There are many types of training that can be given. Some are noted below and they can be managed solely by designated training managers and / or Project Managers. It is important that training is given on any system deployed if the company wants to derive the best use out of it. End users who are poorly trained or lack the knowledge in the basic functionality will struggle to adapt and may subconsciously reject the system thus making it harder for it to be a success. Not all companies have training departments and training managers so Project Managers need to expect training to be meshed in with their other tasks.

• Train the trainer – vendors may use this type of training. Essentially it should be an intensive training given by vendor training manager to a designed trainer in the customer company. The output should be that the customer trainer should now be comfortable to train the end users within his/her company.

• Training manuals & user guides – These are an ideal aid to any end user and should contain step by step processes which are easy to follow and contain diagram and /or visual aids. Note that it is not a given that training manuals will accompany vendor systems and there can be an extra charge for receiving one. Also, it is not uncommon for client teams and/or Project Managers to be tasked with creating training and user manuals.

• Training videos – short incisive videos that showcase areas of functionality on systems is a useful form of training. Users can dip in and out of these at their will and watch again when needed.

• Demos – onsite or online/remote demos can form an interactive and enjoyable form of training. To get vendor training teams onsite in an organistation can be costly but if availablee should be accessed as face to face demos can force users to ask some insightful questions that they may not ask remotely. If sessions are remote the one advantage is that these can be recorded.

• Online training tutorials – Vendors may provide client users access to online training academy’s that provide tutorials via videos and step by step interactive guides. Whatever online training platform companies use it is vital for the training manager and / or Project Manager to make sure end users have access and know where to access valuable training materials. Videos, interactive quizzes, demos are all training products that if available should be availed off as they can be utilized in the end users own time.

• Intranet site – Most companies will have an intranet and invariably is the landing page you see when you login. If this is the case it is an ideal location to provide links to training platforms and training knowledge libraries whether managed internally or managed by a vendor externally. Links to videos, tutorials and key project online data can be easy assessable using this resource.

• Confluence & other communication tools – Confluence is a very useful document repository platform and communications platform for sharing project information. As it online and dynamic live updates can be fed to end users via email. This means updates don’t get missed and project stakeholders can be kept informed on important information. For training purposes slides, presentations and project documentation can be loaded and shared accordingly. SharePoint and Teams are other common repositories used but Confluence works the best.

• 1:1 training – It is very seldom that a vendor will offer 1:1 training as it is not cost effective for them. 1:1 training will most likely occur as part of internal training a trainer may give in house after a “train the trainer” session by the vendor. 1:1 training can be very useful as the end user gets the sole focus of the trainer and the recipient can go at his or her pace and ask as many questions as they want that may be specific to their role.

• On the job training – This is probably the most common type of training and essentially involves training from a colleague who is either leaving their current role and transitioning to another internal role or leaving the company. It is akin to a handover whereby the “on the job” trainer trains the person in for circa 4 to 6 weeks (can be any time period depending on the amount to be learnt) and then the end user running solo once confident that he or she can perform the tasks comfortably and also when the trainer has moved on has no mor capacity to train. It can be an effective way of training as it is less formal the other types and both parties can feel more comfortable in the delivery.