Need a Place for Employee Training? Rent a Training Room!

Employee training and development programs are more important than one imagines, for a variety of different reasons. Certainly, some training must be done as a checkbox to satisfy industry or government regulations or to ensure employees know how to use new technologies or follow new processes.

In other instances, the primary objectives revolve around helping employees develop new skills and to assume additional responsibilities. Indeed, when companies fail to provide their employees with the training and development opportunities focused on the latter, retention rates plummet. For example, a recent article in the Harvard Business Review finds that top achievers are in a nonstop job hunt. One of the reasons cited is dissatisfaction with training and development programs—either the lack thereof or programs that are misdirected.

When Rented Meeting Space Meets Training Requirements

As a starting point, it is critical for business leaders to remember that training and development occurs in many ways—inside a classroom and outside of one. It is an ongoing process that includes coaching and mentoring, one-on-one interaction, as well as group engagement. While training rooms aren’t needed in every instance, they still serve a pivotal purpose.

For large companies, they likely have permanent office space that includes training rooms. And while these typically satisfy learning and development requirements, sometimes they do not. For example, for sessions in remote locations, a company may not have a facility with training rooms. Or, in other instances, available training rooms may simply not convey the right dynamics. (For example, think of a high-profile leadership mentoring program or strategic planning session focused on a transformational objective.)

For other companies, they may have inadequate meeting rooms—either/both in terms of size and accouterments (e.g., presentation tools, configuration, etc.). And with many organizations rethinking their workspace approaches—abandoning permanent offices altogether or moving to a hybrid workspace model—use of coworking space and day offices has exploded in recent years as more and more businesses turn to these on-demand alternatives.

When it comes to finding a training room for employee learning and development, too many business leaders elect to use hotel conference rooms. But they are expensive—upwards of 50 percent more than rented meeting rooms—and they normally don’t have the technologies or presentation and collaboration tools needed to execute an effective training and development session. They also lack lobby greeters and administrative support that come with rented meeting rooms.

Why Rented Meeting Rooms Are a Great Choice

So, with the above in mind, what are some of the key reasons why rented meeting rooms make sense for employee training?

1. Space that Meets the Need

Rented meeting space comes in many different sizes and shapes. Business leaders can review their options online and determine which one meets their needs and objectives the best. In the case of Davinci Meeting Rooms, business leaders can review specifications for each option via the web or a mobile app. The latter is particularly important for those who are on the go and heavily rely on their mobile device.

2. Use and Pay On-Demand

Rented meeting space is available on-demand. Thus, businesses only pay for the time they spend using a meeting room. This gives them an affordable, predictable operational expenditure (OpEx) versus a capital expenditure (CapEx).

3. Training in Remote Locations

Even for businesses with permanent workspace with dedicated meeting and training rooms, not every training session can be hosted in that permanent location. The ability to identify and leverage remote meeting/training space provides businesses with scale and flexibility.

4. Lobby Greeters

Rented meeting space comes with a lobby greeter who welcomes each employee to the training session. They can answer questions related to issues such as the location of the restrooms, parking logistics, and food and beverage location. Uncertainty around these issues can create anxiety that distracts from learning, while the time it takes to answer these questions during the training sessions consumes time and saps energy.

5. Presentation and Collaboration Tools

Employee training sessions must be engaging. This is where great presentation and collaboration tools come into play—everything from white boards, to flip charts, to video conferencing.

6. Business Services

Training coordinators often need support making photocopies and ordering and catering meals. At the same time, day-to-day responsibilities of employees remain; they may require administrative assistance with faxing, mailing, and photocopying. They may also need a notary for certain business agreements. Administrative business services that come with rented meeting rooms serve each of these purposes.

Employee training can be a competitive differentiator, enabling organizations to inculcate employees with critical skill sets and to provide them with valuable learning and development opportunities. The training location plays an important role in the success of the training session. Here, rented meeting space is an option businesses of all sizes should seriously consider.

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About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence. LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn Website: www.tirocommunications.com