The first step to finding a good training or development opportunity for your employees or yourself is to identify what knowledge or skill you are hoping to learn, practice, or improve on. Supervisors can look at employee performance or professional development goals, department strategic goals, process or technology changes, potential succession plans, or customer service/student surveys and feedback for inspiration on what topic or concept would be most beneficial to focus on.
The second step is to select what kind of training or development opportunity you want, or would be best, for your team and the identified need. The modality or type of training can take many forms, here are some questions that help you can decide what might be the best fit:
- Do I want something asynchronous (everyone completes at different times) or synchronous (everyone completes at the same time)?
- Do I want something virtual, in-person, or blended?
- How much can we devote to this opportunity?
- Do we want to facilitate this in-house (led or facilitated by you) or seek outside facilitation (someone else in the department, at the university, or external)?
- What is the specific goal for this opportunity and how will I know if the opportunity was successful?
- What type of training or development is best for the needs of my staff/team?
The third step is to explore your available resources. This will allow you to either recommend an opportunity from an existing resource or program, identify a new opportunity internally or externally, or create your own opportunity. Some starting places for finding or developing a training and development opportunity include:
By identifying the training or development need, establishing the expectations and requirements, and researching concepts and programs through the mediums available to you, you will be equipped with the basic information needed to find meaningful and relevant training and development opportunities for both you and your employees.