Collaborating With Consultants On In-House Training Programs

In-house training programs are an important part of any law firm's professional development curriculum. They allow for a level of customization that makes content more meaningful and immediately useful and they offer the greatest flexibility in how and when they can be delivered. Yet for all their benefits, planning an effective, substantive group of training offerings in-house presents numerous challenges.

Foremost among them is the task of staffing in-house offerings with truly talented instructors. Firm attorneys or administrators are almost always the first choice of faculty for these sessions for any number of reasons. Firm members know their audience as no one else could and they have (we hope) the respect of their comrades. Many are great speakers and teachers as well. Also, teaching opportunities can offer firm members an opportunity to enhance presentation skills and professional visibility inside the firm. The challenges to using inside faculty include the fact that most are not professional presenters and may be more or less effective in meeting training objectives, their schedules can be difficult to work with and training may not be their number one priority, and that, sometimes, the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” holds true because their colleagues wonder how he or she can be “expert” enough to act as the instructor.

The second choice is to hire an instructor from outside the firm. The benefits of using an outside trainer include the possible introduction of fresh ideas and sharing of expertise gleaned from working with many different firms, an opportunity to tap the knowledge of someone who is devoted to a particular subject area, and a chance to take advantage of the “expert effect” bestowed upon consultants by the mere fact of their being outsiders. The downside is that they cost money, have other engagements that will have impact on scheduling, may have limits on the extent to which they are willing to customize their materials, and they will inevitably need some of your time to provide insights on the firm. The trickiest part of choosing outsiders is finding professionals who will resonate with your audience and produce the desired training outcomes. Difficulties associated with begging partners and associates to act as trainers or facilitators without offending those whose skills lay elsewhere not withstanding, the task of choosing a professional trainer can be a frustrating experience. Compare it to car shopping – you don't relish the task, but know you need to do it – you want something good, but not too flashy and you've been burned by shady operators in the past. Suffice it to say that in many firms use of outside trainers is the option of last resort, but a fact of life nonetheless.

Our intention in co-authoring this article is to discuss a third option – creating a presentation team consisting of trainers from inside and outside the firm to maximize the benefits of each. As a Chief Officer for Recruitment and Development and an Attorney Development Consultant with a substantial training practice, we want to share our perspectives on the creation of a mutually beneficial training partnership. There are a couple of baseline ingredients necessary to an effective collaboration:

• An appropriate course topic;
• Clear goals for the training;
• Flexible presenters; and
• A willing audience.

Appropriate Course Topics for Collaboration

Look at your curriculum and identify topics of instruction that require the knowledge of an expert, but also would benefit from the insights of an insider. While a securities partner may be the best choice to discuss the potential impact of new rules approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, an outside consultant may have better perspectives on topics such as communication skills or strategic marketing. A course on supervision and case management, however, could benefit from collaboration between an outside expert on performance management and an insider who knows the nature of the firm's work and the everyday demands of its clients.

Clarifying Training Goals

Both internal and external trainers can benefit from having clearly defined learning outcomes that are desired from the training course. It allows them to create a learning environment geared toward achieving that goal. Are you trying to impart knowledge, enhance skills, change behaviors, or all of the above? Knowing what you want to achieve in the course will help you to choose the instructors. As a part of this assessment process, you must also consider your potential audience. Characteristics of the audience should drive the choice of speakers and help you to refine the learning outcomes that are possible. Once you have chosen your presenters, they should be able to help refine the program objectives based on their own experiences with that topic and/or similar audiences.

Choosing Your Instructors

You may want to begin by choosing the outside consultant, knowing you have a larger pool of internal speakers available to you. Start by identifying outside training consultants in the area of expertise and discuss with each candidate whether he or she has had experience collaborating on presentations with in-house personnel. If they have, make certain you check references from those firms. If not, ask how flexible he or she is willing to be with regard to content, training approach, materials, and delivery style. Choose a person who is willing to adapt in ways that will accommodate your audience and issues. Once you know who the outside presenter will be, it may be easier to choose the firm member whose skills, knowledge, and experience best complement those of the chosen consultant. Conversely, if you already know who the inside presenter will be, use that knowledge to shape your search for the right outsider. The personality match between or among the speakers will have a lot to do with the programs level of success. For example, a big picture consultant matched with a detail-oriented attorney could ably present every aspect of a subject without talking over each other or repeating information. Two instructors with a big picture approach might miss the level of detail needed for real learning to take place.

Priming Your Audience

Too often, training programs are viewed by participants as a burden rather than a gift. Offering MCLE credit, food, management-level support, and savvy timing can set the stage for an appreciative audience. But in the end, sessions with focused topics, clearly defined outcomes, and interesting speakers are most likely to engage the audience. Experienced consultants should be able to provide guidance on what has worked elsewhere and you can share your knowledge of what has stimulated your firm audiences in past presentations. Together, you should be able to use that universe of knowledge to create an engaging session that people will feel was well worth their time.

In our experience, a collaborative effort has allowed us to present programs that benefit both from the strengths of the insider's knowledge and authority as well as from the outsider's expertise and scope of knowledge. We learn from each other and can develop programs that are more insightful and targeted. Though there will always be topics that work best with either an internal or outside speaker alone, we encourage you to consider the path of collaborating with consultants to add a new dimension to the training equation.

