The right processes can drive efficiency, deliver quality and help you scale

Most organisations want to improve their operational efficiency, but it should be a top priority for training providers over the next 12 months.

2024 is likely to be an unsettled year for training providers, from the risk of a recession to a potential change in government. It’s vital to not only ensure your business is resilient enough to weather economic upheaval, but that you have the longevity to succeed in a competitive market.

One of the best ways to do this is by reflecting on your processes. Every process should drive best practice, creating the platform you need to deliver high-quality training to every learner and ultimately scale.

While it can be nerve-wracking to disrupt the way things are done, refining processes – whether it’s a tweak or a transformation – will make things much easier in the long run. It can help to reduce staff workload, save costs and improve the learner experience, all of which should have a positive impact when Ofsted next comes calling.

Use goals and feedback to refine processes

Before you start rolling out changes, take time to think strategically about what could be improved. Weigh up the company’s goals, internal challenges or bottlenecks, learner and employer feedback, Ofsted recommendations and how your performance compares to other providers.

You might want to start with a small but powerful change, like a monthly team meeting where you analyse the latest data with your trainers. Or, you might want to implement a new AI tool that allows you to automate the majority of a process, like creating and updating curriculums.

What matters here is that you’re realistic about what’s possible. Successful operational change is built on momentum – you want people to be willing to test out new processes and feel excited about their potential.

Encounter too much resistance and you may find that you hit a brick wall and nothing changes. If you think that might be the case, make a small change that everyone can get on board with and build from there.

Create a foundation for better learning

Boosting operational efficiency isn’t just about reducing costs and workload. It should also provide a foundation for high-quality provision and a culture of continuous improvement.

Outstanding training providers can use technology to improve efficiency, and utilise any additional time and resources to create an exceptional learning experience. This includes thinking of ways to not only keep learners engaged, but inspire them and build a wider understanding of the subject matter.

Bud customer Blue Lion Training Academy recently achieved Ofsted Outstanding. Inspectors were particularly impressed that Blue Lion invited guest speakers to give learners a real-life perspective on future careers.

“We offer an Assistant Recording Technician apprenticeship, so we had a guest speaker from the music industry. They were able to come in and give the learners some inspiration around what they were doing and what opportunities they could have,” said Harj Dhanjal, CEO of Blue Lion Training Academy.

Another Outstanding provider and Bud customer, ANS Academy, is consistently achieving top results with their processes. One of their values is ‘Stretch the Possible’, which they’re doing by providing learners with extracurricular activities in a range of areas, including British values, inclusion, financial wellbeing, business skills and healthy living.

Getting the flexibility and insight to scale

If you want to start scaling your business, improving processes should give you the tools, insights and confidence to expand operations and keep standards high.

Digital enrolment is a great example. It dramatically speeds up onboarding, freeing up trainers and allowing providers to enrol lots of learners at once. But it also has benefits for learners and employers, providing a higher quality and more intuitive experience that can be as simple as completing an online form.

Richmond Training uses Bud’s digital enrolment workflows to easily get learners set up, regardless of where they are in the country. As Lorraine Sinnott, Quality Manager at Richmond Training said:

“Bud’s paperless enrolment helps to avoid bottlenecks, which result in delays. This means that we can easily reach out to our learners and employers to support them in completing the onboarding process.”

Streamline your training with Bud’s AI tools

There are more opportunities than ever for training providers to create efficient processes and deliver high-quality training. Artificial intelligence will prove transformative in these areas in 2024 – and you can try out the latest tools through Bud.

We’ve partnered with experts who are piloting a solution specifically for the education space. If you’d like to be the first to test out Bud’s new AI features, register your interest here.