Choosing eLearning Supplier: 5 Factors To Consider

Choosing eLearning Supplier: 5 Factors To Consider
Summary: As mentioned in Bersin by Deloitte report, now there are at least 600 eLearning providers on the market. That makes the process of choosing a supplier quite complicated. But don’t be scared: Follow our tips on how to choose eLearning supplier, and you’ll be able to decide easier.

5 Factors To Consider Factors When Choosing eLearning Supplier 

Here are 5 important factors you need to consider during the process of choosing eLearning supplier:

  1. Think of provider’s size and industry experience. 
    • Ask the supplier for references. The right provider should be experienced enough in increasing its clients’ employees’ productivity and engagement.
    • Large eLearning providers seem more reliable. Such suppliers have all the opportunities to make courses on numerous business topics delivered by different lecturers. So, if you want to train various types of workers, a large provider is a perfect solution.
    • A small supplier usually demonstrates individual attitude towards customers. A team with just a few members is faster in performing tasks. They usually specialize in certain areas of business training. When you have to train your workforce, let’s say, in terms of sexual harassment prevention, small providers fit better.
  2. Choose a technically advanced supplier.
    Today eLearning is able to provide you with not only ordinary lectures to watch with a laptop – but also with the real educational experience.

    • Training and Development (T&D)  specialists should have the opportunity to quickly find the right courses among a large variety of materials available in online library and develop a personal program for each member of the office team. The 24/7 access to employees’ statistics is necessary to evaluate the learning effectiveness and provide recommendations for further education.
    • Employees should have the opportunity to learn with any gadgets. That’s especially important for those who can’t access computers and Internet on the job (for example, blue-collar workers). For such employees eLearning must be easy to access with devices like tablets, laptops, and smartphones.
    • No doubt, the supplier’s support service should be responsible for solving technical problems as fast as possible.
  3. Find an eLearning supplier for both educational content and Learning Management System (LMS).
    When establishing eLearning, try not to divide it into content and the system it goes well with.

    • If you find one supplier for both courses and Learning Management System, you can make sure your courses work with the learning system without any errors and problems.
    • Conducting the whole eLearning process is much more effective when you communicate with one supplier rather than with numerous teams. The provider gets a thorough understanding of what you and your employees really require from training.
  4. Consider high-quality courses. 
    • Make sure the supplier’s courses are interactive and engaging, with a high level of gamification. Education becomes more effective if employees have the right tasks and tests after each course. Business simulations allow employees to see the real outcomes of the choice they make right away.
    • Consider the speakers’ profiles. What about their professional background? Do they seem famous experts in their subject? Notice that the best professionals usually either work at large successful companies or teach at well-known universities.
    • What is also important is the courses’ availability in SCORM that allows you to use them with most Learning Management Systems without any additional costs.
  5. Pay attention to an easy-to-use interface.
    Nobody would like to learn with a badly-managed educational system and too complicated interface.

    • Employees consider an interface user-friendly when it’s easy to access the course, find recommendations for further learning after passing tests, and add courses to a wish list and calendar. That makes employees feel a personal approach.
    • For HR specialists an easy-to-use Learning Management System interface means a system easily connected with other HRM systems. That allows to test workers and find needed courses in just a few clicks. Moreover, Training and Development specialists should be able to have an instant access to statistics and the reports on employees’ results.

You probably still find it rather complicated to choose the right eLearning supplier. A good thing is that today most eLearning providers offer a trial period. Eduson provides a free 14 day demo: Try all the possible features and experience the quality of courses first hand!