Is It Time To Bring In A Rapid eLearning Services Outsourcing Partner?
eLearning courses need to have the right mix of content, interactive elements, and engaging learning strategies. eLearning design and development can get time-consuming, given the increased demand in the modern world that needs uninterrupted training, rapid upskilling, and more.
Developing an eLearning course calls for multiple skills, including instructional designers, visual designers, and multimedia specialists. Do you have all these resources in-house? Is hiring, managing, and maintaining them feasible – especially in these days of high inflation and global recession?
This is why organizations choose to outsource the design and development of rapid eLearning services to a vendor-partner, experienced in their domain and industry.
Outsource Rapid eLearning Services When…
Here are a few instances when you should consider outsourcing your rapid eLearning program:
- You are unsure of where to begin.
- Your in-house L&D team hasn’t the necessary skillsets or bandwidth to accommodate the speed of need.
- Your internal team is good with design capabilities but not qualified to handle development.
- You want to maximize your investment on time, cost, and effort.
- You don’t want to burden your employees with additional tasks, such as translations or media development.
- You are new to online training and have a huge repository of classroom training material to be made online-ready, quickly.
What Elements Of Rapid eLearning Can Be Outsourced?
Luckily, rapid eLearning outsourcing isn’t a force fit. You have a wide variety of options to pick from – based on your in-house capabilities, priorities, budget, availability of content, and more.
Here’s just the tip of the iceberg to give you an idea. And the best part is that when you outsource the design and development of rapid eLearning, the vendor will do the grunt work for you – leaving you to savor the results of your investment.
eLearning Design And Development
Content that currently exists in your library as Word documents, PowerPoint Presentations (PPTs), videos, or Instructor-led Training (ILT) material can be effectively converted into eLearning courses with sound instructional design through rapid authoring tools such as Adobe Captivate, dominKnow, Articulate Storyline, and iSpring Suite. So, when you want to outsource rapid eLearning design and development, look for eLearning vendors who can:
- Consult you on utilizing eLearning the right way in your blended learning framework
- Design interactive courses using sound principles of instructional design
- Retain the essence of the classroom when converting to eLearning
- Fast forward development using the authoring tool of your choice
- Communicate with you closely and work without cultural/time barriers
Legacy Course Conversions
Outsourcing the conversion of your legacy courses to HTML5, to a competent rapid eLearning vendor can be a quick win. This will help your team focus on other tasks and delegate mundane technicalities. However, there are a lot of hidden opportunities when converting legacy courses to HTML5; look for an eLearning outsourcing vendor who can:
- Enhance courses for content, interactivities, look & feel
- Update branding, if required
- Use a fresh instructional strategy
- Update/script new assessments as required
- Remodel graphics and media components
- Reconfigure lengthy courses to microlearning
- Add immersive elements such as videos, scenarios, and quizzes.
eLearning Translations
Learners enjoy learning in the language of their choice, but this does not negate the fact that the process is challenging. eLearning translation needs linguists in addition to eLearning experts. And outsourcing eLearning translations is your best bet to ensure a hassle-free experience and quick turnaround. If you want to outsource eLearning translations, look for a vendor-partner who:
- Follows a streamlined TEP (Translation-Editing-Proofreading) process
- Uses the latest AI-based tools that will save time and money, along with cutting-edge memory tools
- Offers translations in all major international languages and leverages authoring tools to develop translated courses
- Offers value-add services such as the multilingual wrapper
Pro Tip: Plan for eLearning translations along with your master course!
Course Development From Ready-To-Use Storyboards
If you have an instructional design team but lack expertise with authoring tools, or need to roll out a huge volume of courses, outsource rapid development. Pass on the production-ready storyboards to your rapid eLearning vendor to develop courses – in the tool of your choice. Outsourcing rapid eLearning services to a competent vendor will also help you avail the following:
- Development of multimedia assets such as images, icons, videos, animations
- Save the cost of purchasing licensed software
- Testing of SCROM packages
Pro Tip: Ask your vendor to develop quick tools that offer support at the moment of need – such as infographics, how-to-videos, and interactive PDFs
Reconfiguration Of Classroom Training Material
If you want to maximize your return on investment, digitize and reshape your existing training materials. This could be your classroom training material, webinar recordings, marketing collateral, and more. When you outsource rapid eLearning design and development to get the best from your existing material, look for a vendor who can:
- Configure classroom training material into job aids for performance support
- Convert webinars to microlearning assets
- Reconfigure ILT material to virtual instructor-led training (VILT), replicating the classroom collaboration
Selecting Your Rapid eLearning Outsourcing Partner: The Ultimate Checklist
There’s a long list of benefits to outsourcing rapid eLearning services, all of which compel you to choose it. However, evaluating and selecting the ideal eLearning outsourcing vendor is a hard nut to crack. Selecting an eLearning vendor shouldn’t be a hasty decision! So, how do you pick the right eLearning outsourcing vendor? Here’s what you need to check for.
Experience In Rapid eLearning
Partner with an experienced vendor with a proven track record of delivering successful rapid eLearning projects backed by a thorough understanding of instructional design, eLearning development tools, Learning Management Systems, trends in the L&D space, and more. They will be able to consult you on the best approach for your training requirement.
Pro Tip: An experienced eLearning outsourcing partner will provide value-add services throughout the development process, helping you with your unanticipated needs.
Competence In Your Domain
When selecting your eLearning outsourcing partner, look for a vendor with a track record of working on projects related to your industry. This will ensure they are aware of your regulatory requirements, learner profiles, challenges and nuances, and design optimal learning solutions.
Pro Tip: Partnering with a vendor with in-house subject matter experts (SMEs) in your domain will be the icing on the cake!
Project Management Skills
A rapid eLearning outsourcing partner with strong project management skills is a must, as they will be equipped to manage timelines, budgets, and resources effectively. Look for a vendor with the ability to communicate regularly with all project stakeholders and work like an extension of your team.
Pro Tip: Look for a vendor who will follow a set communication cadence, checklists and issue logs for streamlined delivery.
Testimonials
When selecting an outsourcing partner for rapid eLearning, it is important to spend some time reading through testimonials and speaking with their past clients to get a better understanding of the outsourcing partner's strengths and weaknesses. This will help determine if they are a good fit for your organization.
Pro Tip: Check the eLearning vendor’s track record in delivering within the project scope, data security measures they have in place, and ease of working with their team.
Thought Leadership
A rapid eLearning outsourcing partner who is a thought leader will have a strong understanding of the latest developments in learning technologies, strategies, and the corporate world at large. They will be able to provide innovative solutions that can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that your eLearning solutions are aligned with your business goals.
Pro Tip: How do you determine if your partner is a thought leader? Review their content, such as whitepapers, blogs, and articles; attend their webinars or virtual learning events.
Choose Wisely
Making the right choice is crucial for the success of your eLearning initiatives. Choose your rapid eLearning outsourcing vendor wisely and set your expectations clearly right from the start. Don’t forget to do your homework before outsourcing! Identify the right learning gap to be addressed, check for the availability of content, and get your SMEs on board. Success depends on how both teams work together!
Download the eBook Rapid eLearning In The New Age Of L&D today to uncover the secrets for launching a successful rapid eLearning program that doesn't compromise on quality.