From personal trainers to private tutors, life coaches to pottery teachers, training professionals come in many guises. Whether they teach evening classes, give language lessons over the internet or make the park their classroom, they are making a business out of their knowledge while keeping their independence.
This is a fast-growing and dynamic segment of the UK economy. Private tuition, for example, is booming in Britain, with an estimated 2.8m pupils being tutored at any one time. It is believed that 24 per cent of young learners have used a tutor over the past year, driving up the value of the UK market to £6.5bn.
But while most coaches and teachers provide a top service and have many happy customers, things can go wrong.
“When it comes to complaints, ‘failure in duty to educate’ is a big one for training businesses,” explains Sean Carney, sector specialist at Hiscox. “If the teaching is deemed to be insufficient or if the wrong thing is taught, that creates problems.”
A child’s education is particularly emotive, he adds. “Parents want their children to be high achievers and they may invest a lot of money into extra learning.
“You may face accusations if the pupil doesn’t get into a specific university. They could claim some of the curriculum was missed or the exam was on a topic they hadn’t learnt.”
There are many other stumbling blocks when providing training: have you reproduced a text in your training handbook without getting copyright approval, for example? Could your client claim that your teaching resulted in lost earnings? Have you accidentally sent a bill to the wrong person, which may constitute a data breach – or even a breach of confidentiality?
All of these issues can hurt a growing training business.
A quarter of all training now takes place online, which is cost-effective for teacher and student but means it may be harder to build a rapport, increasing the risk of complaints.
In an age of social media, where complaints can echo around the globe in moments, reputation has never been more important to coaches – once lost, it’s hard to get back.
“Most training professionals win business through word of mouth recommendations,” says Carney. “If you get a bad reputation, your business could implode.”
While starting a training business can bring many benefits, such as flexibility, independence and the feel-good factor that comes with helping people, it is important to be aware of the pitfalls.
“It can be hard to prove that you have passed on the skills you promised,” explains Carney. “Even if you are a gym instructor and your client appears fitter or can lift more weights, it’s hard to definitively prove that you were behind those results.”
There is an expectation of a certain level of knowledge and experience when providing training services, which can be hard to demonstrate. Those giving classes must keep up-to-date with developments in their area and ideally be able to prove they are topping up their industry knowledge regularly.
Professional indemnity cover can help training professionals protect their livelihood and reputation after a complaint or legal challenge.
“If there is an unhappy customer, your insurer should provide access to a marketing fund to protect the reputation of the trainer,” says Carney. By working with public relations experts early on, any reputational damage could be mitigated.
Crisis containment is key: once a complaint has been escalated – perhaps to a governing body or industry watchdog – it can be hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
Professional indemnity cover will also protect the training professional in the event that the claim goes to court. The insurer will not only pay for related costs but assist in their defence.
From the moment a new customer gets in touch, coaches and teachers should take steps to protect themselves. It is important only to accept clients you are confident you can help. Put in place a detailed contract outlining the nature of the service you are providing and setting realistic limits on your responsibilities.
If you are a training professional, take the time to invest in your own peace of mind. By trusting the experts to deal with any problems, you can focus on running and growing your business.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Hiscox, sponsor of the Adventures in Business hub on the Guardian Small Business Network.
