Four Questions to Ask Before Choosing Your Training Provider + FREE checklist

Alexandra Kenney | Monday, March 2, 2020

Four Questions to Ask Before Choosing Your Training Provider + FREE checklist

Given the rate at which new innovations are developing every day, training has never been more important than it is now. And it’s never been more available either: A single Google search of “IT training providers” turns up some 850 million results. It can be overwhelming, because while it’s easy to find someone claiming to be a qualified training provider, you’re still facing an uphill climb when it comes to identifying the right provider with the right credentials for your organization’s needs. You also should consider how and when you want to train. If you're looking for a flexible approach then ExitCertified’s virtual training solution might be your best choice. It allows you to benefit from real-time, on-line, instructor-led training from the convenience of your office or home. 

The Benefits of Taking Virtual IT Training

Some of the benefits include eliminating the travel time and costs associated with training in a different city, the ability to enjoy the same certified course content as classroom training courses, and getting consistent high-quality instruction for your entire team - no matter where they are. With online training courses at ExitCertified you get a dynamic training solution that gives you the flexibility  to take IT training wherever you are and whenever you need to. Choosing this option makes sense for those who want flexible training options that meet the needs of any IT professional and organization. You can trust that courses are delivered by subject matter experts in a seamless online learning environment to get the training that fits your busy schedule. If your main objective is to train your employees as inexpensively as possible, you might be tempted by gray-market suppliers. But if you’re reading this article, it’s likely that you need a sustainable plan for the long term, and not just a quick fix. You need a provider that has the infrastructure to support your team’s skills development in a cost-effective way for years to come. Finding that provider starts with asking four key questions:

1. How Good is Their Reputation?

You might remember this famous cartoon from The New Yorker, where a pooch at a computer says to his buddy, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” That same principle holds true when you’re searching for a training provider. A slick website is no guarantee of the provider’s underlying quality.

To assess that quality accurately, you’ll have to do some investigating on your own. Ask the supplier to give you at least two references (and verify that the references themselves are credible). You’ll ask about the quality of the training, of course, but you’ll want to go deeper than that. Be sure to also ask about the quality of the customer service, and about the provider’s flexibility in pricing. Also consider the experience of the provider. For example, ExitCertified has been around since 2001 and is backed by Tech Data a company with 40+ years’ experience, but very few providers have that much history and support to back them up.

2. Do They Offer a Variety of Vendor-Certified Courses?

Training is cheaper when it’s not vendor-certified, but those savings come with a cost all their own, especially if your employees are pursuing certifications. If you choose a gray-market provider, your content might not reflect the latest verified updates from the vendor — and with technology evolving as rapidly as it is, that’s an unacceptable risk that your business, its reputation and its bottom line can’t afford to take.

ExitCertified offers more than 9,500 courses from dozens of leading brands, and we’re consistently named among the Top 20 IT Training Companies by TrainingIndustry.com. In fact, since 2001, we’ve delivered vendor-approved training to more than 125,000 students at over 2,500 organizations across North America.

3. How Flexible Are Their Delivery Options?

Quality training takes planning. A good provider will ask about your needs, your desired outcomes and the preferred learning style of your teams. Do you want employees to travel off site to an instructor-led classroom? Or would it be better if the trainer came to you? Or is self-paced online learning the best format for your organization’s needs?

In many cases, your employees simply can’t afford time away from the workplace. If that’s your challenge, how many solutions can your trainer provide? ExitCertified offers a range of delivery formats, both in person and online. Our in-person options include classes presented by our award-winning instructors, either in our classrooms or in private groups at the location of your choice. Our online options include self-paced On Demand Training as well as remote attendance in live classrooms through our exclusive Live Virtual video platform.

4. Are They Serious About Customer Support?

This is the aspect of training that nobody talks about, but poor customer support service can and should be a deal-breaker if you want to have a robust skills-development program. Your questions about customer support will naturally lead to many other questions. If students are struggling after the course ends, will anybody be there to help them? Will the students be properly equipped for certification exams? At ExitCertified, the answer to both questions is yes.

Good customer support also includes making life easier for the administrator — another challenge ExitCertified has solutions for. Through our Flex Account, you pay for a year of training in advance, giving you just one invoice, bulk-purchase savings and the freedom to allocate courses as you wish. Plus, with our Customer Enrollment Portal you have a dedicated platform where your employees can manage their own preapproved courses and learning plans, all under your oversight and control.

What to Consider When Choosing an IT Training Provider:

When it comes to training, there are dozens more questions you’ll want to ask, and a quality supplier will have no difficulty answering them. We’ve included some of those important questions about reputation, course quality, delivery options and customer service on our complimentary ExitCertified Training Provider Checklist, now available. Remember, consider a company with a good reputation, make sure there's a variety of vendor certified courses, confirm they have various delivery methods available, and find out if they're actively supporting their customers. 

ExitCertified Training Provider Checklist