Do you really need a registered training organisation to deliver your next employee development workshop?
If your staff training absolutely requires an accredited outcome, then a RTO (Registered Training Organisation) – or a legal partner of one, is a critical expense. However, often organisations do not realize that there are other (less expensive and restrictive) options available for high quality training when it comes to non-accredited training delivery.
Bring in expert guest presenters instead of Training Organisations
Adding expert professional speakers to your learning and development guest list will enhance your staff training, without increasing your spend.
Sharing this tip feels a little self-cannibalistic, as I own a training services company! But the fact of the matter is, that this makes me even more qualified to say that Trainers are very expensive – costing the training organisation itself anything from $1,000-$4,000 per day depending on the topic, their expertise, the travel required and many other factors. In order for the training organisation to even make a ‘break even’ after admin, communication, resources, printing, curriculum design, consulting with the Trainer and the client have been added on, there is a very large cost that gets passed onto the client – not because training organisations are crooks(although there are some bad eggs out there, as with any industry), but because training is expensive! While I very much stand for the fact that formal and recognised training and education is a vital element of workforce development, and of ultimately increasing ROI through better performing and more efficient staff; I also feel that the undeniable value of expert speakers and industry guest presenters are often overlooked as an incredible compliment to corporate people development.
By calling upon the industry’s most experienced leaders and experts, you can run a one-off or series of group training workshops that are jam-packed with value from your industry’s top consultants for LESS than the price of a ‘formal’ training workshop from a training organisation; often with far greater flexibility and tailor-made content.
The reason being, that professional speakers and presenters often work for themselves, so there is no middle man to pay. They also very rarely charge ‘per head’ and are more likely to charge you a simple fixed fee for the session that doesn’t need to account for regulatory body fees, accredited certification fees, staff admin etc. This means you can arrange a date when you can bring as many of your staff together as possible so as to spread the cost and maximise on the training opportunity. Where a training organisation will usually have a ‘price per head’ policy, a professional speaker may only charge the equivalent price of a RTO’s 2 x participant fee for half a day’s workshop, regardless of the number of attendees.
Professional speakers also usually specialise in one or two key themes or topics, meaning that their workshops and keynotes are already written, significantly reducing development and curriculum design costs. A quick consult on the phone is usually enough for a professional speaker to find out about your objectives, the audience, desired outcomes and contextualise and re-purpose their content accordingly without the level of admin necessary through a training organisation, keeping your costs right down without reducing the quality of education by any means.
So in summary, always ask yourself first what the objective of the learning initiative is. Does it need to be formally accredited, in which case a registered training organisation (or legal partner) is critical.
Or, could you seek a topic expert or professional speaker/guest presenter to come in and run a value-packed workshop for a group of your employees?
Ensure that you are picking the ‘right’ experts
It can be hard to find the right professional speakers for your employee training, and today it is easy for anyone to give themselves the title. To ensure that you are picking the best of the best and conducting suitable due diligence, here are a few things to consider looking out for when you are seeking a true expert:
Are they qualified in their field of expertise? Look for at least a Degree where possible
Do they have at least 5 years experience practising, consulting and educating in their field?
Are they registered with a national speaking body? (eg Professional Speakers Australia)
Do they have any published work? Such as books, journals or research?
Do their social media profiles and websites back up their credibility and evidence their expertise in that topic? Look for blogs and articles that have been published over a period of at least 2 years.
Can they provide you with testimonials from other clients?
So, will you be looking out for more independent professional speakers for your corporate training?
