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Browsing through any number of training provider websites, you simply cannot avoid seeing solutions described as either tailored or fully bespoke.  Those words are everywhere and in many cases they are used to describe exactly the same thing.  Now, I’ve no doubt been guilty of this myself but it was only following a recent experience from a genuine tailor that I actually began to consider what their real meaning is and how as a training provider we need to clarify the difference.

For my 40^th birthday, I’d always promised myself a properly tailored suit.   An introduction to the excellent Boland & Banks (www.bolandandbanks.com) got things going and a few weeks later I was proudly sporting a fantastic looking new suit.  Was it, however, tailored or fully bespoke?  A quick look at the industry definitions might help us here:

“A tailored suit is cut, usually by machine, from an existing pattern, and adjusted according to the customer’s measurements,” while “a fully bespoke suit would be hand-made and the pattern cut from scratch, with an intermediary baste stage which involved a first fitting so that adjustments could be made to a half-made suit.”

That also neatly sums up the key differences between tailored and fully bespoke training solutions.  A tailored solution still requires pre-course consultancy to understand individual and organisational objectives, as well as the subsequent refinement of content to reflect these.   A fully bespoke solution on the other hand, would involve much greater analysis of the current requirement, followed by the design of a solution that includes completely unique content.

It’s also worth considering that Phoenix never charge for simply tailoring a course – it’s an essential part of any effective solution without which, relevance and results are impossible to achieve.  We do however charge clients for fully bespoke work, but equally, we are very clear on exactly what a client is paying for.  Our embedded consultancy approach, where we work on a client’s site, is a great example of this.

With such pressure on budgets, I would urge any buyers of training to think very carefully about whether they need a tailored or a fully bespoke solution and also to make sure that their chosen provider is accountable throughout the design process.

And in case you were wondering, my suit was tailored.  It still looks great and cost a lot less than the fully bespoke option!

There is little doubt that to develop & design a comprehensive programme is more time consuming than when working on a one off event. However, by spending genuine quality time in accurately understanding and identifying your training requirements you will almost always guarantee higher returns for the business.

To get a clear understanding of your company’s behavioural and cultural background and the challenges you are currently facing, we recommend that the Learning consultant actually spends most of their development time on site – “embedded” if you like – so that they are almost viewed as part of your organisation. This not only helps them to see at first hand where the challenges are, but also goes a long way to achieving participant buy in.  In our experience, participants are much more likely to respond positively to the training if they feel their input is valued and they are familiar with the trainer and his or her way of working.  If you’re going to pay for development work – make sure you can see or hear what you’re getting!

Once delivery begins, any effective ongoing programme should ensure a much more sustainable learning experience. We recommend that each module is delivered every 4-6 weeks, which allows enough time to put into practice what has been learnt back at work whilst still being close enough to keep the momentum and motivation going. We also encourage participants to keep a learning diary in between modules which helps them remain focused, as well as providing great points for review (successes and failures) at the next session.

Before committing to such a major investment, it’s always worth considering how will you actually support the programme internally? One way of doing this really effectively is by conducting a Senior Management Master Class before the programme actually begins.  This will not only provide this key group with an overview of the tools & techniques used on the programme but will also provide them with some clear guidelines on what they can do before, during and after each event to help their colleagues get the most out of it.  In our experience, doing it in this way makes a massive difference.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that we’ll also support you at every stage, ensuring that you get exactly the results you were aiming for.  It takes a bit more planning, but for the right type of organisation, a management or leadership development programme can deliver the most effective learning experience.

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At Phoenix we always place a great emphasis on understanding exactly what it is our clients are trying to achieve.  This part of the training process is so valuable and yet it is so rarely done as effectively as it might.  At best, it involves a meeting with a selection of key stakeholders, whereupon broad objectives are agreed and content is designed around these.  In many cases it is simply based upon managerial observations and anecdotal feedback which does not always get to the root of the real development issues.  What’s more, the participants themselves are rarely involved in this process which is also not ideal.  By consulting with at least some of those who will actually be attending the training, you not only get a better chance of designing something relevant but also of establishing participant “buy-in”.

This is a particular concern when designing content for telephone sales workshops.  We are often told that the participants need help on a particular skill – for example, closing, negotiating or questioning.  No problem – we’ll design something around these and in many cases, what we design will work pretty effectively and provide the participants with some key tools and techniques that will improve their results.  But how much better could it have been, had we been able to do some real analysis and actually listen to the quality of calls that the participants have been making to their potential or existing clients.

Call recording equipment has been around for many years, however, it is expensive to install and has usually only been utilised at larger call centre operations.  Improved technology has however now made it very easy for any type of organisation to benefit from call recording and here at Phoenix, we have really begun to see just how useful it can be.  Phonecoach provide a very straightforward system which enables call recording simply by adding a prefix to the number dialled – there’s no hardware involved and all the recorded calls are automatically saved as MP3 files.

By being able to listen to exactly what is being said, by both sales person and customer, we are in a much better position to identify what’s working and what skills need further developing.  From a design point of view this “reality check” enables us to focus only on those areas that really need it, ensuring that the training is lean and extremely relevant.  Where appropriate, we can even use the recorded calls to illustrate key learning points during the training itself – which can also be very powerful for the participants.

For just £24 + vat, we can record up to 500 minutes of calls, which is usually enough to get a good selection of a team’s telephone sales activity over a week or so.  After some thorough analysis, we report our findings back to the client and only then, will we design a course based on what’s actually happening.  This ensures that any sloppy techniques can be instantly identified & addressed, leading to a direct impact on an individual’s sales performance. Which is, after all, exactly what any high quality sales training should do.

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I’m often asked by potential customers, what exactly are the key differences between open and tailored training. This got me thinking that it might be useful to develop a quick reference guide that will help you make a more informed decision.

Open Courses

1. Open courses provide the participants with a brilliant overview of their chosen subject – whether it’s Introduction to Sales, Essential Management or Inspirational Leadership.
2. Open courses enable you to work alongside individuals from different industries but often with very similar concerns. They also provide you with great networking opportunities!
3. Open courses provide an off site learning environment to discuss openly challenges & concerns which in some cases individuals feel more open to talk about when not in the company of colleagues.
4. Open courses represent a highly cost effective solution where only one or two individuals require development in a particular area.
5. Open courses give individuals a new set of skills and the opportunity to practice them in a ‘safe’ environment and build their confidence to apply the newly learnt skills back in their own workplace.

Tailored Training

1. Tailored training provides you with a comprehensive training needs analysis conducted in advance of any events we deliver on your behalf.
2. Tailored training enables us to include a wide range of disciplines within a single given event.
3. Tailored training will meet a specific requirement through the unique design to match the objectives of the individual or group.
4. Tailored training offers the possibility to design a specific programme for the whole organisation where everyone will be involved, this enables lasting change which is encouraged and supported internally & externally.
5. Tailored training can be designed specifically to a given company and industry with a choice of ‘best fit’ Learning Consultant
6. Tailored Training allows more flexibility with training dates and location.

I hope this was useful and if you would like to discuss either option in more detail please get in touch and I will be delighted to help.