Editor’s note: ISACA Now recently caught up with Zachy Olorunojowon, Executive Director, Digital Health Strategic Initiatives, HSIMIT, BC Ministry of Health, to discuss his experiences as an ISACA enterprise training instructor. He discussed the benefits of enterprise training, areas clients typically see improvements in, the biggest surprises throughout the process and more. To learn more about ISACA’s enterprise training, visit https://www.isaca.org/enterprise/training-and-credentialing.
ISACA Now: In your experience as an instructor, what do clients typically struggle with the most prior to training?
The scope of training to contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. For example, do we allow for interactions and relevant case studies discussion, or do we go for the typical lecture/exam type delivery?
It usually boils down to what success looks like at the end of the training for the organization.
ISACA Now: What are the main benefits of enterprise training?
Knowledge sharing and actionable items for the participants to execute on right after the training. I challenge the attendees to think about what they would do differently after the training to contribute to the strategic objectives of the organization and their day-to-day work.
ISACA Now: In what areas do clients tend to see the biggest improvements?
In the co-creation of ideas by the participants, and the bonding and collaboration to leverage the training to solve real organizational challenges. I’ve seen attendees form communities of practice to address a specific issue, which might not be possible with open training.
ISACA Now: What surprises clients the most regarding enterprise training?
The ability to tailor it to the specific needs of the organization. It’s almost like a training/consulting combo. Attendees are able to discuss pertinent issues specific to their organization.
ISACA Now: Are there any memorable stories you’d like to share from your experiences with training?
Absolutely! Training a cybersecurity sales professional for an international cybersecurity organization based in Eastern Canada with offices in the US and France was a terrific experience. Having to map the modules of the training to their product and fine-tune their sales pitch and language to the problems their products were solving for their clients is just one of the many exciting experiences. No two trainings are the same, even for the same course.
ISACA Now: What would you say to organizations that are considering enterprise training?
The ROT (Return on Training) is huge! Collaboration, co-creation of ideas, skills improvement and re-aligning employees to strategic goals/priorities of the organization are some of the many benefits of enterprise training. For instance, if delivering value to stakeholders is a priority for the organization, bring the core team together to train them on COBIT. If it’s cybersecurity, get them in the room for cybersecurity. If it’s emerging tech, bring your exec to understand AI, blockchain, IoT and the cloud via the enterprise training.