How to create an effective training program for your company

Leadership and Management Career Development

Oct 17 2022, 12:56 PM5 min read

To keep on top of constant change within our profession, procurement and supply chain must ensure its teams are equipped to tackle whatever challenges they may face. With this in mind, here are our tips for creating effective training programs.

Creating an effective training program that upskills your team is essential to increasing productivity and your business’ bottom line.

According to UK Government figures from November 2020, the UK invested £42 billion in training every year, with an average spend of £1,530 per employee. It’s worth noting that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how much your company is likely to spend in its training budget.

Creating an effective training program can be expensive and time-consuming, but the benefits are worth it in the long run for your procurement company.

Here’s how you can create a training program that can help your team overcome any challenges that they may face.

Before developing a training program, assess your team’s strengths and weaknesses

It’s imperative you know your team’s strengths and weaknesses to recognise any skills gaps. Surveys, in-person interviews, and employee performance evaluations are all worth using in your company’s skills assessment.

While skills assessments can be conducted in-house by your fellow employees, they can also be done by a third-party.

Ensure that any assessments are tailored to your business’ requirements. You might include topics such as category management, data analysis, communication, and negotiation skills.

By recognising the strengths and weaknesses that your employees have, it’ll help ensure that any gaps are addressed within the training program itself.

Think about how training materials can be shared with your team

After you’ve conducted the skills assessment with your team, it’s worth thinking about how to present the training materials to your employees. If you have the bandwidth, you can also utilise results from the skills assessment to assist in developing individual training plans for each employee.

When deploying the training program, consider the format your company is going to use. Will the program be done in-person or online through a learning management system? Whichever platform you decide to use will play a pivotal role in developing the necessary materials.

Perhaps the training program could be presented with prerequisite courses and additional key learning areas for employees who want to upskill in other ways. This would enable employees to build on existing skills, while also gaining new knowledge as the program progresses.

Develop learning objectives for both the business and employees

It’s crucial when creating a training program for your procurement company, it has well-developed learning objectives. Without clear learning objectives, it can be difficult to know which direction to take and the whole program may fall apart.

Learning objectives need to be signposted throughout the training program. They should be clearly laid out module by module so that employees can focus more effectively on obtaining new skills or knowledge to help them perform better.

Not only will a well-designed training program save you time and money and deliver its objectives efficiently, it will also provide a good model for developing future programs and building on prior accomplishments.

Begin implementing your company’s employee training program

Once you’ve been given the sign off from your company, you can start to implement the training program.

When new employees begin, a well-designed training program will help them settle in, instil values, lay solid foundations, and establish vital procedures, routine operations, and health and safety protocols.

Such thorough initiation helps employees to feel welcome, accepted and capable, and increases the likelihood of their remaining at your company for the long-term.

As employees complete each program, you should provide them with feedback on each course and sign it off once they’ve finished it. It’s vital you monitor this preliminary progress to intervene where necessary and ensure essential skills are mastered before building on them.

Review your training program regularly

Ensure all training material is up-to-date and regularly completed. It may need redundant modules cut or extra flexibility embedded.

To determine this, collate feedback from employees in your procurement team or department who have already completed the training program as a highly effective gauge of its efficacy.

There are a few ways that you could measure how effective your training program is amongst your employees. Monitor employee productivity before and after the program, as well as any increase or decrease in supply chain efficiency.

Training resources you can utilise on Procurious:

Procurious has a number of training resources readily available for you and your team to utilise when planning your own training courses or looking to upskill in particular areas.

Introduction to Procurement Video Series (view here)
This 12-module learning series will introduce you to the profession of Procurement, give you an understanding of the pivotal role Procurement plays within an organisation, and the core skillset you need to be a successful Procurement professional.
BRAVO Women In Procurement & Supply Chain Leadership Program (view here)
Kickstart your BRAVO journey with our half-day virtual event, where we’ll bring together a selection of female experts from both inside and outside of procurement to talk openly and honestly about the issues that matter. Then, join our 2023 program to discover the framework and support to take your career to new heights.
Procurious Events (view here)
Throughout the year Procurious hosts a variety of events in a variety of timezones covering everything from your career, to personal development and more. Click the link above to view our ever-expanding calendar of events.
Level Up Your Data IQ Video Podcast Series (view here)
In this series of five video podcasts, developed with SpendHQ, you’ll hear from procurement professionals who will unpack how ‘Leveling Up’ your Data IQ is critical to success in procurement. The ‘Level Up’ your Data IQ podcasts help you derive actionable insights from your spend data and build plans for effective sourcing programs, stronger negotiations, impactful supplier diversity programs, and more.
Procurious Whitepapers and Resources (view here)
From the biggest risks currently facing supply chain to the pressures impacting procurement in 2023, Procurious is at the forefront of procurement and supply chain around the globe, and we utilise the knowledge and experience of our vast networks to ensure you have all the information you need to do your job effectively.
Major Tech Fails Podcast Series (view here)
Major Tech Fails – produced in partnership with internationally renowned supply chain consultancy RiseNow – sees Matt Stewart, Managing Partner at RiseNow, share the wisdom and knowledge he has gained after completing more than 200 SaaS-based procurement transformation implementations

Procurement professionals, what were your experiences of designing, creating and delivering a training programme for your employees? Did it boost productivity and generate results for your company’s procurement and supply chain department? Share your experiences of creating training programmes for procurement teams in the comments below.

Find more Career Development news, insights, and best practises at Procurious.com.