If you've decided upon vendor training and are feeling a little relieved (thinking someone else now has the responsibility for training), slow down. When it comes to training your employees, the training responsibility can never really be passed away; it remains with you as the manager or supervisor of the organization. 

Managers/supervisors almost always have more potential control over vendor training than they realize, but few exercise it. The key to successful vendor training is that you have to know and maintain focus on your needs, be selective, and exert influence EARLY in the training process. 

Before you select any vendor training:  

- Know your training objectives...and be specific. Simply stating that your people "need UNIX training" is not nearly enough. What is it about UNIX that they need to know or do when they come out of the training? Never select a training vendor until you can define your training needs. 

- Determine the experience and credibility of prospective vendors. If you need client-server software training, be wary of a vendor that specializes in teaching listening skills to managers. 

- Get an outline of the training. Never use a vendor that can't or won't provide you with an outline of their training. 

- Carefully review the outline and compare it against your needs. Is it a good match? If not, either don't waste your money or negotiate a better match. Note: If you contract a vendor to specifically serve your employees, you should expect a lot of control over the training. After all, you're paying the bills. Expect less control if you're sending employees to training that is also attended by the general public, but don't assume that you just have to play the hand you're dealt. 
 

- Find out if the vendor evaluates what the trainees learn. Do they test and/or critique their training? If not (and you still want to use the vendor), ask if the vendor is willing to evaluate the training. Good training providers are not intimidated by evaluation. Even if you don't require evaluation, attempt to negotiate it. This sends the message that you're expecting results. 

- Find out what materials will be provided to the trainees. None? Negotiate some. Good vendor training usually provides takeaways. If you're planning to reuse the training later, find out whether you can reuse the materials.