Defining Training Needs for Organizational Scalability
Problem
A clinical trial software company was experiencing rapid growth and preparing to launch their first formal training and development program to improve the organization’s ability to scale and increase productivity. The company had no internal training resources on staff and needed support to define the organization’s top priorities and the specific training needs for the growing number of roles and functional areas across the company.
Approach
Excelerate’s approach to helping the organization solve its most critical learning needs was to partner with senior leadership to consolidate all training requests across departments and then prioritize the top three initiatives. Once the top initiatives were determined, Excelerate conducted training needs assessments by working with and observing key performers from each role in the organization, as well as reviewing documentation and existing training materials and process documentation. Once topics and objectives for each initiative were understood, Excelerate created customized training plans for each initiative and worked again with senior leaders to define the approach and desired outcomes of each training need. Gaining buy-in and approval for implementation was the final step in the process where Excelerate supported the Director of HR and CFO by presenting a full proposal, including a cost analysis to obtain sign-off on the budget required to develop and implement each training program.
Results
The final deliverables for the client included resources such as, a competency matrix for key functional areas in the organization, customized training plans for their top priority initiatives, detailed implementation plans, LMS evaluation and selection, and a full budget worksheet to allow the CFO to estimate and quantify the costs for training needs now and in the future. The organization quickly approved the budget required and began to act on the recommended training plans Excelerate developed. The CFO is leading the project while they work on hiring a training and development leader. Additionally, the senior leadership team has started to bring in facilitation and instructional design resources to build out the training courses and prepare for delivery to current employees in 2021.