Create a Staff Training Plan

From training needs assessment through delivery, this template guides you through the creation of an appropriate training plan for your organization.

The document is also attached below.

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1.1.1      Create a staff training plan.

[Instructions: Read through this paragraph carefully and customize appropriately]

[ORGANIZATION] does not budget for regular staff training.  A recent review of staff computing skills by the technology team indicates that training would improve staff effectiveness and satisfaction.

 

[ORGANIZATION]’s employees would work most efficiently if they are properly trained on basic computer skills as well as in the applications that they commonly use.  [ORGANIZATION] would also benefit by giving some staff members additional specialized training in advanced uses of Microsoft Office / MS Server / graphics applications.

 

In addition, [NAME] has requested further training on [APPLICATION].

 

Recommendation

To support the regular training of staff members [ORGANIZATION] should budget an average annual amount per employee for training.  This will ensure that both new hires and existing employees have access to training when needed. Some employees will need more training than others.

 

IDENTIFYING NEEDS

[ORGANIZATION] should identify the computing skills that are needed for the staff to do their jobs well and then perform a staff skills inventory to assess the level of computer-related skills its employees have. [ORGANIZATION] should also identify ways in which existing software products such as Microsoft Office could be applied to increase productivity if additional, more specialized training were given to some individuals.

 

Specifically, CompuMentor recommends the following staff receive trainings described based on our assessment of [ORGANIZATION]:

 

• Staff person should get training on Windows basics.
• Staff person2 requested advanced training on MS Server.
• Add, alter or remove these items as needed.

 

PRIORITIZING

Since it may not be practical to deliver training to the entire staff at once, [ORGANIZATION] should consider which users to prioritize.  Some suggestions are below:

• Novice users - These users benefit from lowered job related frustration and [ORGANIZATION] benefits from an increase in productivity and a possible reduction in IT administrator time as these users also tend to require more time from IT administrators than more knowledgeable users.
• Technical users – Users with technical jobs such as financial analysis, graphic design, and IT administration often benefit their organization greatly through increased service delivery when they have knowledge of more sophisticated functionality and can apply advanced tools to their jobs.

 

 

TRAINING DELIVERY

[Instructions:  Read through this paragraph carefully and customize as needed]

Onsite training:

Since [ORGANIZATION] has many users, it would benefit from having onsite training performed by a professional or an expert staff user who is also good at training and communicating for teaching common skills.  Onsite training, while effective at training many users in a shorter amount of time, typically costs more, and requires a space which can accommodate enough people.  Typically, CompuMentor recommends that each person receiving training have full-access to a computer during a training, and are not required to share with one or more others.

 

Online / book training:

If onsite training is not feasible, [ORGANIZATION] should consider training delivered over the web from the distance learning organizations such as the Isoph Institute. Reasonably priced online training is available for most common computer software and hardware. [ORGANIZATION] might consider making some trainings mandatory and producing a schedule to ensure everyone has a similar level of basic training.  [ORGANIZATION] may also consider investing in a set of training materials – books and pre-fabricated “cheat sheets� for commonly used applications.  These are readily available at most bookstores and online, although a physical reviewing of the book will be helpful to determine if it is at the right level for staff purposes.

 

Ongoing / Peer training:

CompuMentor recommends that [ORGANIZATION] encourage ongoing peer training.  Some employees know applications better than others. These staff members should be identified and time should be made available for these staff members to share their knowledge with colleagues.  Peer training can be an inexpensive way to deliver training and can improve the effectiveness of everyone.  Staff should also consider participating in online users groups and technology-related listservs, which is a cost effective way of maintaining technical knowledge and accessing resources when challenges arise.

 

POST-TRAINING SUPPORT

In addition to training, documentation should also be made available and its location should be communicated. Third-party books are often the best documentation for many software products. [ORGANIZATION] should make any printed documentation easily and quickly accessible to all users.

 

Considerations

[ORGANIZATION] should consider the cost of onsite training vs. online training. Onsite contract training can cost up to $1000 per day and it is often best delivered when users can have access to computers (such as in a lab environment). Online training delivered direct to a user’s computer is estimated at approximately $60 per course through the Isoph Institute with organizational discounts available upon request. 

 

Implementation Tasks – The following steps are required for implementing this recommendation.

 

The above estimates are for per staff person.  Modify staff hours and cost accordingly.

 

Resources

• Appendix B: see “Training & Documentationâ€? item for additional guidance.
• Isoph Institute – Provider of online training courses at reasonable prices (www.isophinstitute.com)
• TechSoup: “Technology Training: The Nonprofit Viewpointâ€? article discusses the need and value of training and common challenges at a non-profit.http://www.techsoup.org/articlepage.cfm?ArticleId=414&cg=searchterms&sg=training
• Compasspoint Training:  Compasspoint (www.compasspoint.org) offers classroom and onsite training workshops on a variety of software applications.
• TrainingPoint: A website which provides basic training documentation for non-profits on computer and application usage. (www.trainingpoint.org)
• TechAtlas: TechAtlas has tools to assist an organization with evaluating the level of training that is required for each staff member through its survey tools.http://www.techatlas.org
• DiscounTech: Skillsoft Online Training.  CompuMentor’s DiscounTech program offers Skillsoft’s online training courses at a substantial discount to non-profit organizations.http://www.techsoup.org/DiscounTech/Category.asp?catalog_name=TechSoupMain&category_name=Training&Page=1