News & Research: Client Successes

Case Study: Technical Training Assessment

ScottMadden worked with a large gas and electric company to assess its technical training function and outline a future-state vision aligned with its strategic direction.

• The company had recently implemented a shared services organization and cut budgets
• Existing benchmarks and cost comparisons showed that the company was investing less in training than its peer group in terms of operating budget, training staff size, and training attendance time. The company, however, was unsure of how to interpret the numbers
• Recent high-profile incidents had raised concerns about field service personnel training and skills
• The training function was challenged by an aging workforce and compounded by poorly skilled new hires and an increasingly demanding regulatory environment
• Technical training was identified by executive management as an opportunity area for the future, where the company could make a positive difference and send the right message relative to culture

• Benchmarked current technical training operations against key performance metrics
• Conducted interviews with 14 peer companies to determine their best practices and lessons learned
• Conducted research on relevant world-class training organizations outside the industry
• Identified gaps and developed tactical recommendations based on interviews and research
• Developed strategic recommendations for a new operating model and vision for training
• Defined action plans to implement the vision

• Defined 12 tactical recommendations based on best practices from peer companies
• Defined a process model for technical training to support a process-oriented operating model
• Defined a new operating model for training, including organizational design, governance structure, and process ownership responsibilities
• Defined a future-state vision and plans for enabling a corporate university