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Start with the Web. Do a search, and visit the Web sites of the
computer-training firms that interest you. Are their websites informative and
easy to use? Will you feel comfortable sending your employees there to gather
information and to register for classes?
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Call the various
firms to limit your search. Are they knowledgeable, helpful and polite on the
phone?
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Meet with
representatives of the firm at the facility. Does it feel like an environment
where your employees will be able to learn? Is it clean, professional and
comfortable? How are you treated while you are there?
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Observe classes in
progress. This is the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of a training
company. You need to see their service in progress to truly know how good it
is.
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Ask about the
experience levels of the instructors, and whether they are certified by
Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, or other appropriate software manufacturers. The
best training companies will have alliances/partnerships with the major
software manufacturers and be recommended by them as a result.
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Ask
about instructor and employee turnover at the firms you are considering. The
lower the turnover the easier it will be to work with the company.
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Find out what
services the company offers in conjunction with the training (ie. tutoring,
consulting, free technical support).
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Ask
about the number of students in each class. A maximum of 12 is recommended.
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Beware the lowest cost provider. When the prices are lowest, the class sizes
are often the highest and the quality of instruction lowest.
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Find out if the provider asks the students to fill out evaluations at the end
of the class and if you will be able to see those filled out by your
employees. The best training companies will share the evaluations with the
training coordinators for their client companies so they can see the value of
their investment.
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Find out what their cancellation policy is if you need to cancel or reschedule
a class.
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Ask
how often classes are cancelled by the provider and how far in advance the
student would be notified if a class is cancelled.
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Ask
what types of procedures they have in place to insure that classrooms are
setup and computer systems are working properly. Training firms with good
checks and balances in place are likely to create a better learning
environment than those that don’t.
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Ask
to see a sample of some of their curriculum. If possible, ask someone with
some experience with learning materials to evaluate it to determine if it
meets the needs of your employees.
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Ask
if they have a guarantee. A good training company should have a guarantee for
their training.
