Training Companies - Selecting the Right One
A Guide for Comparing Training
Companies
Are you considering using a training company to help
provide training development or delivery of training programs for your
employees? APS is a full service training and technical service company
specializing in customized training for industry.
Why use a training company?
Using an outside organization to develop and deliver
training is often the best choice for a variety of reasons. Professional training companies such as APS can provide the resources to
develop high quality training materials that will provide the best
transfer of knowledge and skills for your employees, producing training
materials that your people will actually use. In addition, using an
outside contractor for these services in may provide the flexible
staffing needed to get the job done in a timely and cost-effective
manner.
What should you look for when selecting a training
company?
To ensure you choose the best organization to meet
your training needs, consider the following:
-
Subject Matter Expertise - What expertise does the company have
in the processes or equipment that you want to train on? Do they
have experience in your industry? Or is it their first time?
-
Training Development and Delivery Expertise - While subject
matter expertise is a factor, it's usually not the most important one.
All of the subject matter expertise in the world won't guarantee you
an effective training program. An experienced training
specialist can work
with your subject matter experts to develop good training documents
that will provide your people with what they need to know in a
manner that is clear and concise, providing what they need to know,
without confusing them with things that they don't need. This is
where many vendor training programs fall short.
-
Experience - How long have they been in business? What is the
average level of employee experience? Beware of training companies that use
inexperienced entry level employees to develop and deliver training.
-
Reputation - What is their reputation in the industry? If in
doubt, ask for references. If they are hesitant to provide
references, look elsewhere.
-
Flexibility of Format and Presentation Style - Some companies
have a fixed format that they attempt to sell to all of their
clients in a "one size fits all" manner. The best training companies
understand that each organization is unique and will offer a variety of
formats, templates and styles, working closely with you to determine
what is the best fit for your organization.
-
The
Human Factor - When selecting any outside organization to assist
with your training needs, it's really all about the people. The
number one question you should ask is "who will manage the project
and who will actually be doing the work?" Ask for resumes if you are
unsure. When contacting a company, are you speaking with the actual
people who will be doing the work? Or are you speaking with a
salesperson with whom you'll never see or talk to again? Also, beware of the
bait and switch. Some training companies have been known to
initially staff a project with experienced training professionals,
then switch to entry level employees mid project. The results can be
catastrophic.
-
Cost - While we may wish that cost was not an issue, we know in
practice that it's nearly always a major factor. For smaller
projects such as a single training class, many companies will
provide a fixed-price quote. For larger projects, or those projects
that are less well defined, most training companies will provide a
quote on a time and materials basis. A proper time and
materials quote should include the total estimated hours/cost and/or
a cap on total costs. When comparing hourly rates, you should
consider what you are getting for that rate. For example, an
experienced professional may produce many times in each hour what an
inexperienced person will produce in the same hour, even if it is at
a slightly lower hourly rate.
When looking at cost, you may want to take into consideration the
return on investment (ROI) of your training project. in other words,
what is the cost of an untrained or poorly trained employee? What is
the cost to your organization for each hour of production downtime,
startup delays, or incorrectly performed maintenance activities? A
well designed training program will pay dividends in these areas and
pay for itself many times over in the long run.
How does APS measure up?
APS has been in business since 1994, providing
training and technical services for clients in a wide variety of
industries. Browse our
client list
and
project experience pages to see a few examples. If you don't see
what you are looking for, give us a call. Chances are, we may have the
relevant experience that you seek. But don't take our word for it alone, we'll
be happy to provide references on your request.
APS provides only experienced training and
documentation specialists to work on our clients' projects. The average
APS employee has over 20 years of experience working in the industry.
Our diverse staff members have experience on a vast array of topics from
heavy manufacturing to service industries, from sugar wafers to silicon
wafers, and from project management to waste treatment. Our instructors
have thousands of hours of training experience, both classroom and
hands-on.
We don't have a sales or marketing staff. When you
call us, you'll be talking to the people who will be doing the work.
Other than this website, our marketing strategy relies on our reputation
and building strong relationships with our clients.
We're affordable too. We're lean and we like it that
way. Our low overhead structure allows up to pass on reasonable rates to
our clients.
We know that there are many training companies to
choose from. If you have a training or documentation project on your
horizon, we hope you'll consider APS. If
you'd like to know more about APS and how we help you, call Greg Pancerev at
610-987-4054, or Dave Thames at 410-715-0800, or email us at info@aps-online.net
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