Checklist for HR professionals: How sustainable is a training concept?

As HR managers and learning experts: How do you choose suitable trainers for further training? Once the goal of training is set, a suitable trainer can be sought. Whether in-house or external, a good training concept is primarily one thing: sustainably successful. Learn now how to recognize such a concept!

Are good trainers hard to find?

New goals in human resources mean new measures: As it becomes clear that internal training should be expanded or changed, a question forms in your mind: How do I find the right trainer? There are formally various offers, but as an HR manager, you should first answer some questions when choosing a trainer:

In-house or external?

In-house trainers seem to be the "safe" option for many companies – and the simpler one. However, in-house solutions are often more of a stopgap because external trainers may not have enough commitment to the company. External trainers, on the other hand, are often better trained and bring more experience. The question therefore often is: What is the more important criterion?

Company commitment or a wide range of experience?

The spectrum of experiences and especially of content is a point that many HR managers underestimate when choosing a trainer. An experienced external trainer and his team usually have spent several years developing content. This focus on content is often not possible with an in-house trainer.

What criteria do we have for a trainer?

You should ask yourself this question before starting concrete negotiations. Not only the price needs to be right: From content orientation to methods to personal charisma – the list of criteria is long.

A trainer and coach should definitely bring some qualities: Infectious enthusiasm is an absolute must! Professional competence cannot be missing either, but that is much more difficult to measure: The trainer’s experience is an indicator, but not a guarantee of excellent further training.

What goal does my company pursue with the training?

Therefore, first clarify what goals your company has that should be achieved through the training. Likely, a particular aspect should be promoted – which will lead to greater success for employees or leaders in the long run.

Long-term success: Sustainability is a quality criterion of further training

One of the most important criteria for new trainers or coaches is the sustainability of learning success. Direct improvements during the training or shortly afterwards are, of course, a great experience for trainers and participants. But if, a few months later, hardly any change is felt, the training was not worth it for the company.

💡 Sustainable training concepts only fully unfold their value when quality, transfer, and digital support are systematically planned, and companies can realistically calculate and strategically manage the underlying e-learning costs.

How do I recognize a sustainable training concept? At blink.it, we are in contact with trainers and coaches every day, and over the years we have come to know several training concepts. Therefore, we have summarized the most important criteria for sustainably successful training:

Checklist: How to recognize a sustainable training concept

1. Personal connection between trainer/coach and participants

2. High practical component with clear calls to action

3. Opportunity for exchange with other learners

4. Incorporating personal experiences from everyday work

5. Regularly activating the training content over weeks or months

6. Short, focused learning units in microlearning format

7. Inclusion of all relevant groups of people

Perhaps this classification is already sufficient for you when selecting the next trainer or coach for your company. To clarify the individual points, we explain them to you shortly:

1. Personal connection between trainer/coach and participants

A didactically sensible training is tailored to the learning objectives and competencies of the participants. Therefore, it is important that the trainer can understand the challenges from the participants' perspective and motivate them to surpass themselves.

Info: Do you want to make your online course even more motivating? Then find out now how to convince with the first content: More Motivation in Online Courses – Why the First Content Matters

2. High proportion of exercises with clear calls to action

Practice makes perfect – as old as this saying is, the true core is revealed in many further training sessions. A high number of exercises alone is not enough – the call to action must be clear and present so that the participant can put the theory into practice.

3. Opportunity for exchange with other participants

In general, the trainer or coach should offer a good range of different learning forms. Social learning (the exchange with others) should not be forgotten. Learn more about the different learning forms in the Think-Read-Talk-Do model: How does learning work with the TRDT model?

4. Incorporating personal experiences in everyday work

The integration of training and everyday work is essential: After all, the participant should also apply what they have learned in their job. A training is good if it is always clear how the learned material is helpful in practice.

5. Regularly activating training content over months

This point is also crucial for the success of a training – yet it is often neglected. We learn in school that “cramming” is by no means sustainable and that we should learn not just for an exam, but for our long-term memory. New content must be repeatedly brought to the forefront and practiced – this applies to adults even more than to children.

6. Short, focused learning units in microlearning format

This aspect is just as important for adults as it is for children: Our attention span significantly decreases after just a few minutes. Moreover, we tend to be more willing to invest five minutes daily than one whole hour once a week – and the effect is also greater with such short, focused learning units!

7. Inclusion of all relevant groups of people

A final point that HR staff and trainers should not neglect for a completely successful training: It is best to discuss together who in the company (or even outside) has contact with the training content. Include executives and ensure that no one feels excluded.

Successful into the future with digital competencies

In addition to these seven criteria for a good training concept, the topic of digital competence is an important aspect during the initial conversation with the trainer. After all, good training is not determined by the mere existence of digital methods!

Trainers should also align with the company. After all, further training is highly future-oriented and should also be up to date. A classic face-to-face trainer with methods from the last century can be professionally well-founded – however, such a concept likely no longer meets the expectations of the participants. Content remains, but people change, and with them also the methods.

But hold on! That doesn’t mean that a good trainer should automatically follow a purely online concept. Under this assumption, we would eventually need no more in-person training. A good trainer recognizes the company’s requirements and offers both online AND offline methods depending on the situation.

From the classic face-to-face trainer to the “blended trainer”

There are various blended learning models with which you can interlink online and offline training in your company: Depending on the starting situation and goals of the company, a “blended trainer” offers part presence events (e.g., individual coaching or classic seminars) and part online impulses that participants can work on self-directed.

The aforementioned goal of sustainability of training can be beautifully achieved by you or the trainer or coach with blended learning: Short, focused learning units are difficult to manage in face-to-face training, but they work perfectly online. The regular activation of training content is also best implemented online. Personal relationships between trainer and participants, on the other hand, work best in person.

The central advantages of blended learning for your company:

• Increased learning effect

• Increased measurability

• Lower absenteeism

• Location-independent learning

• High transfer into everyday work

In addition to the criteria from the checklist for a sustainable training concept, you can recognize a professional blended trainer by additional competencies:

Checklist Part 2: What characterizes a good blended trainer

• A flexible concept that is adapted to the requirements of your company

• Selected methods that contribute to the learning objectives of the participants

• A willingness to learn and experimental atmosphere in further training

• A wide repertoire of both online and offline didactics (depending on the training format)

• The technical requirements are adapted to the participants of the further training

Questions for trainers and coaches during the introduction

You have now learned some criteria for a sustainable training concept and the competencies of a good blended trainer. But how do you recognize whether a trainer or coach meets these requirements? We will finally show you possible questions that you can ask in the initial conversation to fulfill the mentioned criteria!

Conclusion

A sustainable training concept is only really successful when learning success, transfer to everyday work, and economic viability are considered together.

Sustainability in further training means more than motivating training sessions or modern methods. It is crucial that learning objectives are clearly defined, content is conveyed in a practical manner, and participants remain activated over an extended period. Personal connection, microlearning impulses, blended learning, and regular reflection are central components.

At the same time, every training concept should also be strategically positioned: What effect should be achieved, how is the transfer measured, and how does the training fit into the company’s long-term learning strategy?

Those who ask these questions early will be able to recognize more quickly whether a trainer simply delivers an event or actually offers a sustainable system. Thus, further training does not become a one-time measure, but a powerful component of corporate development.

Updated on 25.02.2026