From our side of the table, there are definitely some briefings that are far better than others. They are richer, they simply get more from us by giving us better caliber information to work with. And then there are briefings when we end the discussion looking at each other in silent dissatisfaction.
Let’s define the context very clearly before we continue – this isn’t ‘how to write a strong RFP/RFI’. This isn’t about getting to know a vendor’s capabilities in general.
This is for when you’ve got a training problem or requirement on your hands and you’re about to speak to training vendors. You’re likely the L&D person in your organization or one of your responsibilities is training and training outsourcing.
Here are 7 tips (plus a bonus!) for how you can set up your briefings to give more usable information for a stronger design response.
Do emphasize what you need rather than the process to do it
When we go to a doctor, we don’t tell them the kind of diagnostic tests they should use. We tell them we want to have input on major decisions because we have very particular needs and constraints. And we are clear and open about those needs and constraints (we are allergic to something, can’t afford something, had a bad reaction to something else, etc.).
Really, the same dynamic should apply when speaking to a training vendor. Tell them what you need, not how to get there – that’s their problem, their business to figure out. By all means feel free to ask for a collaborative process where you can get enough opportunities to involve your various stakeholders. Ask for adequate rounds of review.
But if you focus on how you want Agile development or how you’re all about Rapid Prototyping, it kind of misses the point. When the bill comes, does it matter that the development was pure Agile if the learning impact is missing?
Vendors have preferences for processes and train their staff accordingly (just as your company does). They’re not going to change their core process a 100% and turn their business model inside out for one client, or even one relationship. A design brief that harps on process is wasting time discussing something that shouldn’t be as much of a priority, and is deprioritizing something else that is vital.
Do keep an open mind and free our hands when it comes to the solution
You don’t tell a doctor that you should be given antibiotics! You trust the doctor to recommend the best treatment for the problem you’re having because your focus is on getting the problem fixed.
So, we urge you, please don’t freeze on the training modality even before briefing the vendor. Let them do their jobs and come up with the best solution for your needs. What does this mean? It means, don’t already be married to the idea of microlearning or a VILT at the briefing.
You can always say you’re leaning towards a particular kind of solution because of X or Y reasons – and that’s a great, specific conversation to have, to validate constraints and explore specific possibilities.
There may be a better way to do something that the vendor can think of but doesn’t have space to suggest because they don’t want to rock the boat for you. You’re paying experts so consider giving them space to offer you the full benefit of their expertise – especially at the start when it’s for free!
Do tap into your firsthand knowledge to provide informative rather than vague answers
You never just tell a doctor vaguely that you’re “not feeling good overall”. You amplify and offer examples of the symptoms. You mention instances. You grimace and get poetically descriptive! It all helps.
A decent vendor will always do some preparation before showing up for the conversation. You don’t have to waste your time in the briefing to explain the general lines of business or to give a history of your company (as long as this can reasonably be found online). Rather, use your time to tell us the specific stuff we can’t find out as external parties.
Don’t tell us a training is for everyone – and, our hot favorite – that people ‘just have to know’ this. We appreciate that they have to know or you wouldn’t be spending money on informing them. The questions are how do you want them to use the information, what change do you want to see in your business? What behaviors should people exhibit for you to consider the training effective and successful? Tell us about what business metrics you would expect to see changes in, or what you track about learners’ performance.
We don’t know these things – but you do, by virtue of being part of the organization, you can find out these answers to make the briefing much richer. On the subject of answers, there’s another tip…
Do have an actual conversation with us – don’t bat us away!
You may phone the doctor to set up an appointment but beyond a point, insisting on talking on the phone and not letting the doctor check you is counter-productive.
How does this translate to a vendor design briefing?
It’s quite popular to ask for a list of queries over email. By all means, do ask for an idea of the kind of questions that will be asked during the briefing to decide whom you want to involve in the meeting, or to put together some of the information you need to provide.
