As a human resource professional, it may be your job to produce and present training programs for your organization. The first step in providing training to your employees is to develop a written proposal to present to upper management. The format of the written proposal is up to you; sometimes written proposals must follow strict corporate guidelines and be in a precise format. This makes it easy for decisionmakers to compare proposals. Other times, written proposals use a format that is appropriate to the problem at hand. Thus, in general, preparing a proposal is dependent upon the organization to be served and the problems to be addressed. Therefore, you must provide either a real or hypothetical company to begin your written proposal, providing me, the reader, with a company background.
Please make sure you are explicit about the HOWs and WHYs of the Training process you are proposing***
The following are components that should be included in your proposal BUT do not need to necessarily be in this order (remember that with these components, it is essential that you very specifically present rationale for your approach):
Main Sections:
Lesson Title
Company Background & Strategy
Needs Assessment
Topic Background/Need for Training Rationale
Motivational/Learning Theories
Transfer Issues
Training Methods
Evaluation Techniques
Closing Statement
Appendices (any surveys, interviews, appraisals, data, etc. that you propose to use should be included in an
appendix and referred to within the text of your proposal)
Additional Sections to be incorporated within these main sections:
Rationale and Goals of the proposed Training (This lesson will give tips on how to handle)
Learning Objective and Topics
Target population
Prerequisites (i.e., Do trainees need prior training?)
Training resources required (training aids, equipment, supplies etc.)
Capabilities of the training providers (what are the trainers credentials?)
Costs/projected benefits analysis
Relationship of lesson to past and future training (does this training correspond to ongoing training?)
Lesson Content/Lesson Plan:
Learner Materials (are there any materials needs i.e., handouts?)
Special Requirements
Program Outlines
Ice Breakers
Any administrative information/logistics (restrooms, breaks etc)
Overview of the lesson
Actual training (include exercises, estimated time, etc.)
Conclusion
Two rules of thumb to keep in mind are as follows:
1. Senior executives usually want a more summary view with fewer details than do middle managers and explanation of the return on investment (ROI).
2. The larger the scope of the project and more expensive the solution, the more detailed the proposal needs to be. Therefore, know your audience, your purpose, your project and write accordingly
