Virtual training

How to Develop a Highly Effective Software Training Plan

The CloudShare Team

Dec 12, 2023 - 4 min read

Does your business have a corporate software training program? How well does that program align with your long-term business objectives? If your organization is anything like most, the answer is probably not well.

Alignment between training key performance indicators (KPIs) and business goals is more important than ever in the face of tightening budgets and increased competition. However, this appears to be something that very few businesses have managed to achieve.

In a recent survey of our users, for instance, only 20 percent of respondents viewed their training program as very well aligned with their business goals. The majority of respondents (66 percent) had KPIs that were only somewhat aligned, while 14 percent reported little to no business alignment. That’s a problem, and not just from a budgeting perspective.

Software training programs that fail to mesh with organizational objectives likely aren’t teaching participants everything they need to know.

So let’s say you’re one of the 66 percent (or worse, one of the 14 percent). What exactly can you do about it? The answer is simple – develop a plan.

Our Chief Marketing Officer, Annie Reiss, recently co-hosted a webinar with L&D champion Brenna Strickland on what that involves. Below, you’ll find a recap of some of the major points.

Determine Your Obstacles and Priorities

There are two questions you need to answer when laying the groundwork for your training plan. First, what do you want to accomplish? And second, what factors might impact your efforts?

Let’s say, for instance, that you want to implement ongoing SaaS software training for your company’s internal project management software. Your priority for that training would be to ensure all employees have a baseline level of competence with the software, which in turn would increase operational efficiency and productivity for the organization. Factors that might impact or impede that goal could include:

• Losing an employee
• Having to onboard a new hire
• Dealing with a merger or acquisition
• Changes to a product’s release schedule
• Purchasing new software
• Introducing a new strategic initiative
• Upcoming events that may require training and support

You’ll need to account for these obstacles and how you’ll overcome them. Establish clear processes for handling turnover and onboarding, and study any roadmaps that are potentially relevant. Have a plan for each scenario – that way, you can keep things moving forward.

Identify Your KPIs

Once you’ve established your core priorities, the next step is to define your KPIs, which come in two forms. First are training KPIs – these are what you’ll use to measure and track the progress and effectiveness of your training. Second and more importantly, you have business KPIs.

These are things like customer satisfaction, career growth, project completion time, and short-term turnover. You should already know which of these metrics is most important to your business. Figure out where you can make the greatest impact, and you can then use the associated metric to convey your training program’s ROI.

Take Stock of Your People and Resources

People are the lifeblood of every successful corporate initiative, and software training is no exception. Once you’ve figured out the basics of your training program, you’ll next want to assess your team.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each team member? How are they currently using their time, and could they be doing anything more effectively? In what way could each team member contribute to your training?

You’ll also want to catalog your systems and tools. Which of these systems require additional training? Are there any tools or systems you’re currently missing?

Establish a Game Plan

At this point, you should have a concrete idea of what you want to achieve with your training and the resources that you can use to achieve it. Now, you need to establish your approach. To that end, ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s my target timeframe for this training program?
• What is my company culture on learning, and how well does it support this initiative?
• Do I have any other training commitments planned?
• Are there any opportunities to monetize this training? Should I attempt to monetize it?
• How will my organization deliver this training?

Document your entire training plan up to this point – you’ll need it for the next step.

Seek Executive Buy-In

Now, we’ve gotten to the hard part. You’ll need to get an executive sponsor. Find someone in a leadership position who believes in what you’re trying to accomplish and can make a case to colleagues for your training program’s value.

Work with that sponsor to set a joint definition of success and keep them updated and engaged on your progress.

Develop (And Submit) Your Training Budget

You have a goal, a plan, and an executive sponsor. All that’s missing is a budget. Think about what you’ll need to accomplish your objectives and how much that’s likely to cost.

You can use your training budget from the previous year as a starting point or look at industry benchmarks and averages. Make sure to evaluate your year-over-year run-rate items, maintenance fees, and any ongoing software licenses. You’ll also want to determine if your budget will be set and static or if you have a bit more flexibility.

If the required budget for your training program exceeds your overall training budget, don’t panic. You might be able to bring in additional funds through revenue-generating programs, find line items that can be swapped for different investments, or make a case to leadership for additional investment.

Measure, Monitor and Revise

There’s one final step before setting your training plan in motion. You need to make sure you have a way to measure and monitor your KPIs. You may also want to consider setting personal, team and departmental goals.

If it helps, you can use the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Framework. This framework standardizes the process for defining and establishing measurable high-level goals by providing direction and clarity to a business’s objectives. The framework is also an excellent way to keep everyone aligned, encouraging greater collaboration and making it easier to measure progress.

Per CIO Magazine, OKRs are particularly well-suited when you want to set ambitious goals and targets.

Why (And How) to Develop a Knockout Software Training Program

Software training isn’t something that can be executed on a whim. It requires a strategic, deliberate approach – a plan developed in alignment with long-term business objectives. Now that you know the basic steps involved in that approach, the rest is up to you.

With that said, if you’d like a bit of a deeper dive into the points discussed in this blog, including best practices for workshops and skill assessments, check out How to Develop Knockout Software Training Plans.