The questions everyone wants to know the answer to are: who is the best provider and what does it cost?
The answer is: they are both trick questions.
Each is easy to answer if you do not care about the outcome other than the cost and being able to check the “training complete” box on a to-do list. However, the answers are not at all straight forward if you actually want to deliver the outcomes envisioned by the client (internal or external).
My purpose here is to draw back the curtain and expose the wizard so that you are better equipped to:
• Understand more of what is available and how it may relate to your organizational needs,
• Ask the right questions and lead the procurement process rather than being sold to,
• Better position yourself to define the project scope so that it both satisfies your needs and is within budget for money and nonmonetary resources,
• Keep with best learning practices and are capable of returning the knowledge transfer results and true ROI your organization expects,
• Identify the questions you need to ask, and
• Develop some expectations as to how your questions should be answered in order to demonstrate that the solution provided will meet your financial and outcome requirements.