Outsourced! THREE reasons outsourcing is not a dirty word when it comes to training and development

These days, OUTSOURCED is a pretty dirty word.  More on that in a moment.  But first, a story.

I had a small group meeting today with a few of the leaders in my Leader on Loan program at Panera to work on some project development issues.  If you are not familiar with the concept of "Leader on Loan", it is a brilliant combination of professional training + volunteering for the United Way.  This group is "on loan" for a seventh month period where they meet monthly (and sometimes twice a month) to participate in group workshop training on important issues surrounding their professional development + work on United Way Projects as volunteers.

That leads me back to this morning's tete a tete.  In the course of our conversation unfolding, one of the group members took a minute to blow off some steam.  He works in a high pressure, high stress, high burnout industry and on this particular day, the four or so hours he worked before meeting with us had felt like 40 hours due to some unexpected issues that arose.  We listened sympathetically and responded when needed but I knew our responses were neither here nor there--he just needed to unwind a minute.  And we let him.

Why should you outsource your T&D program?  

GREAT Question.

The above scenario starts our list off

REASON #1:
An OUTSIDER is not politically connected to the inner-workings of your organization.  One of the best parts of what I do is developing relationships with people who long for an ear to listen.  Everyone has problems, frustrations and gripes. As I build trust with them, they in turn trust me enough to reveal some of their disappointments and issues in their professional (and sometimes their personal) life.  I do not EVER throw them under the bus, reveal their conversations to others or play the role of problem solver.  I just LISTEN.  As an employer, it is easy to feel threatened by that.  "I don't want my people bitching and moaning to you" but let me assure you--it is a valuable outlet for them AND for you.  That's leads me to reason #2.

REASON #2:
Through these interactions, conversations and reveals I am able to really take the temperature of an organization and it makes what I do BETTER because I see where there is a TRUE need in the organization making your investment that much more worthwhile!  Trust me on this one: my conversations are a far better thermometer than the yearly employee survey.  Why? Because employees don't like surveys.  People in general don't like surveys.  Know what they do like?  Having someone LISTEN to them!

REASON #3:
BEST PRACTICES from beyond your industry.  People like me work with people like you, and Jim, and Sheila, and Mary, and Todd and Max and Marge.  With each new client we add new dimensions to our own set of best practices and if we are really good, we can apply and plug in those practices to your organization.  When a T&D program is driven internally it is easy to get stuck in a rut and think only from an organizational or industry perspective.  An OUTSIDER doesn't run that risk if we are doing our job right.

I am not suggesting you outsource ALL of your T&D but it is worth considering at least using an OUTSIDER to fulfill some of your ongoing T&D efforts.  These THREE reasons are just a start.  There are multiple benefits when you find and hire the right person to do the job.

Yes, outsourcing is a bad word when it comes to moving American Jobs overseas but in the case of T&D using an outside source to help your organization reach it's goals is a fantastic idea.

That deserves a SHAMON!