But ideally, don’t ask for the whole thing to happen only over emails. We’ll never ask you everything because people usually hate being hit with lengthy queries. We are going to omit some questions, and we will miss out on the organic discoveries and follow-ups that can happen in a conversation. This has a definite impact on the design and the solution.
Do weigh the cost-benefits of a constraint before enforcing it
Back to the doctor. You may say that you have severe acidity so you’re not so keen on taking a particular medication. And a good doctor will try to accommodate that and think of an alternative as far as that’s possible; or they will explain why the benefits in this case are still so significant that it may be worth the discomfort.
Many in-house L&D teams are understaffed, time-crunched and swamped. You know and the vendors know, that you’re not going to get into maintaining courses and updating them. Then, don’t insist on maintainability or the use of only your in-house tools. If it’s not a proprietary tool, the vendor isn’t potentially holding you hostage – you can still outsource maintenance to any training company tomorrow. If they can present a good set of reasons for why a different tool than the one you’re used to might be more effective, do consider hearing them out before treating it as a condition set in stone.
It’s the same with use of particular media – or asking for responsiveness. If your application screens are simply not legible on a mobile phone, don’t insist on a responsive course for that particular training. There are always design trade-offs to be made. We should make sure that the trade-offs are optimal for you, rather than just what’s easier to negotiate with you.
Do show us examples rather than tell us buzzwords
(Changing it up this time, no doctor!)
It’s one thing to show your hair stylist the kind of haircut you want and what you like and dislike about it. “I like this one, I think it looks youthful. But I’m not hot on the amount of hair product they’ve used here.” Now instead, picture sitting in the chair and reciting buzzwords at the stylist in the mirror: “I want cutting edge fashion!” “Make me trendy!”.
Design briefings that stop at “make this interactive” or “I want it to be engaging” are ineffective. So, what else can you say? – Did you see a particular training that you’ve found to be very impactful in your company? Or do you presently have a training that you can show a few screens of and explain what’s not gotten good feedback? Help us understand what you mean by ‘best in class’, ‘level 2’ or ‘boring’ because these are highly subjective descriptions.
If you don’t have training samples to share from your organization, check out the vendors’ website – most of us have portfolios and work samples online to help you out.
Do give us actual feedback and not your personal preferences
One person prefers reading. Another prefers to listen to podcasts. One person has an inclination for deep learning. Another person wants to be able to just learn the bare minimum to get the job done.
We cannot base design choices on a foundation of a single person’s preference because preferences vary so much from person to person. And, as studies have found repeatedly, just because we think something is appealing, it doesn’t make it better teaching or boost the outcomes.
On the other hand, if you tell us most people didn’t complete a training because they found it too long and disconnected from their jobs, that’s feedback we can use as input for the new design. Or, maybe you could share if most learners seem to access the material when they’re commuting – and that it tends to be under noisy conditions.
Useful information is not always quantitative and statistical. It can be even preferences and experiences that apply to the larger group, as a whole. The sample size considered just has to be big enough to be representative, and not a sample size of one individual or a tiny L&D team.
To wrap up, here’s just one really great thing to do! –
Do make us fall in love!
Your training vendors are still human. If you get them enthused, you’ll likely get more inspired, better solutions. Help us see why some learning is important to the company, even if that seems obvious to you.
For example, a code of conduct training? Tell us examples to illustrate how seriously you take violations and how seriously you support people to learn. Give us examples of your initiatives – it’s okay even if those are not training-related, as long as they illustrate the kind of organization you are, the kind of culture you have, the importance you give the subject of the training…
If you already sound bored and very obviously like you’re only after a token kind of training, you’ll get solutions of just that caliber as well. Design is a very collaborative, human-oriented process. If the first level of human(s) that the design is for are unwilling to collaborate, it is not going to go well.
And that’s a wrap – at least for now!
Written by Mridula R., Principal Learning Consultant @ Learnnovators
