HRD Managers Offering Vendor Management Training
Internal management training typically cover how to manage employees and projects. These courses are usually provided from HR, Training departments, or corporate universities. Very few companies include training for staff on how to select and manage vendors or contractors.
Challenge
When employees, and even managers, take on managing vendors, they are presented with a whole new situation where they have to get results from outsiders. Managing vendors is simply seen as making sure they deliver as per the contract. But it is not that simple. There are negotiations, problems to solve, and results to interpret and produce. For this, employees need to apply existing skills and expertise in different ways, as well as build new competencies.
Experience
We have conducted extensive training programs for individual departments, as well as composite groups from different functions. Our materials and courses can be adapted or incorporated into existing company training programs. We also bring a practical depth of experience in H.R. management and training from our corporate careers.
Services
Think180 has created and refined workshops and curriculum for training and building expertise to get the best from vendors. We can help H.R. and OD departments identify and create "vendor management" as a required core competency and strategic skill within the company. We have a matrix of detailed competencies to assist training and developing these to meet a particular level of outsourcing responsibility. We can provide coaching for individuals onsite or as one-hour sessions over skype as a videoconference.
Resources
Article "Who Controls Sourcing?"
Think180 Workshops - overview
Think180 Training Methodology
Think180 Training Process diagram
Workshop - Managing External Resources
Workshop - Creating Effective Partnerships
Article "Employees Vs. Contractors"
Tools and Checklists
PDF sheet - "Employee Vs. Consultant Costs"
Article "Using Consultants"
Article PDF "Outsourced Training – Lessons"
Article PDF "Outsourced Training Case Studies"
Podcast Series "Managing Vendors and Contractors"
Tips Collection - from our workshops
Article "Value of Partnering"
Article "IT Professionals Managing Vendors"
Article "Seven Soft C's of Outsourcing"