Choosing the Right Online Training Provider for Your Agency

Governments worldwide are struggling to hire and retain digitally skilled workers. From Australia to Brazil, public sector agencies are facing increased competition from the private sector, which often offers employees higher pay and more flexible working arrangements. 

Along with a competitive job market, government agencies are grappling with an expanding talent gap. In March and April of 2023, only 40% of open government jobs in the U.S. were filled. Where public agencies are understaffed and under-skilled, communities suffer, as critical services become delayed or altogether unavailable.

While public sector agencies might not match the salaries and flexible work schedules of the private sector, they can leverage professional development as a means to increase employee retention and address staffing needs. By partnering with an online training provider, employees can acquire valuable skills that enhance performance and engagement.

Using learning as an incentive not only boosts morale but also fosters an engaging work environment for service-minded employees eager to make a difference.

How do you determine which online training provider is right for your agency and employees? Our latest guide, How to Select the Right Online Training Provider: 3 Key Criteria for Government HR Leaders, examines the essential criteria to consider when evaluating providers:

1. Taking a skills-first approach
2. Offering high-quality, relevant content
3. Tracking and measuring outcomes

1. A Skills-First Approach

Before allocating training resources, it’s crucial to understand the current skills of your employees and identify areas for improvement. We suggest reviewing performance evaluations, analyzing employees’ educational backgrounds, and encouraging self-assessments.

Once you’ve established a baseline, evaluate how effectively the training provider can address these skill gaps and collaborate with your organization to tailor development initiatives.

Example questions to ask:

• What tools do you offer to assess skill levels and place learners appropriately by capabilities?
• Can your platform provide content recommendations based on a learner’s skill level?
• How can you help my agency develop training initiatives for departments and individual staff members?

2. High-Quality, Relevant Content

The quality of content is pivotal for achieving meaningful outcomes. Review the provider’s content sources. Is it authored by well-respected universities and industry leaders? 

Also consider their pedagogy structure to understand whether the content is designed in a way that will meet your skill needs and help employees at all levels. At Coursera, learning scientists start with a course’s learning objectives, then develop assessment plans and instructional items accordingly. 

Assessing content quality also involves determining the range of formats and device compatibility. Ideally, providers should present diverse formats, enabling users to interact with content in ways that promote effective and inclusive learning.

Example questions to ask:

• Who authors the content? Are they experts at leading universities or companies?
• Does your platform adhere to accessibility standards, such as WCAG?
• What languages is the content available in? Does that include both coursework and assessments?

3. Tracking and Measuring Outcomes

What isn’t measured can’t be improved. Robust tracking and reporting capabilities are essential for measuring the impact of skills development across your agency.

Choose a provider that works with you to identify key performance metrics, and offers real-time data analytics and tools for reporting. Your provider should help you gauge the return on your training investment in terms of increased retention rates, changes to employee satisfaction, and productivity gains that accelerate service delivery. 

Example questions to ask:

• What types of learner data do you track? How do you evaluate learner progress, performance, and engagement?
• How do you benchmark skill levels at the beginning of the program and over time?
• Does your reporting allow for customization, enabling HR leaders to create tailored reports?

Want to learn more about effectively training and retaining government employees? Download your copy of Coursera’s How to Select the Right Online Training Provider: 3 Key Criteria for Government HR Leaders today.