Five paths to simplifying instructor-led training

Here are two adjectives for Instructor-Led Training (ILT): “Effective”?and?“Expensive.”?

There’s no doubt that ILT is engaging for learners. But when it comes to delivering ILT (even virtually or remotely), too many organisations rely on manual processes to handle tasks like scheduling and operations. This creates inefficiencies—and worse still, it has a negative impact on training outcomes.?

Fortunately, there are many avenues to simplify complex and manual training operations.

Here are the five factors to consider:?

1. Session scheduling
2. Resource management
3. Instructor collaboration
4. To-do lists and milestone tracking
5. Budgeting and reporting

These factors were discussed in a recent webinar with our partner, Training Orchestra, with Stephen Pineau (CEO, Training Orchestra), Peter Olyarchuk (Director, Training Management Solutions), and Kristy Holmes (Product Marketing Manager, Docebo). They looked at the latest industry trends in ILT and what can drive efficient scheduling and operations.

A full recording of this webinar is available to watch now. For the highlights, keep reading.

The state of ILT in 2023

It’s no secret—ILT is?costly. On average, industry findings suggest that ILT will take up?70%?of an organisations training budget! Still, many businesses accept these costs knowing that the positive outcomes outweigh the hefty price tag.

Industry findings also tell us:

• ILT is 2.8 times more effective than other forms of learning.
• ILT is growing. In 2023, two-thirds of organisations are expected to increase their usage of ILT.

So, the path forward is clear:?Organisations should embrace ILT…while also reducing the associated costs.

But how exactly can that be done? The key to this challenge can be found through simplifying scheduling and operations around ILT.

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If you’re not strategic, managing and running ILT can be a huge time sink.

Five reasons to simplify

Simply put, streamlining scheduling and operations for ILT sessions can yield impressive results like more efficient scheduling, better utilisation of classrooms, instructors, and other resources, a deeper roster of instructors, and more.

These benefits will also make a positive impact on the teams managing ILT. With more efficient use of their time and resources, teams can worry less about administration and instead?focus on their learning programs’ growth.

Let’s dive deeper into each benefit and discuss the best practices to achieve them.

Session scheduling

1. Sticking point:?Businesses often use applications and programs like XLS spreadsheets and Outlook to schedule their ILT sessions. However, for large organisations (and those looking to scale up), it’s incredibly time-consuming to schedule dozens, hundreds, or?thousands?of sessions over the weeks and months of a learning program. Especially if a session’s details need to be manually entered (again and again and again) each time it’s scheduled.
2. Simplify!?It’s vital to have the ability to schedule all ILT sessions in one place, along with bulk scheduling and other automation features. With features like session duplication, organisations can create templates for one type of ILT and then simply copy it for future sessions.

Resource management

1. Sticking point:?Just like with session scheduling, XLS spreadsheets and Outlook are often used to track management of resources. But these aren’t the most efficient programs for the job, especially when used to manage tasks that come with ILT, such as postponements, cancellations, or instructors who may be sick or unavailable. And often, a lot of these efforts get duplicated anyway, like having to set up registration all over again in a tool like Zoom.
2. Simplify!?It’s essential to have the ability to assign in-person classrooms, equipment, and virtual classrooms, all from one place. For example, a solid training management system will automatically flag if an instructor assigned to a session has become unavailable. This saves time in manually checking the status of different sessions, and it makes it far more likely that a replacement can be found easily.

Instructor collaboration

1. Sticking point?
2. Not only do organisations have to put in the work to identify the best available instructors (often with very specific skills), they also need to chase down these potential instructors and confirm their availability, fees, and more. This recruitment often requires repeated calls and emails, which makes this part of the process a big sink for time and resources.
3. Simplify!?Real-time collaboration with instructors is the answer, and it can be achieved with a training management system. Once instructor invites have been sent, the training management system can create a shortlist of appropriate instructors and SMEs for each type of session and request well-suited (and available) instructors when a session needs to be facilitated. Then, it can be as easy as an instructor pressing a button to apply, and—tada!—the instructor is confirmed and the session is ready to go.
4. Through an easy-to-use training management system, instructors can track their sessions and tasks (more on that next) so they can reap the benefits of a centralised, cohesive training management system just as much as the organisation does. After all: If an instructor feels comfortable with the system, they’re more likely to stick around and facilitate more sessions.

To-do lists and milestone tracking

1. Sticking point??Each ILT session requires a long checklist of processes and procedures. Is the room prepared? Has the instructor been invited and confirmed? Will there be a follow-up email sent to participants? Often, these steps are created and listed ad hoc. This is messy and without any formal, centralised effort, it’s easy to miss a step (or two!).
2. Simplify!?With a milestone tracking dashboard, organisations can list the steps needed for each session, keep tabs on in-progress tasks, and check them off once completed. And by setting deadlines, an organisation can receive automatic reminders when a task is late. This helps to resolve potential bottlenecks quickly and effectively.

Budgeting and reporting

1. Sticking point??When creating reports is a manual process, it’s not always easy to get a clear picture of the costs associated with ILT. Without a cohesive training management system (like?Training Orchestra) organisations give up the benefits of a consolidated view of their training investments.
2. Simplify!?A training management system can allow an organisation to attach costs to each session, such as the price of a Zoom account or the instructor’s hourly rates. Then, it can consolidate these costs into a report that can be tracked against the budget and projected costs. This applies to all data in the system: Anything that can be measured—like how active a particular instructor is— can be made into a report.

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The solution was there all along.

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Simplify operations with Training Orchestra for Docebo

Through?Training Orchestra?you can connect your existing Docebo LMS to deliver ILT and virtual/remote ILT (vILT) seamlessly. Training Orchestra for Docebo is your key to simplifying your ILT’s scheduling and operations, and it can unlock:

• 10-20% savings on a typical training budget.
• A 4x increase in knowledge retention by assigning the best instructors for each session.
• 20-30% improved resource efficiency by improving instructor utilisation.
• A 20:1 reduction in admin time needed to manage training operations.

Imagine what you could do with 20% cost savings and a 20:1 reduction in admin work.?Schedule a demo?with Training Orchestra today.

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Want more? Watch the webinar.

Get the full background by watching the recording of the one-hour webinar,?Managing Instructor-Led Training: Power-Up Your Scheduling & Operations?HERE.?

And if you aren’t already using Docebo LMS, you’ll want to?try a demo?of the world’s most powerful learning platform.

Besides letting you take advantage of ILT-boosting features and Training Orchestra’s Training Management System, Docebo lets you browse thousands of world-class courses and license the?content?your learners need. Or create beautiful, effective content yourself with?generative AI.?

You can?connect your learners to their team?and help empower the experts in your organisation. And you can integrate learning into the?flow of work?and the systems you already use. But the real magic is this:

• A great LMS (like Docebo) uses?data to prove the impact?of learning.
• It can show you which courses have the biggest effect on ramp time and retention. It can show you the users and learners who produce the most useful content.
• It can deliver personalised learning to every user, so they get a tailored learning experience built just for them—starting from their very first day