The Awesome Sarah Hardy from ‘The Northern Sydney Institute’. She has been a great partner of our 4Networking Groups and has amazing training knowledge at the Enterprise Level. Enjoy her Guest Blog!
Right here at “The Edward Files” I am lucky to have the fantastic Sarah Hardy from The Northern Sydney Institute (part of TAFE NSW) Guest Blog for us. I have known Sarah Hardy for a few years, she has been a great client and she is a “Business Capability Specialist”.
It’s her role to help the Business Community Train & Develop their people with the Premium Range of Courses and Thinking that TAFE has to offer. From simple short courses, to even Degrees – the practical training is very results and outcome driven.
In this Guest Blog, Sarah Hardy shares some objective thoughts on selecting a Training Provider for yourself and your staff in the context of running a business.
I found it very informative and I trust you awesome people will too!
“The 4 Stages of Talent Development – Define, Design, Delivery & Results” by Sarah Hardy:
I am truly passionate about training & talent development and would like to share my thoughts with you and hopefully enable you to support your business growth along the way. Many training organisations will over complicate things whilst explaining the process of talent development. To me, it is simple – there are 4 primary stages:
DEFINE:
Defining exactly what your organisational talent development requirements are is the first important stage. This can be done on your business as a whole, a particular team or selected individuals if you prefer. Get this stage wrong, and any development you do invest in will not achieve results for your organisation. This will result in the development of a business workforce capability diagnostic and will form the basis of your Training Needs Analysis (TNA). Depending on how complex your organisation is will depend on the complexity of your TNA.
DESIGN:
Making sure that your staff are equipped with the specific skills your business needs to support growth will be critical part of your long term success. One size does not fit all when it comes to talent development and organisational training needs. Off the shelf solutions may fill some gaps but if you want to get it right and gain more return from your investment, I would advise working with a good Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to design a tailored solution for you. You will want your solution to be timely, cost-effective, and performance enhancing so that your business needs are actually met and it is not just a stop gap solution. The sustainability and success of any organisation is largely due to the capability of its workforce. Continually updating, developing their skills to meet the changing needs of your business will contribute to long term growth for your business, so making sure your design is the right fit, is critical!
DELIVER:
You need to ensure that you are comfortable with their credentials and that their products meet with specific needs of your business. Solutions can include off the shelf products, tailored program, full qualifications, workshops or skills sets, accredited or non-accredited – depending on the outcome of the TNA. Ensuring that there is flexibility in delivery is also a key component – depending on the nature of the training, delivery can be delivered face to face, online, or blended and/or with the option of recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) if you like and should have the ability to work around your organisation and minimise the impact on your operations. You should also have the option of on-site delivery where appropriate.
DRIVE RESULTS:
The outcome of any training/talent development you invest in should have a positive effect on your business. The importance of maximising the value of your investment is critical to success. If the training is aligned directly to your current and/or emerging needs and is supported with some coaching by you to ensure that your staff is applying what they have learnt, the return will be measurable. Use targets to measure improvement in employee duties and track performance and make comparison to previous data.
A strong talent development plan, along with other strategies, including ensuring employees feel valued, allowing staff to contribute with new ideas and participate in change will also assist in an organisation becoming a High Performing Organisation and will support growth into the future!
Sarah Hardy – Business Capability Specialist
Sales and Customer Experience Team
The Northern Sydney Institute – part of TAFE NSW
Tel: (02) 9472 1247 (Ext: 21247)
sarah.hardy8@tafensw.edu.au
Edward’s Post Article Commentary:
Sarah Hardy totally rocks and I love her work. Objective, Real and Direct – it’s good to really think through your own Personal / Staff Requirements very carefully so it delivers what you want. Contact her if you have any questions and love your work from Edward Zia – Marketing Mentor & Crazy Persian who loves Training!
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