Training is Required
One of the main benefits of outsourcing is the expertise that it supplies. Service providers are generally expected to bring their own skills and talents that the outsourcer doesn’t have. There are circumstances, however, when even the most qualified, the most recommended, and the most equipped service provider needs a little help in fulfilling a contract (i.e. training) — especially when that contract requires procedures that are unique to a company rather than to an industry.
Consider the simple task of capturing screenshots, for example. Normally, such a small task would require little more than pressing the Print Screen button, pasting the result into Windows Paint, and then saving the result. Things can get a little more complicated should those screenshots need to be a specific size or they need to capture specific objects rather than entire screens.
Let’s say that Windows Paint just isn’t sufficient, and the only screen-capturing software available is an advanced one — one that a company purchased and just won’t budge from. Just that one requirement alone could complicate the process even further, and thus necessitate training.
Outsourcers Fulfill the Role of the Trainer
As an outsourcer, you fulfill many roles, including the role of the trainer. And the more company-specific your project is, the more training you’ll be expected to provide.
This circumstance is no different than when a company hires a top engineering graduate, but must still train her to work with that company’s specific procedures. On-the-job training and mentoring are a part of every business process even if that process is outsourced to the best of the best of the best.
Benefits of Training
The benefits of providing on-the-job training are, at the very least, threefold:
- It increases efficiency by eliminating the need for micromanaging and error correction.
- It validates your initial investment and saves money should you want to re-hire the same ‘trainee’ for a future, related project.
Effective Training Tools
There are a plethora of training resources available on the internet, however, we find the most simple, yet effective, training tools are the video and remote desktop screen sharing software.
With the video, you’re able to capture audio and visual instructions into a format that can be played, rewound, and replayed at the trainee’s convenience. With remote desktop screen sharing software, such as Join Me, you’re able to walk a trainee through a process, and answer a trainee’s questions (demo) on the spot.
Both of these types of tools give the provider-in-training the opportunity to actually see what you’re talking about – a feat that can make a huge difference when working with a provider located thousands of miles away.
External Resources:
1. Telling Ain’t Training 2nd Edition
2. Employee Training & Development
3. The Ultimate Training Workshop Handbook
