Top Leadership Development Program Budget Tips And Tricks
Your new leadership development program is supposed to improve ROI not put your expense sheet into the red. So, it’s time to set a budget and stretch available resources. But how do you know which fees are involved? How much should you set aside for in-house content development? And what is the going rate for outsourcing these days? The answer to all these questions depends on your project scope and use case. However, there are ways to create an accurate budget. With a little market research and a Training Needs Analysis, of course. Let’s dive right into leadership development training budget tips and tricks for your business.
1. Inventory Your Asset Library
Chances are that your database is packed with valuable assets. They may be outdated or a little unpolished. But you can always reuse them for your new leadership development program with some minor adjustments, of course. This helps reduce your sales leadership training budget and improve resource allocation. However, an asset inventory also eliminates outsourcing overlap. For example, you hire an eLearning content provider to refresh your JIT leadership repository. That content collecting dust might be useful. They can repurpose videos or modules to reduce your outsourcing bill.
2. Prioritize Leadership Development Training Pain Points
You may not be able to fit everything into your leadership development training budget. At least, not at the moment. For this reason, it’s essential to prioritize based on pain points. This way, you can deal with the most pressing issues. Then gradually expand your sales leadership training program when the budget allows. For example, your team leaders need to work on their company policy gaps first. They’re not presenting a united front. And, more importantly, employees can’t turn to them for guidance or policy updates. Thus, you should add this to the top of your outsourcing list above topics that have less impact on the team dynamic or workplace performance.
3. Develop An Outsourcing Versus In-House Expense Sheet
If you plan to combine outsourcing with internal development, you should develop separate budgets. These expense sheets cover everything from software to payroll. There are two primary reasons for this. Firstly, it’s easier to go back and fine-tune certain expenses. For instance, your new authoring tool costs less than expected. Secondly, you can determine if outsourcing versus in-house development is best for certain tasks. Maybe it’s more cost-effective to outsource the leadership development training simulations as you reduce software fees and the implementation timeline. Plus, your L&D team doesn’t have to learn new platforms and you cut payroll costs.
4. Check Out Leadership Development Program Pricing Plans
If you’ve never hired an eLearning content provider, you may not know the costs involved. Even if you have, rates change over time. As such, you should check out the latest pricing plans and packages. What are the pricing options? Do vendors charge everything upfront or are there project milestones? How much can you expect to pay for certain deliverables? Request a general quote for sales leadership training vendors. Social media sites and landing pages might be a valuable resource, as well.
5. Focus On Value For Money Instead Of Upfront Investment
A common mistake is to focus on the price alone, whether you’re developing internally or hiring an outsourcing partner. You must consider the value for money and ROI. Sure, this leadership training vendor has high upfront costs. But it may be a sound investment if they have the necessary expertise. Maybe they can speed up the development timeline. Or they are experts in leadership development training for your industry. So, think about what they bring to your project and how that translates into dollars and cents.
6. Consider Off-The-Shelf Leadership Development Training Solutions
Many organizations assume it’s bespoke or in-house. Those are the only two options. However, there’s a third approach that may be more budget-friendly, which is pre-built leadership development training solutions. Off-the-shelf solutions are ready to launch. Some vendors even allow you to incorporate branding. That said, customization is not on the same level as bespoke and you need to consider overall personalization. For instance, the content covers all the essential leadership training compliance topics but it doesn’t necessarily align with your online training objectives.
7. Submit RFPs For Spot-On Estimates
I mentioned vendor quotes earlier. However, you need accurate estimates for an accurate L&D budget. Otherwise, it’s just ballpark figures instead of concrete numbers. The only way to achieve this is to submit RFPs to top vendors. Requests include the project parameters, price range, and deliverables, as well as the support services you require. Vendors respond with personalized proposals which include the cost, timeline, and online training solutions. Then, you can meet with your shortlisted vendors or send follow-up questions. If anything, RFPs can help you reevaluate your budget. For instance, you realize that the current price range is much lower than the current rate because you based your original budget on outdated pricing info.
Conclusion
Your leadership development training program budget should be flexible. Some things are set in stone, like your spending cap. But others need to be more fluid such as the number of deliverables you expect and their individual price points. For example, the outsourcing vendor may be able to accommodate your budget. However, you need to cross some items off your wish list to afford them. The upside is that you’ll get high-quality content that resonates with employees. And they can deliver it in record time. That said, there should be a limit to compromise.
Which topics should you cover in your new marketing leadership training programs? How do you draft the perfect outsourcing RFP? Our eBook explores all these questions and more. Download your copy of The Ultimate Leadership Training Programs Guide: How To Identify And Train Emerging Leaders today for valuable tips and tricks.
