Creating a custom training program is not something that happens overnight. It has to be done with a process in mind. You brainstorm to find out the goals of the program. Then you identify the content that you need to put in the course. You research the design, layout and tools that is needed to meet your intended goals. Once all of these are met, you can begin the creation of your course – or you can find a professional to do it for you. After the creation, you can gather the learners and begin the learning process.
While this process seems complete – it is not. An important part of the creation of your custom training program is the quality check. Some people tend to skip this part because they feel that it is tedious and that they will be unable to meet deadlines. Although you may think that it is saving you time, money and effort, your are wrong. It may be costing you more in the long run. Doing a self-check before the delivery of your training program is very important – sometimes, it might even be the step that will keep the whole project from failing.
There are three important reasons why a quality check on your custom training program is necessary.
Faster development process. As mentioned, you may think that skipping a process will help you finish the project faster. It may seem that way but cutting the process short is sometimes what makes it longer. If you fail to run your own quality check and an error is seen before implementation, then that course will come back to you for revisions. Then you need to send it again and if there are more errors, there will be a repeat of review and revisions. By conducting a quality check in the first place, you can cut short a couple of review and revision cycles. It is more likely that you can meet your deadline.
Lower cost of creation. If you outsourced the creation of your custom training program, then you might be spending more if you are wasting your time in development. The faster you can finish the development process, the more you will save money. And it is not only the cost of creation that you should be thinking about. In case your program is meant to teach the learners a new skill to make them more productive, think about what is lost the longer they are kept from that skill? As you delay giving them the knowledge or skill that will increase their productivity and profitability, the more the company will lose in the process.
Preservation of reputation. Think about delivering a training program that is full of grammatical errors and sending it to your work colleagues. Or think about publishing it online with your name on it. Wouldn’t that ruin your reputation to a certain degree? By running a quality check on your custom training program, you can protect your professional reputation. Sometimes, something as small as a grammatical error is enough to discredit you.
Running these self checks may seem tedious but it will all be worth it in the end. Try not to cut back on the steps that is needed to create your custom training program. The shortcuts could cost you more than you know. Just motivate yourself to go through with it and be as meticulous as you can in checking the effectiveness of your program.
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