Develop Your Staff With Customized Computer Training (Joe Thomas)
Mar 1, 2011
One of the best things about booking in-house (on-site) training, as opposed to sending your staff to a training centre on a pubic course, is that the training course can be tailored to suit the specific needs of your organisation. Whenever you book in-house training, you should ensure that you make this clear to the training company and fully brief them on your requirements. Send them a list of key topics that need to be covered after holding discussions with the people who will be attending the course, their manager(s) or people in your organisation who already have the skills the proposed trainees are looking to acquire.
Send a few examples of your work to the training company in advance of the training so that they have a good idea of the kind of documents your people will need to produce or edit (Be sure to remove any sensitive or confidential information first!).
A good software training session will offer users opportunities to practice the skills they are being taught. Ask the training company to incorporate your documents into the practical exercises given to delegates on the course. For example, if your people are being shown how to create corporate brochures, have the trainer ask them to create pages from some of your typical brochures during the training to check that they are mastering the relevant techniques.
You will need to find a suitable area where you can realistically conduct a training session and where the trainees can concentrate on learning without interruption, distraction or discomfort. If your organisation does not have a training room then a meeting room can be adapted for the purpose. Delegates should be able to see the trainer from their seat without having to twist around or crane their necks. Each delegate should also have the use of their own workstation or laptop for the duration of the course and enough space to use it.
The correct version of the software should be loaded on each person's machine and, ideally, all delegates should be using the same version of the software. For example, running a course on Microsoft Word where some delegates have Word 2007 and others 2003 would be a nightmare, since the two versions have such key differences.)
A workstation or laptop fixed to a screen projector will enable the trainer to demonstrate the software efficiently. This is especially useful with a large group. If your company does not have one, they can be hired for around 25 per day. The training room should also have a whiteboard and pens.
For your training to be effective, delegates must be available for the duration of the course and must be off-limits to other members of staff. Ideally, they should be treated as absent from the office until their course ends. Equally, they should be motivated to do the training and agree that it will benefit them and that acquiring the new skills provided by the training will help them to work more effectively.
About the AuthorAuthor is a developer and trainer with OnSiteTrainingCourses.Com, an independent computer training company offering customised In-house training courses all over the UK..