In 2024, the focus of Learning and Development (L&D) teams is increasingly shifting towards corporate training. These corporate training programs empower employees with the skills and knowledge necessary for business success. However, for corporate training programs to be effective and yield the best outcomes, they should be of the finest quality.
According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2023, 89% of L&D professionals agree that proactively developing employee skills will help organizations stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing world. Consequently, organizations are searching for an external L&D partner to meet their corporate training needs. Strategic procurement partnerships enable businesses to manage, plan, report on, and execute L&D activities utilizing the experience of experts. In addition, it accelerates their corporate training objectives.
Four Things L&D Teams Might Have Done Wrong with L&D Procurement in 2024
1. Unable to handle the data to curate learning content
The learning and development teams frequently face data challenges while making purchases of learning resources. Precisely, metadata. This metadata can often be challenging to interpret, making it hard to select the most appropriate resources. In contrast to data-rich corporations like YouTube, Facebook, etc., locating relevant content data in the learning industry can be a hassle.
L&D professionals analyze data per learning asset. It’s no surprise that only a few people in an organization ever actually read or use the learning content at their disposal. This means that training professionals are typically not using available data to determine which assets are being used, how they’re being used, and what changes can be made to optimize their effectiveness.
2. Missing out on the available free learning content
The eLearning market is going to expand at a tremendous rate. There will, of course, be more training content available as the industry grows. It would be difficult to estimate the number of online websites, but it is safe to assume that a vast amount of information is available. With so many resources available, it can be overwhelming for individuals to know where to start when searching for information. And this is why most organizations fail to get a grab of good and free learning content for their corporate training initiatives.
3. Not associating content purchases with competencies
Skills are the new currency of work, despite this currency being flawed and entirely inconsistent. However, an insufficient number of L&D departments link content purchases to skills. The challenge of creating a skills or competencies framework may be a contributing factor. This can result in difficulty in developing programs tailored to the organization’s needs.
4. Falling behind on RFPs
A “Request for Proposal,” or RFP, is a formal statement made by an organization inviting interested suppliers to “bid” on the project, with the eventual winner being selected based on how closely the bids match the posting company’s stated requirements and budget. Too many companies make acquiring learning material too complicated, leading to poor proposals, dissatisfied employees, and decreased productivity.
Buy Training Seamlessly for an Organization with a Six Step Procurement Strategy
The learning leaders have realized the need for ongoing employee corporate training programs that align with corporate goals to maintain a competitive advantage and build a successful business.
Today’s Organizations are under growing pressure to decrease their time-to-market cycles while maximizing the return on their training investment expenditures. As the influence of corporate training on the business develops, the procurement department must be well-equipped to face the challenge.
A new product launch, a new process for manufacturing, new employee onboarding, sales performance, and an employee moving to a management position are all candidates for corporate training opportunities. If the training event is not conducted in-house, it is outsourced to a third-party organization to execute the corporate training requirements.
The practice of outsourcing training programs has grown commonplace. Consequently, this is a chance for procurement to involve the end-user stakeholders directly or as part of the project team with the in-house training departments.
Procurement connects stakeholders with the training organization even if the training event is created internally. A cohesive sourcing strategy must be developed, executed, measured, and managed to achieve the most value for your training budget and other related investments.
Read the blog to learn how to do L&D sourcing for procurement practitioners. Here are the six steps to buy learning and development for an organization to achieve its corporate training objectives.
- COLLECT all the relevant training data, both historical and forecasted.
- ANALYZE the company’s training needs at the macro level to manage total costs.
- DEVELOP a long-term strategy, not a reactionary, transactional process.
- IMPLEMENT your sourcing strategy with the well-crafted request for proposals.
- SELECT strategic training partners, not short-term training suppliers.
- MANAGE the strategic relationship alignment through value management.
Wrapping Up
When training employees, more and more businesses are turning to third-party providers. Organizations will accomplish successful purchasing outcomes by combining robust sourcing methods with a thorough awareness of training requirements. If you are in the market for an L&D buy, now is the time to acquire a solution tailored to your specific requirements (and budget). The 6-step procurement strategy given in this blog will help an organization buy the best corporate training in 2024.
