Say Yes To Staff Augmentation
The Learning and Development (L&D) industry has seen a significant shift in the roles of its professionals. It's a thing of the past when L&D teams were primarily tasked with creating training content only. Nowadays, L&D professionals are taking up more dynamic and strategic roles within the organization. They are actively involved in crafting strategies, employing data-driven decision making, embracing technology, fostering change, and contributing significantly to the organization's success.
And it doesn't end here. The evolution in the role of L&D professionals has also given rise to a growing demand for specialized skills and expertise within L&D teams. It often leaves the L&D professionals overwhelmed and overworked, which impacts their well-being as well as productivity. To handle this problem, you can either hire new L&D team members or opt for staff augmentation.
In this article, we'll focus on leveraging staff augmentation for L&D teams. I'll share with you 5 reasons that will help you understand why staff augmentation in L&D teams is a smart move.
Top 5 Reasons To Leverage Staff Augmentation For L&D Teams
Helps Meet Fluctuating Demand
L&D teams often find themselves in a state of flux, as they must deal with varying training needs throughout the year. Staff augmentation becomes a valuable tool in ensuring that these demands are met efficiently.
During peak seasons, such as onboarding new hires or implementing major policy changes, you can quickly augment your team with skilled professionals. They are ready to hit the ground running and will share the workload instantly. On the other hand, when demand decreases, you can easily scale down your augmented staff. This saves you from the costs of maintaining a full-time workforce. This adaptability to demand allows L&D teams to respond promptly to the evolving needs of the organization. It ensures that the training is delivered effectively when it's needed most.
Reduces Costs
Managing a full-time workforce is expensive. If you have a short-term project or project-specific need, hiring full-time employees isn't cost-effective. These short-term requirements can vary from developing a series of compliance training modules to rolling out a product update.
In such cases, staff augmentation is a cost-effective alternative. It significantly reduces your operational expenses, as you only pay for the services rendered in the project's duration. This cost-efficiency allows you to allocate your budget more strategically, making the most of your financial resources.
Allows Access Τo Specialized Skills
L&D is a multifaceted field that includes creating learning opportunities, training methodologies, skills, and technologies. It's important to note that not every internal L&D team possesses all the required skills and expertise to handle every aspect of training. To bridge this gap, you can leverage staff augmentation, as it provides access to a diverse pool of specialists.
For instance, if your L&D team primarily focuses on traditional Instructor-Led Training but you suddenly need to pivot to eLearning due to remote work requirements, staff augmentation can help. It enables you to integrate eLearning experts who can design and develop online training materials effectively. This ensures that you adapt to changing circumstances without compromising the quality of your training programs.
Given below is an infographic listing the 5 must-have skills of L&D professionals.
Frees Up Your Internal Team
From developing training content to conducting assessments and evaluations, L&D teams have a lot on their plate. Being stretched thin can hamper their ability to focus on high-priority tasks and negatively impact their efficiency. So, leveraging staff augmentation is essential for ensuring productivity, effectiveness, and quality training content.
When you outsource specific tasks or projects of your internal L&D team to your temporary staffing professionals, your internal team gains the breathing room needed to concentrate on core competencies. For example, if your L&D team's core competency is leadership development, you can augment your team with professionals who can handle the technical aspects. It'll free up your internal L&D team to concentrate on creating high-quality leadership programs.
Offers Fresh Αnd Varied Perspectives
Every organization faces multiple challenges in its L&D programs. But the secret to successful training lies in overcoming these challenges in a timely and effective manner. Staff augmentation can help you with that. It provides you with an opportunity to gain a fresh perspective and integrate insights into your training initiatives. These external experts can bring in best practices from other industries or share innovative approaches based on their experience that your internal team may not have encountered.
For instance, if your L&D team has been struggling with low engagement rates in online courses, discussing the issues with staff augmentation professionals can help. They can provide a fresh perspective on the possible causes and handy solutions. These experts can recommend content improvements, interactivities, the latest Instructional Design strategies, or cutting-edge technologies to boost learner engagement. A new, improved perspective is an invaluable tool to enhance training programs and overcome hurdles.
The Big Picture
Staff augmentation, also known as temporary staffing, is a strategic approach to empower L&D teams. It enables them to undertake and fulfill the training requirement with efficiency and handle various responsibilities with confidence. Staff augmentation is a great way for an organization to level up its Learning and Development efforts. It helps ensure that the training initiatives remain effective and adaptable in ever-changing business scenarios.
Additional Resources:
- 6 L&D Roles for Successful Staff Augmentation [Infographic]
- What Roles Can Staff Augmentation Cater to in Training and eLearning Industry? [Video]
- Why L&D Teams Should Say Yes To Staff Augmentation Services For Rapid eLearning Solutions
