates on each
• 7 – 10 modules per cohort
• Spread across Israel, Texas, California, Vancouver, Toronto, UK & Europe
• Mix of face to face in above geographies & virtual modules
• Completion of one psychometric questionnaire (DiSC)
• Staggered starts.

Leadership Development Programme:

• 2 cohorts with a total of 20 delegates
• 9 modules per cohort
• Mix of face to face & virtual modules
• 4 x individual virtual coaching sessions per delegate
• Completion of one 360 feedback
• Completion of one psychometric questionnaire (DiSC)

The set-up

Once the commercials were agreed, we attended several planning meetings with the client to get a better understanding of the project and the objectives. We wanted to gain as much information as we could to assist with a smooth set-up and efficient running of the project.

We needed to know:

• if the training was mandatory and what the approach was to cancellations / re-books
• how the delegates were being nominated for the training
• how the delegates would be scheduled? Via arrangeMY or via the client
• what were the delegates working hours. (Any shift patterns, working from home days etc?)
• what were the dates to avoid. (National and local holidays, company / team events etc)
• where would the training take place? (Internal or external facilities). Did the need any help with booking these?
• was accommodation / travel needed for the face-to-face courses? If so, what were the company guidelines? Did they need any help with booking these?
• what the preferred timings were for the training sessions
• what reports were needed? What information did we need to capture?
• the timelines for correspondence to the delegates (e.g. JI’s 3 weeks prior, reminder 1 week prior)
• how many chases should we do and is there an escalation process? e.g for 360 / Psychometric questionnaire.
• • if they want any input into comms going out to the business? (to introduce them to the training and advise of process)
• • were there any course materials? Would these be hard or soft copy?

Once we had gained a clear understanding of their requirements, we could begin the set-up.

• We established a dedicated team to run and manage the project.
• We contacted the trainers in each location to get their availability, cancellation terms, their room layout, equipment and dietary requirements.
• We prepared a training schedule for all cohorts based on the project deadlines, trainer availability and location (whilst bearing in mind the different time-zones and dates to avoid)
• We checked the initial schedule with the client and made amendments as needed.
• We checked the training room availability.
• We confirmed the dates with the trainers and created and sent IAA’s and statement of works for signature.
• We set up internal work processes, so the project ran smoothly.
• We set up a portal on SharePoint, allowing for trainer collaboration and the sharing of training materials.
• We liaised with the suppliers of 360 feedback and set up the psychometric questionnaire (DiSC)
• We created feedback forms.
• We prepared all of the correspondence templates (bookings confirmations, joining instructions, follow up chases, reminders etc)
• We obtained delegate details from the client.
• We set up the courses on our booking system.
• We set up Zoom links for virtual courses.

The execution: Pre & post course

The client had asked that all delegates receive their booking confirmations around the same time following a communication from the Leadership team.

• Each delegate was to receive a booking confirmation with a calendar invite.
• 3 weeks prior to the course, DiSC and joining instructions were to be issued. (These contained pre-work requirements)
• 1 week prior to the course, a reminder was to be sent to delegate, delegate names were sent to the trainer so they knew who to expect and the office managers were advised of the delegate numbers so they could print the relevant course materials.
• Post course, following confirmed attendance from trainer, we would report back to the line managers to advise who attended and who didn’t. A post course email was sent to the delegates including course slides and feedback requests.
• Delegates who did not attend would be rebooked on another course with availability or added to the waiting list.

The outcome

On completion, approximately 240 managers and 20 leaders would have been trained. This amounts to 1,860 training instances.

The different time-zones on this project made it particularly tricky at times however due to meticulous planning and the processes put in place, the project is running well, attendance is high, feedback is excellent, and it looks like more business is to come.