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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 40th 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!
