Training is a crucial component of a successful organisation, but not every organisation has the resources to invest. Many training programs start off well while there are dedicated resources and focus, but fail in the longer term because expertise dwindles over time and business priorities shift to new projects.
The average business can take weeks of developing, testing and iterating a single training course before it launches. Some plot out programs yearly. However, due to the rapidly evolving nature of skills, that approach will no longer be efficient.
These changes call for a more dynamic, adaptive approach. But with many training development teams already understaffed, the extra load can lead to mismanagement of resources, and failure to train for the skills learners actually need.
Here’s where an outsourced learning partner can give your in-house team the extra hands–and expertise–they need to bring training efforts up to standard.
In this blog, we delve into the key benefits of managed learning services to help you understand where outsourcing can aid your organisation in delivering a successful training program.
What are Managed Learning Services?
Managed learning services (MLS) are outsourced end-to-end training solutions that help companies stay on top of their training needs. They are designed to support training initiatives and negate the need to run and manage training programs in-house.
Whether it’s a complete lack of a dedicated training team or a Learning and Development department that’s stretched too thin, managed learning services provide the scaffolding companies need to achieve their training goals.
What are the Benefits of Managed Learning Services
Businesses that outsource to managed learning service providers enjoy numerous benefits, including:
1. Better Budget Control
It’s not uncommon to hear about companies that set out with a budget yet overshoot it because of poor visibility and coordination. Caught between the many moving parts of a training program, it can also be easy to fixate on the wrong thing. Companies waste a staggering £66 billion on inefficient training.
Related reading: How to Manage Your Training Program Successfully
It’s not unusual for budget control to come undone.
A good managed learning service provider will also identify processes that may drain resources for no added benefit, determine how best to stretch your budget according to your needs and work to eliminate or streamline such processes. Cost savings can then be redirected to other core functions of your business, such as product and service innovation.
2. Freed up Resources
Developing a highly interactive 17-minute training course can take as long as a month. And that’s just one course, let alone the many materials needed to build an effective training program. Before you have even started, a lot of dedicated manpower is needed for this one function.
In addition, companies that manage entire training programs in-house spend a significant amount of time, money and resources on delivering training, plus all of the administrative tasks associated with it.
With managed learning services, time-consuming design, management, support and administrative tasks can also be offloaded to the provider, cutting the number of internal resources required and working to budget at all times.
3. Personalised Approach
A necessary component is a more personalised experience in training programs, with 58% of L&D professionals citing that approach, and adaptive learning, as the trend they are most excited about.
Your organisation can answer that desire for more relevant training with managed learning services, with providers constantly offering valuable insight and the expertise to adapt, pivot and implement pathways to match audience needs.
Data tracking is often part of the package, giving you the insight to shape courses to address specific knowledge and skill gaps.
Data tracking is often part of the package, giving you the insight to shape courses to address specific knowledge and skill gaps.
4. Expanded Expertise
The majority of companies lack the headcount to develop programs at a competitive pace.
It is unrealistic to expect any company to have an expert-level talent for every niche, especially when it comes to training. It would be prohibitively expensive to bring such talent in-house every time a gap is identified. Even the largest businesses look to third-party consultants to help with particular projects.
Partnering with a managed learning services provider grants your company access to a deep roster of professionals with expertise in every field you need help with – they bring a wealth of insight to the table, gathered through working with different companies in different verticals.
This unique vantage point allows service providers to propose innovative strategies and opportunities for improvement that would otherwise go unnoticed.
It’s a simple but effective way of growing your knowledge and skill base without adding to your fixed costs.
5. More Detailed Tracking
It can be hard to see how much your organisation has improved from training if performance isn’t carefully monitored. Even with a basic tracking process in place, the data collected might still be missing the finer points about learner behaviour or operational impact, which can stall progress, especially if in-house expertise is lacking.
Training is high on the priority list of many organisations, according to research by Deloitte. Yet only half of the companies feel equipped for the constant reinvention and iteration needed to keep their learners well-equipped for future demands.
Managed learning service providers utilise robust reports from learning management systems (LMS) equipped with in-depth tracking, reporting, and assessment tools. You can make more accurate projections, pivot strategies much faster, and get a clearer picture of your ROI.
6. Fully Supported Learners
Learners vary in how fast they can pick up lessons and the type of learning models they are comfortable with. They also require support in choosing courses, password reminders and payment processing and, as a result, some learners get left behind and their training comes to a standstill.
Ensure each learner participating in your training program gets the support they need with managed learning services. You won’t have to commit extra internal resources to compensate for learners who hit issues with the program when your managed learning provider has a multi-channel, dedicated support team you can count on.
7. Guaranteed Flexibility
Your training offering needs to be flexible so that if a new product is launched or a new partner joins, your training is ready to go. Designing new training courses, updating course content or adapting to learners’ needs should be timely and responsive to keep training on track.
Managed learning services offer the flexibility to create new eLearning content when it’s needed, pivot the training program, and quickly deliver onboarding to new partners – keeping your partners up to date and furnished with all of the latest information and training.
8. eCommerce Support
Companies often find themselves in a situation where they know and understand the value a training program offers, but can’t find the budget to successfully develop, deploy and sustain a revenue-generating solution.
Although you need the budget for an external training program, a managed learning service provider, through their eCommerce support, can help promote and sell your training as well as manage the financial processes on your behalf.
This means your program can become self-funded over time and even provide a new profit stream for your organisation.
9. Access to Quality Learning Content
According to LinkedIn’s 2020 workplace learning report, building or sourcing learning programs and content takes the most time for training professionals. If you are creating your own training program internally, that’s a considerable amount of resources taken up on research and development and design before you even launch the program.
You can skip the majority of the prep work required for that stage of your training initiatives when you enlist the services of a managed learning provider. They can either develop the learning content for you or adapt your existing informational content for training purposes.
Services Offered as Part of Managed Learning Services
Content production
Ideation, development and iteration of learning materials that meet the required learning objectives. Material can be produced in a range of formats including eLearning courses, videos and webinars. This stage includes identifying and coordinating with subject matter experts who may or may not be from the company.
Training administration
Involves overseeing the deployment of a program, which includes making sure learners stay engaged and complete courses within the allotted time frame, conducting tests and assessments, and collecting feedback from learners.
LMS management
Ensuring learning platforms remain intuitive for users, course catalogues remain up-to-date with fresh content, and user data remains safe with regular security updates and reviews.
Analytics and reporting
Collecting and tracking key metrics such as test scores or completion percentage rates to assess the progress of learners and the quality of programs. Can also include tracking revenue and job performance, which gives companies a clear link between training efforts and business goals.
Learner support
Includes supporting learners with any issues from simple password reminders and assistance in choosing the correct courses, to working on user technical issues to minimise downtime, providing a smooth journey and reducing the need for internal resources.
Training eCommerce
Enabling organisations to sell courses and generate revenue without the need for any internal resources to handle payment processing, invoicing and reporting.
Reinforce Training with Managed Learning Services
Historically, many companies have overlooked the importance of training. But a growing body of research is proving that this once-undervalued function is key to the growth of the business in many ways, from attracting and retaining talent to increasing profitability from sales channels.
While it is certainly possible to run training programs completely independently, more and more are turning to managed learning services to bring their learning initiatives up to and beyond industry standards.
With the right partner, businesses can create a superior learning experience for organisations and turn their training programs into the edge that puts them ahead of the competition.
Are you interested in learning more about how our Managed Learning Services can benefit your organisation? Check out our blog post, ‘Everything You Need to Know About Our Managed Learning Services‘ for more information!
