Introduction

At Learning Tree, we believe that what defines great training—and a great training provider—is how much more effective your people are when they return from their course. Ultimately, great training should energize and inspire attendees as well as provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to do their jobs successfully while making their organization stronger and more competitive.

Asking these Ten Questions of your training provider, whether current or prospective, will help ensure that you realize all the benefits you should expect from your training investment.

1 How can I be sure your training will increase my staff's productivity?

This should be the first question you ask. Because if your people aren't more productive after they've received training, there's no point in spending the time and money it takes to train them. Thousands of Learning Tree Course attendees have reported an average increase in post-course productivity of more than 30%. That's the kind of return you should expect from your training investment.

2 How often do you update your course content to ensure relevancy?

In today's work environment, there's one constant you can count on: change. If your training partner's courses are outdated, your organization will be left behind. Learning Tree updates its courses as many as six times each year to reflect the very latest in IT and management and workplace trends, so your people are learning what's relevant for businesses today.

3 How do you measure attendee satisfaction and respond to the results?

All training providers will tell you they're good. But at Learning Tree, it's our customers who consistently tell us that Learning Tree training was far more beneficial and far more valuable than training they experienced anywhere else. Customer feedback should always be referenced routinely to improve course content and delivery. Learning Tree conducts three separate assessments with each attendee and makes the results of those assessments available to our customers. The data collected is a critical component in Learning Tree's process of constantly improving its content, instructors and instructional design.

4 Is your course content original and free of vendor bias?

If you're asking Learning Tree, the answer is YES. Our course content is 100% unbiased, but that's not true for many other training providers. Unfortunately, some training providers offer courses geared more toward selling than educating. Even worse, there's no assurance that a vendor-based course is going to be forthcoming on all the aspects of its product, including its flaws. Since its first classes in 1974, Learning Tree has developed its content independently of all service, hardware and software vendors. Attendees get a clear, unbiased presentation that includes both the positive and negative aspects of the subject. Furthermore, Learning Tree Courses offer practical, real-world solutions that solve real-world problems.

5 Can you develop a scalable training program and execute it flawlessly?

No matter how many people you need to train, or where in the world they are located, it's critical that your training partner has the people and the infrastructure in place to seamlessly deliver the results you need—anywhere, anytime. Learning Tree has more than 625 professional instructors worldwide and has developed (and delivered) programs for customers in 54 countries around the globe. And now, no matter where your people are located, they can attend a course via AnyWare, our live, online, instructor led training delivery solution. With Learning Tree AnyWare™, attendees fully participate in a live, instructor led class from the office, from home, or anywhere at all—it's just like being in the actual classroom.

6 Are your courses eligible for college credit and professional certification?

Part of providing your staff with the best possible training is also giving them the opportunity to achieve their educational goals and further their careers. Learning Tree Courses are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education. In addition, members of the Learning Tree University Consortium™ accept our Courses toward fulfilling various degree and nondegree programs. Learning Tree Courses can be taken to achieve a wide variety of industry-based certifications, and Learning Tree's own Professional Certifications, as well as PMI, IIBA®, ITIL®, Cisco, Microsoft and CompTIA certifications.

7 Are your classroom environments equipped with state-of-the-art technologies?

Leading-edge instructional design depends on classrooms that use the same technology attendees use on the job. That's why Learning Tree invests in software and hardware that are consistent with today's high-tech work environments. Plus, we develop state-of-the-art presentation technology such as MagnaLearn®, our dynamic, instructional enhancement system that helps people learn faster and retain more. Our state-of-the-art classrooms enhance the adult learning experience.

8 Can you support a training program anywhere in the world?

Implementing a program with global reach has its own unique set of problems and obstacles, and it's not a job for amateurs. With operations in six countries on three continents, a global roster of over 625 instructors, and our live, online training option via AnyWare®, Learning Tree has the experience, the people and the infrastructure in place to deliver training programs literally anywhere in the world. Our many training options transcend geographic and cultural boundaries, and our course quality is consistently high regardless of where the course is delivered.

9 What are your instructors' qualifications, and how are they trained and evaluated?

Unless your instructor is highly trained, experienced and an expert in his or her subject matter, your people are not going to receive the highest quality training. Qualified, carefully-selected and highly trained instructors are essential to successful training. That's why Learning Tree painstakingly screens candidates and puts each one through an intensive professional development program before they teach a single course. Learning Tree instructors continue their professional development throughout their careers.

10 Can you guarantee that I will be satisfied with my training?

At Learning Tree, the answer is a resounding YES As training partners, we're in this together. You're investing time and money to train your staff, so why shouldn't your training partner ensure the results? For over 37 years, Learning Tree has delivered on this one guarantee: unless you feel 100% satisfied that Learning Tree delivered even more than you expected, there is no fee for your course attendance. Our Guarantee of Quality lets you experience the value of the course—and then pay only if you feel the course was well worth the fee. This is what you should expect from your training partner.

Learning Tree MagnaLearn® is a registered trademark of Learning Tree International in the United States, Canada, the European Community (covering the UK, Sweden and France) and Japan and is covered by one or more the following Patents: United States 7,058,891; 7,131,068; 7,134,079 and 7,454,708; South Africa 2005/09799; New Zealand 543740; Singapore 117251; India 222822; Canada 2,446,539 and 2,574,351; Mexico 258157; China ZL 200480014426.7; and Australia 2002310120 and 2005266901. Other Patents pending in EU, Canada, Japan, China (People's Republic), Israel, Hong Kong, Korea (Republic of), Norway, India and Australia.