It's all very well recognising that your company needs some training in one area, but nowadays there are many different ways of delivering the same training, depending on what is needed. Here are four different types of training, each one with their own special advantages when choosing how you would like training delivered in your company:

1. On a scheduled course, with the public

This is usually the cheapest option as the more delegates, the more the cost comes down in some cases. It also means that your staff can have a "day out" , not just interacting with the same people that they see at work day in, day out. It also presents a variety of skill levels, so everyone can learn at their own pace within the training structure. If the training you need is something that will also be of interest to the public, such as learning a piece of software or something like organisational skills, then this could be the simplest form of training for you to book. This is also the most common form of training, and is usually open to everyone.

2. A "roll out" at your company

This is more of a tailored option to suit your business better, yet will probably appear more expensive as a result. If you think that your whole department needs training, but you'd rather it was done in your own building, there can be advantages to this, too. The trainers come in from the outside, yet your staff are learning on the equipment that they are already used to and work with in a normal, everyday working scenario. Also, it makes people more comfortable when learning something unfamiliar in a familiar environment. That, and everyone knows each other, so there is more of a social element to the training that may not be present if you were learning alongside other people in the public.

3. One to one training

If the training required is specialist to one particular job role that isn't shared by many people, you could arrange for the employees who would benefit to have one to one training. This has many advantages relating to the time spent and concentration on what the individual needs - this kind of training usually is more intense, yet more fruitful because the trainer is 100% focused on the individual, and not having their time divided around the rest of the room. That said, this can be a lonely way to learn, and there's also no sense of camaraderie if nobody else has to learn the same things. Then again, some people do work better this way without other people to distract them!

4. ELearning via the internet (or "distance learning")

This is becoming a popular training option for those businesses that are either pushed for time, or short of money. ELearning can take the form of anything from a web-hosted "seminar" where people sign in at a certain time of day, down to merely looking at online help files as you use a new piece of software. Again, there are advantages and disadvantages to this style - learning from a distance means you're not always able to ask questions and get help as easily, but then again, if it's a simple training course, it can be done quickly, cheaply, and with your employee still at his or her desk to concentrate on it.

This should give you some idea of the different ways of training available to you. Of course, it's up to you to decide, and up to your employees to voice their own preferences before you make a hard and fast decision. You may even want to mix one or two styles, to see which works best for you.