A little work by your team before initiating the eLearning outsourcing project will put you on the right track and save time & effort. Explore the steps to select the right eLearning vendor and what you can do to make eLearning outsourcing effective.
Outsourcing eLearning design and development helps you meet your training requirements with scale, speed, and quality. Outsourcing eLearning to the right vendor-partner can be a single dose solution to many of your training requirements as it:
- Provides the expertise of instructional design, authoring tools, and agile project management
- Helps you stay on top of eLearning trends
- Helps manage your internal resources and lets you focus on your core areas & priorities
Explore how rapid eLearning offers scale, speed, creativity, and quality – within your timelines.
Selecting the right eLearning vendor is an important task and not something you can do overnight. You need to do a good amount of research before selecting the right one since you will be depending on them for well-designed courses high on learner engagement.
Following these three steps will help you select the right outsourcing partner.
Tips to Select the Right eLearning Outsourcing Partner
1. Shortlist 5-7 Vendors
Check for vendors vetted by industry associations such as:
- eLearning industry
- Training Industry
- ATD
- Brandon Hall
This will help you identify vendors who are well-qualified in creating valuable training solutions for your employees. Check for their thought leadership too —companies that educate the L&D fraternity through blogs, eBooks, webinars, and more.
2. Evaluate their Websites
Select the top three vendors after evaluating their websites. Since most of them speak the same language, look for differentiating factors such as:
- eLearning design and development being their core business, and their experience
- Offering all online training solutions – eLearning, microlearning, virtual instructor-led training (VILT), translations, legacy course conversions – under one roof
- Their ability to work across different time zones and cultures.
3. Request for a Prototype
A prototype is a fully functional sample course that will let you assess if the vendor can provide your expected training solution – in terms of design and functionality. Most vendors will agree to provide you with a prototype at no cost, without any obligations. A prototype will help you assess the vendor’s work and ensure everyone involved – stakeholders, design team, subject matter experts – are on the same page.
How to Make eLearning outsourcing Easy?
It is important to know that efficient eLearning outsourcing is more than just delegating the process of eLearning design and development to an external team.
You can make the process much easier and effective by supporting your vendor during and even before the process of outsourcing. For example, by gathering all available material and giving them timely feedback during design and development, you can make the process more effective.
Similarly, you can do a little pre-work to stay on the right track and save time and cost when outsourcing eLearning. Let’s look at the three main tasks you should do before outsourcing eLearning design and development.
Now that you have an idea of the prep work and tips to select the right vendor, go through this eBook that shares practical insights on making your eLearning outsourcing projects successful, positioning you as the most sought-after training manager in your company and maximizing your training ROI!
