Mumbai is the Financial Capital of India and home to an enormous number of organisations, both large and small. Many large BFSI firms have their headquarters in Mumbai. Stalwarts from other industries like Automobile, FMCG, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, etc. also have their base at Mumbai. And now we also have a massive number of start-ups especially from the IT and ITES sector mushrooming in practically every corner of the city! Now most of these large organisations have in-house training departments. They can therefore cater to their soft skills and hard skills training needs internally. Yet, inspite of having good internal capability, these organisations, at times, choose to go ahead with external training partners – Corporate Training Companies in Mumbai, like ours. While it’s understandable for a small organisation that may lack the expertise or the bandwidth, ever wondered why large organisations would do that?
Here’s a quick peak at some of the benefits of partnering with external corporate training companies in Mumbai.
The External Training Partner Advantage for Corporate Trainings
The Number Crunch
While large organisations have Internal L&D departments, some of them are really small, with just a handful of employees. With such a poor L&D to Employee ratio, it becomes practically impossible for the L&D to reach out and manage the training needs of all their employees. What can this lead to? Some employees being left out of training completely for that year. For others, it may boil down to very selective needs being covered. And for the lucky ones who actually get trained, it may be limited to just training with no scope for focusing on implementation!
In such cases, tying up with an external partner becomes essential. It helps reduce the load and overstretch that the internal L&D resources face. And gives them the opportunity to cater bigger and better to the needs of their employees.
Too many Geographies?
India is a fast-growing economy. And what does growth bring? An increase in the number of offices and employees across the country! And what does that mean for L&D? A lot of travelling! So much so, that they may be compelled to skip employees in remote places or those where numbers are less.
And how can Corporate Training Companies in Mumbai help? Well, many of the well-established training companies in Mumbai have a large resource pool and geographical reach. They either have offices in other cities or a network of local trainers. They can therefore centrally create training sessions from their headquarters in Mumbai and have their local trainers conduct the same session across the country. Outsourcing the training can therefore help in covering a large number of employees across the country while maintaining the same standard.
Love it Fresh!
How does it feel being trained by the same trainer again and again? While it definitely helps in building a connect, it can get boring after some time! Why? Because each of us look at life in a particular way based on the experiences we have had. And since corporate soft skills and behavioural skill training is a lot about sharing our insights from life, it may get repetitive after some time.
That’s where adding external training partners can really help. It brings in a fresh perspective with a varied knowledge base, training methodologies and trainer styles. This change breaks the monotony of learning from a single person and makes the audience more open and receptive. And with many of the corporate training companies in Mumbai having a large trainer base, change becomes a piece of cake!
Quality on your Mind?
Just imagine how difficult it can get to find the training needs of all your employees, arrange relevant sessions and also ensure that they deliver results. And for those L&D folks who have to also create and deliver these sessions themselves, it can be a nightmare! While quality may be on your mind, delivering it may actually become a difficult task. And that’s when trainings are no more than tick marks and employees reduced to numbers! Sounds familiar?
Well, if it does, although I honestly hope it doesn’t, you require assistance. And that’s where an external partner can be of help to you. They will be better focused on delivering quality as they need to maintain their brand name and get repeat business.
A Cheaper Alternative
Thinking of recruiting some internal trainers? While it may seem like a good option to increase internal capability, it often falls flat on the face and works otherwise! Why? Because a good internal trainer may be a costly resource to maintain. Moreover, the lack of sufficient L&D resources may keep these internal trainers occupied with tasks like co-ordination. And why is that so bad? Firstly, because these resources are being paid the salary of a trainer for doing the job of a co-ordinator. And secondly, because this can get them really frustrated and may feel like a downward turn in their careers!
Therefore, hiring an external training agency may prove to be a more cost-effective solution. The cost incurred is only for the specific few days of programs delivered over that of having a full-time resource with monthly salary and benefits.
Short on Time
To be a good trainer, it’s important that you invest a lot of time gaining new knowledge, skills and insights. This could be through reading, conversations with others, attending trainings and webinars, etc. And to be an even better soft and behavioural skills trainer, you need to spend time in reflective activities and self-experimentation.
Have you ever attended a session where you can clearly see that the trainer is sharing insights based on their own life experiences? Those where they give you so much more than just the knowledge and skills in books. In fact, it feels like they are literally sharing a part of themselves! You will realise you really enjoy those sessions and take back the most from them.
However, to reach that level, a trainer requires time. A resource which most internal L&D resources have a shortage of. It may therefore make more sense to hire external training partners who do this on a continual basis over spending time in upgrading already loaded internal resources.
Are you Serious!
When was the last time an internal trainer conducted a session, only to find that the audience did not take them seriously as they were internal resources? Unfortunately, it happens a lot. In fact, we even have a saying in Hindi ‘Ghar ki murgi daal barabar.’ It means that we don’t take our home/internal people seriously. And may actually listen to an outsider even if they were to say the same thing!
It has been commonly observed, that usually employees take external consultants more seriously over internal resources. They also are more willing to shed their inhibitions and open up in front of a neutral 3rd party over an internal trainer. Somehow they feel it safer to do so, as the external trainer does not have any past baggage. The chances of being judged therefore reduce. Besides, the external trainer will not have any interest in reporting their findings back to their friends in management or HR as may be the case with the internal trainer. This reduces the risk and makes it a safer proposition!
Going beyond the Expertise
Last but not the least, expertise. As human beings, we understand certain topics better than other ones. This makes it easier for us to delve deep into them and present a unique understanding of them. Now this applies to our trainer community also. Which also means that we build our expertise in specific areas and would excel in training on these topics.
And what happens if a niche need arises which is beyond the strength or capability of the internal L&D? They will have to reach out to someone under whose expertise it falls – typically an external trainer.
So, now that you know the benefits of hiring external training partners, what’s you reason for outsourcing your learning needs to Corporate Training Companies in Mumbai?