In-house training programs are an important part of any law firm's professional development curriculum. They allow for a level of customization that makes content more meaningful and immediately useful and they offer the greatest flexibility in how and when they can be delivered. Yet for all their benefits, planning an effective, substantive group of training offerings in-house presents numerous challenges.

Foremost among them is the task of staffing in-house offerings with truly talented instructors. Firm attorneys or administrators are almost always the first choice of faculty for these sessions for any number of reasons. Firm members know their audience as no one else could and they have (we hope) the respect of their comrades. Many are great speakers and teachers as well. Also, teaching opportunities can offer firm members an opportunity to enhance presentation skills and professional visibility inside the firm. The challenges to using inside faculty include the fact that most are not professional presenters and may be more or less effective in meeting training objectives, their schedules can be difficult to work with and training may not be their number one priority, and that, sometimes, the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” holds true because their colleagues wonder how he or she can be “expert” enough to act as the instructor.

The second choice is to hire an instructor from outside the firm. The benefits of using an outside trainer include the possible introduction of fresh ideas and sharing of expertise gleaned from working with many different firms, an opportunity to tap the knowledge of someone who is devoted to a particular subject area, and a chance to take advantage of the “expert effect” bestowed upon consultants by the mere fact of their being outsiders. The downside is that they cost money, have other engagements that will have impact on scheduling, may have limits on the extent to which they are willing to customize their materials, and they will inevitably need some of your time to provide insights on the firm. The trickiest part of choosing outsiders is finding professionals who will resonate with your audience and produce the desired training outcomes. Difficulties associated with begging partners and associates to act as trainers or facilitators without offending those whose skills lay elsewhere not withstanding, the task of choosing a professional trainer can be a frustrating experience. Compare it to car shopping – you don't relish the task, but know you need to do it – you want something good, but not too flashy and you've been burned by shady operators in the past. Suffice it to say that in many firms use of outside trainers is the option of last resort, but a fact of life nonetheless.

Our intention in co-authoring this article is to discuss a third option – creating a presentation team consisting of trainers from inside and outside the firm to maximize the benefits of each. As a Chief Officer for Recruitment and Development and an Attorney Development Consultant with a substantial training practice, we want to share our perspectives on the creation of a mutually beneficial training partnership. There are a couple of baseline ingredients necessary to an effective collaboration:

• An appropriate course topic;
• Clear goals for the training;
• Flexible presenters; and
• A willing audience.

Appropriate Course Topics for Collaboration

Look at your curriculum and identify topics of instruction that require the knowledge of an expert, but also would benefit from the insights of an insider. While a securities partner may be the best choice to discuss the potential impact of new rules approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, an outside consultant may have better perspectives on topics such as communication skills or strategic marketing. A course on supervision and case management, however, could benefit from collaboration between an outside expert on performance management and an insider who knows the nature of the firm's work and the everyday demands of its clients.

Clarifying Training Goals

Both internal and external trainers can benefit from having clearly defined learning outcomes that are desired from the training course. It allows them to create a learning environment geared toward achieving that goal. Are you trying to impart knowledge, enhance skills, change behaviors, or all of the above? Knowing what you want to achieve in the course will help you to choose the instructors. As a part of this assessment process, you must also consider your potential audience. Characteristics of the audience should drive the choice of speakers and help you to refine the learning outcomes that are possible. Once you have chosen your presenters, they should be able to help refine the program objectives based on their own experiences with that topic and/or similar audiences.

Choosing Your Instructors

You may want to begin by choosing the outside consultant, knowing you have a larger pool of internal speakers available to you. Start by identifying outside training consultants in the area of expertise and discuss with each candidate whether he or she has had experience collaborating on presentations with in-house personnel. If they have, make certain you check references from those firms. If not, ask how flexible he or she is willing to be with regard to content, training approach, materials, and delivery style. Choose a person who is willing to adapt in ways that will accommodate your audience and issues. Once you know who the outside presenter will be, it may be easier to choose the firm member whose skills, knowledge, and experience best complement those of the chosen consultant. Conversely, if you already know who the inside presenter will be, use that knowledge to shape your search for the right outsider. The personality match between or among the speakers will have a lot to do with the programs level of success. For example, a big picture consultant matched with a detail-oriented attorney could ably present every aspect of a subject without talking over each other or repeating information. Two instructors with a big picture approach might miss the level of detail needed for real learning to take place.

Priming Your Audience

Too often, training programs are viewed by participants as a burden rather than a gift. Offering MCLE credit, food, management-level support, and savvy timing can set the stage for an appreciative audience. But in the end, sessions with focused topics, clearly defined outcomes, and interesting speakers are most likely to engage the audience. Experienced consultants should be able to provide guidance on what has worked elsewhere and you can share your knowledge of what has stimulated your firm audiences in past presentations. Together, you should be able to use that universe of knowledge to create an engaging session that people will feel was well worth their time.

In our experience, a collaborative effort has allowed us to present programs that benefit both from the strengths of the insider's knowledge and authority as well as from the outsider's expertise and scope of knowledge. We learn from each other and can develop programs that are more insightful and targeted. Though there will always be topics that work best with either an internal or outside speaker alone, we encourage you to consider the path of collaborating with consultants to add a new dimension to the training equation.