In a lot of ways, a training lead is a project manager. As training lead on a large project, you manage multiple tasks that must happen in sequence or simultaneously, with dependencies that you may ro may not have control over.
My approach in planning training is to, using the words of Stephen Covey, begin with the end in mind. I start with the date when the new system / process / tool will be in use, typically called a ‘go-live’ date. I then work backwards on the project plan to determine when everything needs to happen in order to make that go-live date a reality. No easy feat.
For example, training manuals must be printed before training delivery begins, that of course, is dependent on the manuals being approved, which is dependent on the manuals being created, which is dependent on the technology being developed and available.
I follow a similar trail for training registration. In order to open registration, I would typically need to have all the courses being offered available on a training calendar or in a learning management system. In order to do that, a calendar needs to be created. That sounds simple, but I have found that scheduling 75 courses for 20 locations who are sharing trainers and computers is more complicated than sending a rocket to the moon.
Add to the fact that everytime you change one location’s schedule - because five of the eight people who need to attend training all decided to go to Maui the week you scheduled them for - you need to change a couple other schedules as well because a trainer can’t be in two places at the same time, and you have a potential recipe for disaster.
All of this of course implies that prior to scheduling, you should have trainers lined up, rooms booked and computers reserved. And in order to line up trainers, you need to create a curriculum that details what courses the trainers will be teaching, etc. etc.
Because of this intricate pattern of dependencies, it is common for me often to begin planning and preparing for a training program a full year before a single student steps into a training room.
I have used this painfully detailed training project plan template for many years to plan my training programs. It helps me keep an eye on multiple tasks that are happening at the same time, and manage those challenging dependencies.
