What to check before you appoint a training provider

Training is one of the easier things to buy badly. The product is invisible until it has been consumed, the quality varies enormously between facilitators at the same provider, and most of the signals buyers rely on are decorative.

Start with the facilitator, not the company. Ask who specifically will deliver, what they did before they taught, and when they last did the job for real. A provider that will not name the facilitator before you sign is telling you they do not know yet, which means they are going to find somebody after they have your money.

Ask what delegates will actually produce. Not what topics are covered, what leaves the room. If the honest answer is notes, the course is a lecture with catering.

Check the accreditation claim carefully, and check what it actually covers. Plenty of providers hold an accreditation for one programme and let the impression spread across the catalogue. Ask which specific course is accredited, by whom, and to what level. If your requirement is an accredited qualification, get that in writing before a purchase order is raised, because an attendance certificate will not satisfy it.

Ask about group size and what happens if the public course does not fill. A provider who cancels three days out has cost you flights and diary time. One that runs a course of two delegates has taken your money for something that is no longer the thing you bought.

Ask for the cancellation and substitution terms before you commit, not after. Substitution should be free and simple. If it is not, ask why.

Finally, ask the provider where they are not the right answer. Everybody can answer the first five questions well. The ones worth working with can answer this one.