Not so long ago, external trainers were overwhelmed with applications from the business community. Whether it was a management course, product knowledge or “Pension in Sight”: we assumed that it would be better and, above all, easier to arrange if we completely outsourced the reins to an external party. The result was that our employees sometimes went out of the picture for days, while they were improving their knowledge in a thirteen-in-a-dozen hotel on the moor.
Times have changed quite a bit. All kinds of smart tools and handy apps have now been developed, which allow you to have your own relatively quickly online academy you can set up. So it's no wonder that a growing number of organisations are opting to arrange internal training themselves. In this blog, we list the biggest advantages of this for you.
After reading it, you will completely agree with us: why outsource everything when you can do it yourself — and often even better —?! And just to clear up a misunderstanding: this is not just the preserve of large organisations. Even smaller employers without an army of HR advisors and training officers can easily get along with it!
External courses are often just not enough. Too general, too much theory, or simply not tailored to daily practice in your organisation. People talk about a brand of truck that is not in your garage, your customers usually react very differently than described or your safety procedure is different from what is in the lessons.
By putting together your own internal training courses, you avoid unnecessary ballast, you have an influence on the schedule and you ensure that your employees learn exactly the things you need. Whether it's practical lessons or e-learning: you can fully customise the content of the course.
Every organisation has valuable knowledge that you don't find in the books, but that is purely in the heads of colleagues. You are sometimes surprised how people have developed tricks over the years that make it much easier to do work. However, not everyone knows about it. A shame! Capture this knowledge in your knowledge platform so that it is not lost when someone leaves or retires.
Actively invite your employees to also share their practical tips and tricks with their colleagues, for example in a microlearning. You can do this, for example, with a call on the intranet, a competition or during a work meeting. The knife cuts both ways: sharing these kinds of tips will not only improve efficiency, you will also notice that the engagement of your employees will grow.
Of course, developing your own course, let alone a complete academy, takes time. There's no getting around that. But see it as a good one investment, which quickly pays for itself. In any case, it is much more efficient to train your employees in a way that suits your organisation than to always go to external training courses that do not fully meet their needs. In addition, you can easily reuse the lessons, adapt them to the latest developments and expand them.
An internal development program not only helps to retain talent, but also to attract them. After all, an employer that invests in the development of employees definitely has an advantage. It shows that you take employees seriously and also offer career opportunities. That kind of positive employer branding is of course an important fact, especially in the current labor market!
Are you getting a new customer with different quality requirements? Is there a change in laws and regulations or have you purchased other equipment? If you have arranged your courses internally, you can switch quickly and adjust the learning content fairly easily. Especially in sectors where compliance plays an important role, such flexibility is very important.
But even at the employee level, offering training internally offers much more flexibility than signing someone up for standard training with an external provider. Opt for a good one Learning Management System and if you build courses in a modular way, you can respond very specifically to the individual knowledge and training level and the training needs.
That's possible! Fortunately, an internal knowledge academy is really no longer the preserve of large organisations with hundreds of employees and a sky-high training budget. Do you still need a helping hand, or just need some extra inspiration? We'd love to help you get started! For example, with a non-binding demo, where you can get acquainted with the various options for your organisation or call +31 (20) 560 5001.
As an educational expert specialising in online learning, I have been writing blogs for Pluvo for 5 years. My focus is on powerful learning solutions for organisations. Universal Design for Learning and inclusive learning are my passion; I believe that education should be accessible and fun for everyone.
I've been combining my 35 years of HR experience with copywriting for over 15 years. And even then, I learn new things over and over again. That's what makes writing blogs for Pluvo so incredibly interesting!
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