Evaluating a Guaranteed to Run Offer

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For IT professionals training is a key support service that is critical to the on-the-job success. And, getting training when it is needed can often be as important as the training itself. With the need for specific knowledge and skills frequently tied to project deadlines, deployment schedules and development milestones, timing can be everything. But scheduling training around work priorities and personal obligations can be difficult. The IT professional has to not just plan around work and personal obligations, but also find a training provider that offers the training needed in the small window of opportunity the individual has available. Finally the dominoes fall into place, and they find the required course, from a reputable training provider, on the date that it is needed. Everything is set. Then two weeks before the scheduled delivery date of the class, the student receives an email from the training provider informing them that the class in which they are enrolled has been cancelled. In recent years this has become an all too familiar scenario for the IT professional. Budget cuts have led to less IT professionals on staff being asked to do more work. This inevitably means less time available for much needed training. For the training provider this means greater difficulty in filling and successfully running scheduled classes. Enter “Guaranteed to Run” training. Guaranteed to Run (GTR) training is exactly what it sounds like – a training class that is guaranteed to run on the date it is scheduled. Why is this important? Guaranteed to Run training can enable the IT professional to:

  • Avoid any time wasted re-scheduling or re-booking of training
  • Select the training dates that work for you with confidence
  • Book travel without worrying about any cancellation
  • Schedule training for multiple team members, in one or more classes to meet your business priorities and deadlines

Even with guaranteed to run training, not all GTR offers are created equal. The following are some criteria that you can use to determine if the GTR offer you are considering will give you what is needed.

  • What criteria does the provider use to determine if a class becomes guaranteed to run?
  • Are only certain classes guaranteed to run? Why?
  • Does the provider use promotional language that is deceptive or misleading? It should be clear which classes are guaranteed to Run.
  • Does the provider have any disclaimers that allow them to cancel a class that is guaranteed to run? Such criteria should be limited to acts of God and other factors that beyond the control of the provider
  • Does the provider ever reverse its decision on a class being guaranteed to run? Under what circumstances would this happen? A good GTR program will puts the needs of the customers above those of the provider.
  • If you are enrolled in a class that is guaranteed to Run and the class is canceled, what happens to the enrollment? There should be some type of recompense for your inconvenience.
  • If you enroll in a class that is guaranteed to Run, book travel for the class and the class is canceled, does the provider offer any compensation for your travel change fees or non-refundable travel expenses? Again, even token compensation will demonstrate that your needs are paramount to the provider.

Check out Layer8’s Always Guaranteed to Runsm program for Citrix Live Online training.