Q: What percentages of corporate contract training programs are organized under continuing ed.? Who are they typically organized under? Do any stand alone and report to the president? I am trying to support a reorganization of our corporate training that would allow us to cut through all of the bureaucracy. Do you have any example organization charts? I have the one that Greg Marcello put together in his article.
A: 1.We do not have a count or percentage of contract training programs organized under continuing education. In my travels and my discussions with programs doing contract training, the greater percentage of contract training programs are part of continuing education. The split normally is with larger programs and the split is also being driven by consolidation that is happening between institutions. Size does make a difference…most contract training programs are 5 (at the best) people or less (many are 1-2) and they cannot operate without the link back to continuing education.
2.Where the ones that operate independently report is not consistent. Less times Academic and more times Outreach or Business Operations.
3.Although we have received some organization charts from contract training programs, I am not sure if any are different from what you might have already. The direction I see independent contract training programs going is…a) director, b) salesperson, c) product development, d) operations, and c) operations. Below might be helpful.
CONTRACT TRAINING STAFFING UPDATE
Successful contract training units are experimenting with redesigning staffing to improve performance. For example, a staff of five may be organized as follows –
Director. Responsible for generating new opportunities (larger clients or market segments, product areas, delivery methods), training him/herself and staff, and managing contract training unit.
Sales. Responsible for opening new doors and staying connected with past clients. Sales should not be involved with any product development or operations, but would be the person responsible for pricing and closing the sale. In conjunction with Insides Sales, they would work on generating repeat business.
Product Development. Responsible for supporting Sales, by working with the client to figure how their need will be met and providing Sales with the contract scope and costs so they can determine the price. Since they are managing product development, they would call on subject matter experts as needed. Product Development would be responsible for all curriculum development, instructor selection, and deciding on materials required. In conjunction with Operations, they would make sure contracts were implemented correctly.
Inside Sales. Responsible for doing prospect and lead research and calling potential clients and lining up visits for Sales, following up with past clients in conjunction with Sales and selling additional business, coordinating all communication to existing and potential clients, and calling existing and potential clients to recruit them to send individual employees to open enrollment courses.
Operations. Responsible for coordinating and managing all contract paperwork, materials and logistics for contracts, and other actions that support the smooth implementation of the contracts.
None of the above people can be subject matter experts, but time spent understanding the industries served is important.
Questions
Organizing Contract Training Programs
Nov 10, 2018 1:09:13 AM
by
Jordan Kivley
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