An insider’s guide to organising training events

The training facilities here at Heath House Conference Centre have grown out of our wealth of experience delivering literally thousands of training courses to schools and colleges up and down the country.

The schools and colleges that we worked with arranged the training venue and as a result we have had the JOY and the MISFORTUNE of delivering courses in every sort of training venue imaginable.

We found that the training room provision varied enormously, and whilst there were lots of ideal training venues that had been very carefully selected, we also found ourselves delivering training in venues that were totally unsuitable. Over time we started to see a series of very common mistakes that clients made when they booked an external training venue.

…So when we set up Heath House Training and Conference Centre, we used our wealth of experience to ensure that our customers don’t have to face the same challenges that we experienced.

It ‘sounds’ obvious; if participants are going to learn, they need to be able to hear the tutor and the tutor needs to be able to hear delegates questions, so good acoustics are important. Administrators who have not organised a training event before are unlikely to give consideration to the acoustics within the room.

Some of the biggest challenges we encountered in other training venues came from echoey training rooms or rooms with high ceilings. Tutors had to work hard to enable delegates to hear them clearly. Equally challenging were conference rooms that were inappropriately large for the size of the group.  In large rooms, delegates naturally gravitate towards the back of the room which makes it difficult for them to hear the tutor and leaves tutors with a sore throat from all of the extra effort projecting their voice.

The third most common mistake is holding training events on your own premises. It is tempting to think that this is a good way to save money. In our experience it is fraught with a range of issues. The most significant being continual disruptions where key members of staff were called away to deal with ‘urgent’ telephone calls or unexpected events. This disrupts learning and often means that the most important people within the room miss crucial information. It is a costly mistake. To illustrate this, take the scenario of a training event for a group of 20 teachers and headteachers.

The investment for a full day of training consists of

• wages for all staff attending the training,
• cover Staff  
• plus the cost of the trainer
• plus the cost of training materials
• plus the room hire and refreshments.

In reality, the cost of the training room hire is insignificant when compared to the other overheads. So, for the sake of saving a comparatively small amount of money on hiring a suitable venue away from interruptions and disturbances, it is possible to jeopardise the entire investment by holding the event on site.

Temperature is surprisingly important. If delegates are too hot or too cold, they will be distracted. Instead of concentrating on the course, they will be focused upon their own discomfort and consequently will not learn effectively. We have delivered training in meeting rooms that have large expanses of glass windows and know that they can be uncomfortably hot in summer. We have delivered training in rooms that are used infrequently – for example village halls and community spaces, and because they are use infrequently, they take a long time to reach a comfortable temperature. If you are planning a training event, look for training rooms that allow you to control the temperature.

Noise is a big issue and is particularly problematic when you are delivering training at your client’s venue or workplace. Noise from the normal hustle and bustle of the working environment drifts into the training room. Door buzzers, telephones, and conversations all disrupt trains of thought making it learning difficult. Uncarpeted training rooms are also problematic as it creates noise when delegates move their chairs.

Projection facilities, sound amplification and fast and reliable wi-fi are often essential for training courses. When we were delivering training at client’s venues, we encountered every type of IT issue possible and eventually opted to carry our own ‘emergency-kit’ which contained a spare laptop, a wi-fi booster, a portable screen and portable speakers. Whilst visiting other training venues, we encountered several common problems related to IT. Consequently, we recommend checking that there will be a member of the event team available to help the tutor to connect to the projectors.

Most smart screen TVs have HDMI connectors, but not all laptops can connect directly via HDMI so it is a good idea to ask the venue if they have converters available.

In our experience, the room layout has a profound effect on engagement which in turn impacts upon learning. Skills based training relies upon developing and extending knowledge and this is often achieved through discussion. The best room layouts for training courses are boardroom style and classroom style. Training room layouts that position delegates away from the tutor are often problematic as they decrease engagement and consequently reduce learning.

This section of common mistakes could also be called ‘Overlooking the obvious’. One of the most memorable examples occurred when we delivered training at a nursery and infant school. The client had chosen to hold the training at the school, so we ran through our usual check list of questions regarding IT, projection facilities, temperature, acoustics and noise. When the tutor arrived onsite everything was laid out exactly as we had requested, but the furniture was the usual classroom furniture…designed for 6 year olds! So the entire teaching team had to sit on tiny chairs, with their knees level with their ears for a full day of training. The client had been responsible for organising the venue and had overlooked a small but obvious detail which impacted upon the comfort of delegates and so had an impact learning.

The training facilities at Heath House Conference Centre have been developed so that our clients don’t have to worry about these details as our facilities have been designed to overcome all of these problems.   

If you would like more information about the training facilities at Heath House Training and Conference Centre, please contact us on 01889 567 014.