Custom training content is a known way of improving the effectiveness of any training initiative. However, time constraints and lack of in house instructional design capabilities are two common barriers that prevent businesses from creating and switching to custom training content.
This year, more businesses have identified elearning vendors as a possible solution to these challenges.
Specialist elearning companies have been known to reduce the turnaround time of producing training content, while also delivering content that drives measurable improvements for their clients’ training initiatives.
However, as with any outsourcing/offshoring solution, there are several issues surrounding outsourcing the development of training content.
Any company that wants to investigate outsourcing their training content to an elearning content vendor needs to understand a range of issues to come to an informed decision.
Here is a list of the most important benefits of working with outsourced e-learning companies:
Benefits Of Working With Elearning Content Providers
- Cost Effective: Not outsourcing training content production leaves most companies with choosing between hiring dedicated designers, content writers, and instructional design experts or reallocating existing in-house resources to the task. When choosing the outsource path, there is no need to hire expensive resources or pull existing ones from their current responsibilities. One of the additional costs of hiring is is the cost of the hiring process and the disruption it can generate. This generally makes outsourcing the more pocket-friendly option, especially if the business is expanding and has growing training needs.
- Quick Turnaround Time: Content providers’ core function is to produce training content and hence, they have state-of-the-art technology and resources that allow them to create quality training content in record times. Companies that go in-house may discover, too late, the amount of time needed to ramp up a project, to learn all the important things an e-learning specialist company already knows.
- Access To Expert Knowledge: This isn’t just limited to instructional design experts. Training content providers have worked with several businesses on various training projects serving different training needs and situations. They can help the company improve on other parts of the training with their experience.
- Freedom To Focus On Core Functions: With the company’s resources free from the responsibility of developing training content, they can focus on their core tasks. Similarly, when there is no need to oversight the development process at every step, the production manager or general manager can concentrate on what they do best.
These are just a few of the advantages most companies can expect from a dependable elearning vendor.
The next step in the process is to find a suitable company to outsource to.
How To Pick A Dependable Elearning Vendor
- Online Reviews: While investigating any service, checking the online reviews and reputation of that service is often the first step. To be sure not to fall for fake reviews, be sure to check across different platforms, such as reviews on search engines, directory platforms, and social media. Thoroughly read the reviews and try to determine their veracity.
- Case Studies: After identifying a number of suitable vendors, the next step is to ask prospects for case studies and examples of their past work. This step will help gauge the kind of turnaround and response time that can be expected from a particular vendor, along with the quality of content they can deliver.
- Client References: After generating a short list of prospects that seem to fit the selection criteria, the next important step to evaluate content providers for a training initiative is to ask for client references. These are handy for verifying how they work with deadlines, non-disclosure agreements, and other aspects of a project. Moreover, it is a big green flag when one of the clients is willing to jump on a call to tell about their positive experience with the vendor.
- Prototype Projects: Finally, before closing a deal with any vendor, one useful step is to give them a sample project to complete. This will verify all the findings already made in the previous steps and improves the odds of making the right decision.
Conclusion
A training content outsourcing partnership can greatly benefit an expanding organisation and taking the right steps can help find the right vendor for the company’s needs. Preparation is key to making a success of the decision for training, whether it be kept in-house or outsourced.