Overcoming 4 Common Concerns of Outsourcing Training

A ccording to the 2015 Training Industry report, the year saw a slight increase in the average expenditure for training outsourcing: $306,683, up from $303,833 in 2014. The level of outsourcing was expected to stay relatively steady in 2016 – around 84% organizations said they expected to stay the same in the outsourcing area.

Even though the market for learning and training outsourcing is doing quite well, organizations still hesitate to outsource their training requirements due to various reasons such as concerns on:

• The quality of work
• Meeting timelines and fixed budgets
• Information privacy and security
• Language barriers and cultural issues

Here are four objections you may face when outsourcing training and ways to overcome them.

1. Uncertainty about the Vendor’s Expertise and Quality

Objection: You may have concerns about the vendor’s expertise in learning design. You may also be concerned about the real-time experience of the vendor in corporate training.

Solution: To know the expertise of your vendor, check the qualification and communication level of their team. Nowadays, you can get this information via LinkedIn and other professional networking sites.

You can ask the training vendor for sample courses to assess quality. If you want to be doubly sure, you can assign a small prototype to check how well the vendor can execute it.

Checking the real-time experience of the vendor in corporate training will help you understand his proficiency in addressing your learning needs.

2. Data Privacy and Security Concerns

Objection: When you think of outsourcing, concerns about data security are natural. The privacy of confidential data and trusting an external agency with your groundbreaking research and proprietary information become major concerns.

Solution: Have a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the vendor to safeguard your confidential data. If your data is research-based, ensure it is safeguarded by Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and discuss the same clearly with your prospective training partner, early in the partnership.

Seek references from existing clients to certify the business ethics and confidentiality practices of the training vendor.

Check our blog to know the benefits of outsourcing eLearning.

3. Project Management Capabilities

Objection: You may have concerns about working with a team that is geographically distant. You may also be unsure of the vendor’s processes and how they ensure the smooth execution of outsourced projects.

Solution: You can ask your training vendor for documented project management processes and procedures to get an idea of their project execution abilities.

Check whether the vendor is certified in global project management standards such as Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide.

You can ask for a dedicated Project Manager as a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to ensure your project gets undivided attention and is executed with impeccable quality, within the set budget and timelines.

For more clarity on selecting the right learning partner for your growing training needs, check our free e-book: E-learning Outsourcing: Selecting the Right E-learning Vendor.

4. Communication and Cultural Differences

Objection: You may face challenges communicating with a team located remotely and not proficient in English (it may not be their native language).

Solution: Have a written, signed-off agreement on the deliverables to avoid miscommunication. Prefer communication through e-mails to verbal communication over phone calls.

Even if you discuss progress and feedback through conference calls, record the minutes and major takeaways of those meetings and circulate them through e-mails, for better clarity.

Want to outsourcing e-learning projects to India? Here are 8 crucial points to consider.

So the next time you have concerns about outsourcing training, take a look at the countermeasures discussed in this post. They will help you take the right decision.