Recently we were asked by a potential client, “why do your customers love working with you?”. Great question! For us, the answer is simple. When you work with us; you have a personalized learning consultant. Unlike other training organizations, we don’t leave you out to dry.
So what is a learning consultant, you might ask? Well, a learning consultant is a bridge between you, your corporate training products and content, and your audience. Here at P1 Learning, our learning consultants are a dedicated resource that helps you at every phase, from product demo to implementation to ongoing support. This is not something that is an “add-on” to your service, but built into everything we do.
What Does a Learning Consultant NOT Do?
To help you better understand what learning consultants are, it helps to contrast with what they are not.
Learning consultants are more than customer service reps.
Many companies that offer training courses have a customer service department. Unfortunately, the rep you speak with doesn’t know you from Adam, or which products you have. And if you call more than once, you will never have the same service rep twice.
Learning consultants are part of a more personal, consultative approach. We create our own content, we know the content, and we know our clients. When you sign on with P1 Learning, you’ll have a learning consultant assigned to you. He or she knows your name and what products you have, and they get to know you and your organization. When you call, you’ll always get the same learning consultant—they are yours, and they stay with you as you grow your business. This isn’t like buying a copier. This is a living breathing resource that needs to be nurtured.
Learning consultants are not a help desk.
Sure, our learning consultants help our clients all the time. But when I think “help desk,” I think of a large pool of technical support folks who troubleshoot bugs or walk someone through a particular feature. Many times, they use an online ticketing system and charge extra for that support where you are treated like a ticket, not a person.
Our learning consultants are much more than that. They want more than our learning management system (LMS) to work; they want it to work for you. This means knowing what you are using and what you are not, and why. They don’t just react when a problem arises but set you up for success from the beginning. In fact, our learning consultants will proactively check on your systems and you to see how things are going. They will walk you through any concerns you may have and take as much time as needed to get you back on track. This service is available not only during the trial period but throughout your entire contract.
They are not another line item in the budget.
Many of our competitors charge additional fees for support during or after implementation (yuck!). So when they mention their service reps, they are, indeed, trying to sell you on a line of support as an up sell.
We don’t do that here. Simply by becoming a P1 Learning customer, you are assigned a learning consultant. Their help is already included in the price. Their goal is not to rack up “solved” tickets but to make sure you get up and running, and stay up and running.
What Does a Learning Consultant Do?
Ok, so I’ve stated what learning consultants are not, but that still may not be clear to everyone, so let me tell you what I think of learning consultants as…
Best practice advice.
A learning consultant’s support starts even before a contract is signed during the sales process. They often attend meetings and conference calls and participate in demos, to make sure everyone understands what they are getting and why.
Your implementation experts.
Learning consultants also help with LMS implementation. We often find that our newer clients worry about having everything ready at launch: Have the right training groups been created and assigned? Is everything being tracked and reported as it should? Will it work on the very first day? It is the learning consultant’s job to get to know your organization and help you answer these questions.
Product and technology experts, on tap.
When you are assigned a learning consultant, he or she will know exactly which P1 Learning products you have, and why. They also know which libraries you are using and not using (advertising sales, business skills, compliance, software, etc.). That way, you don’t waste time getting them up to speed when you have a specific need. Our learning consultants are ready to help and will get right to the concerns you have and address them.
Content and training experts.
Of course, technology is not the only thing our learning consultants know. They often make course recommendations based on the goals of our clients and the problems they identify as needing a solution. Our learning consultants often provide training for admins, too, so that the transition to the new system is as smooth as can be.
Do you get the feeling that I’m impressed with our learning consultants? That’s because I am! In fact, I think they are one of the main things that set us apart from other training providers. If you would like to learn more, please contact us so we can schedule a demo so you can check out our LMS and meet one of our learning consultants.