Yesterday’s post outlined six types of vendors you should work with as a learning and development (L&D) professional, and today’s post will outline six more.
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1. Assessments
As an L&D professional, you’ll want to rely on vendors with solutions that will provide your organization and its employees with high-quality assessments, such as those that can help with recruiting strategies, employee learning and engagement, knowledge retention, and long-term retention strategies. You’ll also want personality-based, cognitive-based, peer-based, and skills-based assessments, as well as survey and polling capabilities.
2. Business Etiquette and Acumen
Business etiquette training is still important, even in the 21st century. You’ll want to rely on L&D vendors that have solutions that can train your employees in communicating effectively, establishing trust, building relationships, and engaging in a modern and global economy.
3. Leadership and Executive Training and Coaching
Fifty-eight percent of managers claim that they never received any type of management training before becoming managers, and research shows that employees leave organizations less because of low pay or lack of promotional opportunities and more because of bad managers and leaders they don’t trust.
So, invest in an L&D vendor that offers solutions for comprehensive leadership coaching and management training.
4. Training the Trainer
You should also select a vendor that will help you train your trainers and L&D staff so they know how to create and curate high-quality learning content, how to field learner questions, how to use learner data, and how to conduct virtual and in-person training sessions, as well as have the appropriate resources and training to be effective in their roles.
5. Consultants and Content Experts
When your organization is implementing widescale organizational changes or a new company culture, you’ll likely want to hire a vendor that offers consulting services or has reliable content experts.
You’ll also want a vendor that has consultants and experts available for safety and compliance training programs, too, especially in industries like mechanical or chemical engineering or manufacturing and construction.
6. Conferences and Seminars
You’ll also want to partner with a vendor that offers supplemental educational opportunities and that offers access to conferences and seminars on demand, especially when they contain content that is relevant to your industry.
As an L&D professional, you’ll want to work with the six vendors listed above and in yesterday’s post to remain competitive and retain your employees long term.