Five Questions to Ask Your Training Provider

When booking training for your team, we know you have many options out there. However, are all training providers equally qualified to handle your needs?

Let’s illustrate it this way: You sit on your chair at your desk, and something does not feel right. The chair is either too high or too low. The lumbar support is not where it used to be. It’s reclined a little too far back for your liking.

It becomes clear: this is not your chair.

How much work are you getting done? Or are you dropping everything to return your chair to how you like it? If you’re like us, probably the latter.

Yes, in theory, you can work from any old chair. How much better, though, is it to have a chair set up just for you?

It’s the same with your training. Many training providers will be able to teach your team Excel. However, it is much better to work with a provider that is set up to support you.

You need to do your homework to find out if a training company has the support you need. So, we have compiled a list of questions to help you make that choice. This article will focus on the administrative and customer service side of training providers. In a future article, we will cover what kind of training to look for.

Question #1: Tell Me About Your Company.

The first question to ask your potential training provider is to learn more about their company. This provides essential background information and helps you assess whether they are a good fit for your organization.

What kind of company is it? Is it an individual that can provide limited services and support? Or is it a large conglomerate, where I may be treated merely as a number? Can your company provide the support and personalized attention I need?

The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company is designed to provide the ideal blend of personalized attention and resources. This ensures that you receive tailored training solutions with the backing of an organization that can meet your needs.

More specifically, consider the company’s history and experience. Understanding their journey and how long they have been in the industry can give you insights into their experience and stability.

For example, at The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, we have over 20 years of experience. That experience has taught us many valuable lessons, such as what can go wrong in training, how to avoid it and what kind of trainers to hire for the most interactive, engaging training. 

Question #2: Tell Me About Your Team.

The process of finding a training provider you trust is one you likely want to avoid repeating.

Building a long-term relationship begins with the question: Who will I work with? Do they have the resources to give me the support that I deserve?

Instead of relying heavily on sales teams, at The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, we have prioritized building a solid training coordinating team.

These experts offer personalized support, drawing upon their industry knowledge to guide you effectively throughout your training journey. They ensure timely and clear communication, with a commitment to supporting you beyond the initial sale, resulting in a seamless and highly supportive training experience tailored to your success.

Our best-in-class customer service has helped us to go the extra mile for our clients.

Consider the experience of one regional municipality. They retained our services to provide a year-long schedule for their team. After we had scheduled those sessions, their operational needs changed throughout the year, and on several occasions, they needed to add additional training.

Our responsive team went to work immediately to schedule those sessions – in most cases, we could confirm their training within one business day!

Question #3: Who Are Your Clients and How Have You Helped Them?

What you’re asking here is, how can you help my team? Have you helped organizations like mine before?

Training is not one-size-fits-all, and the experience of booking and organizing training ranges from organization to organization – and even from industry to industry. At The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, we have worked with various clients, from small teams to large government agencies, utilities, healthcare providers, and professional associations. We have seen how these differ, and we can cater our training to your organization’s needs.

For example, if you are a public sector organization, you are sometimes limited in your options. Does your training provider have a supply arrangement you can reference in your request? (Learn more about our supply arrangement and how we specifically provide training for government agencies.)

It’s not just a matter of who; it’s also a matter of how. Just like each restaurant has its specialties, so do training providers.

At The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, we specialize in Excel training. Not only do we provide training on Excel at various levels, we have also developed specialized courses on its many features. For example, we have courses on creating compelling data visualizations or using more niche functions like VLookup and XLookup.

Question #4: What Is Your Approach to My Training?

If you’re an HR professional or manager, you know that convincing your team to take training can be a bit of a chore. We get it.

We have all sat through boring training sessions where someone talked at us for several hours, and we couldn’t remember what was said after the fact. (That inspired our founder, Joy, to create The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company.)

So, you need to know how your training is going to be provided. How does your training provider handle difficult participants? How do they ensure the information is accurate but also engaging and practical?

At The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, our instructors and facilitators are selected based on their delivery just as much as their knowledge. We carefully choose instructors and facilitators who can bring the material to life. Our instructors bring their years of experience to connect the classroom back to your participant’s day-to-day role.

We also keep our finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the workplace and regularly update our courses to stay relevant to our client's challenges.

For example, in March 2020, we saw how disoriented our clients were moving to remote work for the first time. On April 1, 2020, we offered a free webinar to our clients on getting started on Microsoft Teams and were able to provide simple yet powerful strategies that helped many of them during that difficult time.

Question #5: Can You Help Me with [Insert Your Unique Challenge]?

Like we said at the outset, you are looking for training that fits your needs.

So, if your challenges are outside the box, how will your training provider be able to help you?

With 20 years of experience, it’s safe to say we have almost seen it all. From shifting your training times to meet your operational needs to ensuring that our trainers understand your unique challenges, we work hard to create tailor-made training for you.

Consider how we helped one healthcare client. Their team needed time management training. Their team juggled a heavy workload but could not delegate tasks to others. As well, because of the demands of their role, their training needed to be scheduled into half-days to minimize disruptions. We were able to provide customized training that worked within their operational needs and provided strategies that reflected the realities of their workplace.

How Can You Find GREAT Training?

When you compare training providers, remember that exceptional training is not just about gaining new skills; it's about a partnership that understands your distinct needs and empowers your team with personalized solutions.

At The Great Canadian Training & Consulting Company, we've honed our expertise over two decades, serving diverse clients across various industries, and we're ready to make your training experience truly exceptional. Our commitment to offering the ideal blend of personalized attention and comprehensive and practical resources ensures that you receive training tailored to your unique requirements. Your team deserves the best; we're here to help you excel.

To get started, contact our training coordination team by emailing [email protected] or using the chat feature on this site. One of our Training Coordinators (not a robot!) is standing by to help you. You can also head here to book a training strategy session to help you gain clarity on what your team needs on their path to greater success.