Effective training of employees is key for any business. Your staff needs to understand the industry you operate, how your specific business operates within that industry, and how their efforts contribute to success. To develop and nurture well-trained employees, it certainly helps to have effective trainers. But should you develop trainers from within your organization or bring in outside experts?
Here are some factors to consider:
What’s the Focus of the Training?
It’s difficult to say whether an internal or external trainer is appropriate without considering the subject matter and purpose of the training. As HR Zone notes, “There are two distinct types of training. One is product/services, policies and operations training, most of which is handled by HR or another internal department. And then there is knowledge and skill-based training that is not company-specific and focuses on productivity, managerial performance or some other specialized technical skill.”
Organizational Knowledge vs Fresh Perspective
Internal trainers have the benefit of being familiar with the organization – its strengths, its challenges, its people and its vision for the future. This is certainly a benefit to help put training into a broader perspective. On the other hand, internal trainers may be too familiar with your organization. They may be too institutionalized to think of new, creative approaches to problems and may not be aware of new ways of doing things or industry trends.
Cost
With training, as with most things in life, we want to have the best. But cost is always, obviously, a consideration. Particularly for new or smaller businesses, it may not be financially feasible to bring in the leading industry expert for a high-priced seminar. Even for larger businesses with plenty of cash to spend, it might just not make sense to hire a world-renowned authority to teach introductory concepts to your staff when they only need the basics.
The importance of effective employee training can’t be overstated. And a big part of the effectiveness of your training is finding the right trainer. Whether the appropriate trainer is an outside expert or someone with experience within your organization depends on a number of factors. Choose well.