Think! Inc. Complements Strategic Negotiation Skills Training with Outsourced Solution for Training Materials

Employee training is critical to organizational progress and success.  In fact, according to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) 2007 State of the Industry Report, companies that achieved high benchmarks in training excellence reported significant improvements in productivity, employee retention, increase in sales revenues, and customer and employee satisfaction.

Think! Inc., a global provider of strategic negotiation skills training to Fortune 1000 companies, creates specially tailored workshops that help organizations refine their company negotiation strategy and achieve positive bottom-line results. 

Because they serve such a broad customer base, each with unique needs, Think! Inc. provides customized training materials for each of their workshops.  Think! Inc. quickly learned, however, that it can be challenging to get all the training materials to the right people and locations, on time, every time. 

As training professionals, Think! Inc. knew that often it’s difficult to manage the many steps and finer points that go into administering a training program. According to ASTD, many organizations have experienced increases in learning efficiency by selecting outsourcing partners who complement their internal strengths, and Think! Inc. turned to Standard Register to do just that. 

Production Pains with Training Materials
Through their previous process, Think! Inc. relied on an online, on-demand printing solution for the production of their customized training materials.  While their previous provider could meet their printing needs for manuals, tent cards, worksheets and more; the full breadth of capabilities was limited and the need for a more robust solution presented itself. 

In addition to the printed materials, Think! Inc. was in search of a way to send out training materials in a fully-customized kit – complete with copies of Selling Power Magazine, logo printed pens and chocolate bars, notepads and quick reference materials. 

Consequently, when Think! needed these customized kits for a client, they had to include other vendors in the process, leading to a training kit production process that was piecemeal and inefficient.

A Streamlined Approach
Through Standard Register’s SMARTworks® Kitting Solution, Think! Inc. now benefits from a streamlined end-to-end solution, improving on their previous ad hoc training kit process. 

Now, each customized and complete Think! Inc. kit order is produced locally at Standard Register’s Chicago StanFast® facility, kitted with warehoused items, and shipped to its destination around the world. It arrives with all of the training kit pieces packed together in the order in which they’ll be used, streamlining Think! Inc.’s operations and allowing associates to focus on developing and delivering training content, as opposed to the administrative details. 

Reducing the Carbon Footprint
While transforming their training material administration process, Think! Inc. made it a point to be more conscious of the impact their training materials are having on the environment.  Previously, the organization used polypropylene covers on the manuals, large plastic cases to house kits of training materials, and did not use recycled paper throughout their course materials. 

“I have always been the eco-conscious one in the office and pushed to change the way we have been operating,” said Leina Dietmeyer, Think! Inc. Operations Manager/Data Analyst.  “In the line of business we are in, printed materials are a necessity.  Standard Register helped us come up with solutions to be as environmentally-friendly as possible by eliminating cumbersome plastic cases, and printing on recycled materials.  We are continuously open to ideas Standard Register provides on staying green.”

At Standard Register, we know that workforce development is vital to every aspect of your company.  Our Training Solutions provide you with complete management of your training program. We allow you to focus on content development while we handle design through delivery of everything you need to conduct your training.

For more information about the resources Standard Register can provide to optimize your employee learning initiatives, contact us now.