Managing the Training and Development Function

Training and L&D managers, heads of training, and training center leaders

HR business partners and talent development specialists

Training coordinators, instructional designers, and program administrators

Finance partners, budget owners, and procurement leads for learning services

LMS administrators, learning technologists, and BI/analytics partners supporting L&D

Clarify the mission, scope, and value proposition of the training function within the organization

Conduct SWOT to inform strategy, portfolio mix, and service model

Define policies and procedures that standardize quality and protect the training function’s reputation

Build and defend a training budget using sound techniques, data, and KPIs

Evaluate training activities with multi-level methods including satisfaction and behavior transfer

Implement or optimize an LMS aligned to business requirements, adoption, and ROI targets

Establish a marketing and stakeholder engagement plan for the training function

Improvement roadmap with KPIs and governance routines

Managing the Training Sector

• Defining management and the mandate of the training department
• Core management functions applied to L&D (planning, organizing, leading, controlling)
• Personal capability assessment for training leaders and individual development plans
• Role of the training department in organizational performance and change agendas
• SWOT analysis to prioritize opportunities, risks, and service improvements

Managing Training Policies & Procedures

• Defining training policies, procedures, and standards of practice
• Reputation and credibility: service charters, SLAs, escalation and ethics
• Components of a comprehensive training plan (needs, objectives, modality, resources, KPIs)
• Partnering with training providers: selection, due diligence, quality assurance, contracts
• Internal marketing of the training function and stakeholder communication routines

Training Budget

• Ownership and accountability for budgets across HR, business units, and finance
• Budgeting techniques: bottom-up, zero-based, driver-based, rolling forecasts
• Measurement and budget data: cost per learner, cost-to-impact, utilization rates
• Budget KPIs: spend vs. plan, learning hours, completion, effectiveness, ROI indicators
• Tips for defending the budget: business case narratives, scenarios, and trade-off options

Evaluating the Training Function & Activities

• Why evaluate: compliance, quality, impact, and continuous improvement loops
• Key performance indicators for programs, portfolios, and providers
• Measuring employee satisfaction with the training function and service experience
• Evaluation methods: surveys, assessments, observations, workplace evidence, analytics
• Designing a satisfaction survey and evaluating transfer of behavior on the job

Implementing the LMS

• Purpose and importance of an LMS in the training operating model
• Common features: user management, catalogs, content types, assessments, reporting, integrations
• Business requirements: roles, compliance, multilingual needs, mobile, data and privacy
• Defining the selection process: RFI/RFP, scoring matrix, pilots, vendor due diligence
• Examples and comparison criteria: scalability, UX, analytics, interoperability, total cost

Strategic planning for the training function and stakeholder alignment

Policy design, quality standards, and provider governance

Budgeting, cost analysis, and ROI storytelling for decision-makers

Evaluation methods, survey design, and behavior transfer measurement

LMS selection, implementation, adoption, and data stewardship

Internal marketing, communication, and reputation management for L&D