Public Training or In-House Training - Which is Better for You?

Following a year of lockdown restrictions within the UK, we’re excited to see our fantastic delegates in the classroom again soon. We’ve updated our Coronavirus Precautions, and are looking forward to delivering in-house courses in person from the 12th of April! You might be wondering – why take an in-house PMO course instead of a public PMO training course?

In-House PMO Training

At PMO Learning, we offer in-house training for both specialist PMO courses, and PMO certification courses. So, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of bringing training in-house to your organisation for you and your team.

Firstly, there are the logistical and practical advantages – you pick the location, whether that be a specific training centre, or even in your own office. You provide the space and refreshments, and we provide the course materials, the trainer and any certification or examination materials required.

This is one of the most affordable ways to train multiple team members at once – you can save money on travel expenses such as train tickets, hotel rooms, and meal expenses, as we are able to deliver training from the comfort of your own office.

Furthermore, there are further savings to be had when taking a course in-house. If you’re looking to provide training for six or more delegates, it becomes much more affordable to bring the training in-house, and for up to twelve delegates, you can enjoy training for a great fixed price – much cheaper than sending 12 delegates on a public course. If you’d like to discuss any of our courses to be taken in-house at your organisation, you can get in touch with us with an in-house PMO training enquiry here.

Now we can take a look at some of the less tangible benefits of completing in-house training with PMO Learning.

Perhaps an obvious advantage of taking courses in-house is the opportunity to tailor the course content to the needs of your organisation. Whether you’re looking to understand what good Benefits Management might look like in your organisation, looking to develop strong Project Sponsorship skills within your team, or are looking for an entirely bespoke course tailored to your organisation – PMO Learning can help.

Course Customisation

This level of adaptation to the personal needs of your PMO and organisation really allows you to develop your team based on your own approaches, techniques, processes, procedures and organisational objectives. Using your own organisation as the basis for case studies can be hugely beneficial for understanding PMO terms and concepts in a more specific and relatable context.

Our trainers can spend time with managers to truly understand what you are looking to achieve both out of your training, and as a PMO more broadly to tailor your training to be exactly what you’re looking for.

Course customisation is not limited to course content – we are also able to deliver flexibly based on your team’s availability and schedule. It can be difficult to find team-wide availability when scheduling In-House training for an organisation, but we can work with you to fit your timetable. Whether you’d like to complete five days of training over the course of a week, split the process over a weekend (Wednesday-Friday and Monday-Tuesday) or on a monthly schedule, we can adapt our in-house training to suit you.

By allowing for the adaptation of the timing of each course, you are not restricted by the dates on which public courses are scheduled. You are also able to develop a great understanding as to how your team learns – do they prefer to cover a bulk of training in one go? Do they benefit from taking a break in between training days to reflect on what they have learned? How well do they retain knowledge?

Another benefit that perhaps gets overlooked is the advantages to the relationship of the team. Without the PMO Manager being present, the team are able to work together, reinforcing a strong relationship. An In-House course can be fantastic for allowing a base level of knowledge to be established within a team – particularly beneficial in situations in which there are newer and more experienced members of staff.

Furthermore, delegates may feel more relaxed about asking questions without any real or imagined, pressure of being in the presence of their manager. At the end of each day, we can provide daily reviews, allowing you to get an insight into levels of understanding within a team – which often varies dramatically between team members.

Here’s what our delegates have to say about our In-House courses:

My team loved it. Bringing a trainer in on site meant that they spent time together as a team, they got excited and enthused over what we could do and putting our World to rights was a powerful exercise for them all.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to train over six members of staff, are looking for a training course that is customised to your team and organisation, and are looking to learn from the comfort of your own office – an In-House course might be the perfect option for you. You can get in touch with us about any in-house training courses here.

Public PMO Courses

Now we’ve taken a look at our in-house training options, let’s take a look at the benefits of public training courses.

We’ve learned a lot after a year of online PMO training, and whilst it has been challenging, we have loved the flexibility provided to us by the use of our virtual classroom. We are definitely looking forward to being back in the classroom!

Let’s examine some of the benefits delegates can enjoy by taking a public PMO course with PMO Learning.

If you’re looking for a smaller number of delegates to be trained, public courses can be cost-effective. Whereas in-house courses can work out at a great price for many delegates, if only a few members of your team are looking to get trained or certified, a public course might be the way to go.

The first benefit of public training is the fantastic networking opportunity – our delegates come from widely varied PMO backgrounds – from the public/private sector, from energy to retail, even from different sides of the world.

Public courses are a great way to meet other professionals within the industry, and you can benefit from sharing your experiences – what could you learn and apply to your own PMO? You are also able to experience their different viewpoints, and enjoy each other providing an alternative interpretation, asking questions you may never have considered before.

Furthermore, training with delegates from varied PMO backgrounds allows you to understand how PMOs operate differently within different organisations. In-House courses are not able to provide these distinctions in experiences, as all delegates are from the same PMO. This may be particularly beneficial for those who are new to working within a PMO – providing experience and exposure to the vastly varied structures of different PMOs from different organisations and teams.

For some delegates, working in a team can be beneficial for their learning, effort and performance. Some research surrounding “social facilitation” suggests that people sometimes show an increased level of effort as a result of the real, imagined, or implied presence of others. If your learning style is non-autodidactic, learning with others could be very beneficial for you.

Finally, we have plenty of dates available for public training. Throughout the year, we offer a real variety of courses for everyone, no matter where you are in your PMO career. From Lean-Agile PMO to P3O Certification courses, you can train publicly with other PMO Professionals. Our Virtual Classroom also gives you the flexibility to work from the comfort of your own home!

If you have any questions, or we can help in providing training to members of your team, or a larger group within your organisation, you can get in touch with us here!