Outsourcing Your ELearning Program

By: Justin Ferriman • October 21, 2015
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laptop-computerThe past articles on this site have had a similar theme: employee training.

Just recently we discussed how elearning could be used for on-boarding new employees and the benefits of doing so.

The fact is that elearning can have a positive impact on any organization as long as it is implemented correctly.

But while most companies would agree that elearning does have inherent advantages, it’s not always a feasible option.

Sure over the long-run elearning is pretty cost effective. However, getting the elearning created in the first place is expensive.

This often requires dedicating personnel to plan, develop, and implement the entire program. In most cases it also means hiring instructional designers (even if only on a contract basis). Also, the courses need to be maintained afterwards so that they stay relevant.

For some companies this isn’t always possible.

ELearning Outsourcing

Companies that don’t have the time, money, or personnel resources to implement an elearning program should not just let the opportunity pass them by.

You can still invest in your employees by outsourcing the entire program, or even just parts of it.

There are plenty of sites out there that cater to this approach. Probably the most well known is Lynda.com which boasts a massive library of training courses on a variety of topics.

For example, Lynda has a program specifically for small businesses where they provide you on-demand training and resources for four major business disciplines:

  • Information technology
  • Marketing
  • Design
  • Managers

Depending on the program you get, you can completely white-label the solution and use single-sign-on so that employees don’t have to create new accounts.

Naturally there is a price for outsourcing.

While the price for Lynda’s service isn’t listed you can rest assured that it’s going to reflect the value they are providing.

The trade-off is that you don’t need to hire new employees or contractors to create your program from scratch. You literally can have one up tomorrow if necessary.

There are other services out there besides the one offered by Lynda – it’s simply an example.

One thing to remember no matter which service you decide to choose is that simply having the capability to deliver training doesn’t mean that it’s going to succeed.

Instead of focusing on the content creation and delivery you should place your efforts in facilitating the implementation so that people know what to expect. In other words: build your training culture.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter