Project Management Support for Development of Internal Training Program

LBG’s expertise in project management enabled a client to develop an internal training program.

Challenge:

A large pharma company with a global presence, which has been in operation for more than 170 years and has well-established internal processes and infrastructure, was developing an internal training program for their Project Managers (PMs). They wanted to generate world-class content for a PM-focused training series, create a training presentation in PowerPoint, and identify a PM subject matter expert (SME) to serve as a class trainer for a series of training cohorts in accordance with their timelines and requirements. However, the client’s internal pool of PMs with knowledge in the subject area was limited and/or unavailable to support the development of the training due to other obligations.

LBG was already engaged with the client and was providing PM support for another project. Our team member demonstrated expertise in the PM area and was asked to contribute to the training development as a SME and trainer.

Solution:

We approached this challenge by applying our experience with project management—both practical and theoretical—as well as our knowledge from working within the client’s existing processes and PM framework. Tools and systems that have been developed by and serve as the cornerstone of LBG’s PM services were utilized as a resource in the development of a comprehensive training program, which covers all aspects of the project management lifecycle.

Collaborative brainstorming sessions were conducted to develop the presentation content. The client also helped refine the training class presentation content and themes to fit into the overarching training series in development. The entire training series was first introduced for a pilot cohort of trainees. Feedback was solicited from the development team and the pilot cohort and served as input for training content modifications/improvements. The training series was optimized and then delivered to a group of four cohorts.

The collaborative brainstorming sessions produced a content framework that included topics and specific examples/scenarios that were ported into a PowerPoint presentation deck, which was the foundation of the training class. The collaborative content development was completed in four sessions over the course of approximately two months, and the draft training presentation was prepared and refined over approximately two months. The training series (pilot and four subsequent cohorts) were executed during a six-month timeframe.

Results and Impact:

As a result of our support, the training series was successfully developed and used to train the client’s internal team of PMs. They were able to provide PM training to approximately 50 participants in the pilot and four training cohorts. In addition, the client’s internal PM team will execute projects using a consistent management approach built around the existing client processes to increase successful project outcomes. The client plans to continue using the training program and train more than 50 PMs per year.