Partner training software (sometimes referred to as a Learning Management System) is an eLearning platform that will help you train your external partners, including your franchise owners, resellers, distributors , agents, and installers. This platform allows you to plan, deliver, and track the training programmes that you develop.
Top 5 reasons to use Training Outsourcing companies
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From small scale start-ups to fully-fledged enterprises, all companies have training needs. Providing the right learning tools is crucial to enabling company growth, which explains why an increasing number of businesses are choosing to outsource their training.
Lack of proper training doesn’t just negatively affect skills – it has been shown to severely impact productivity, engagement, and retention. A 2021 study showed that 70% of employees would be likely to quit their current role in favour of an organisation that invested in learning and development.
As with most areas of work, training has had to keep pace with the rapid acceleration of technology. Software and bits of jargon that were once advanced are now considered commonplace, and companies are having to adapt. People expect more extensive training that relates specifically to their role and provides the required know how to be successful, whether that’s on a personal or organisational level.Â
While internal teams to manage training programmes have their benefits, outsourcing offers a cost-effective alternative to an ever-expanding demand.Â
Contracting non-core business essentials has become common practice, and training is no exception.Â
What Types of Training Outsourcing Companies Are There?
Training outsourcing is a business strategy that incorporates external resources in various forms to leverage experience and resources in a way that streamlines and accelerates the development.Â
The kind of training outsourcing company you should opt for depends on the needs of your organisation. There are three main types of outsourcing:
- Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): The outsourced company offers managed learning services, which typically cover the management of the entire training programme as well as the education aspects, meaning there is very little internal resource required. This process likely covers all bases, including administration, content, delivery, and technology.
- Contracting: Companies hire an external supplier, specifically delineating set tasks and prices with contractual terms involving the rates of labour on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.
- Licensing: Possibly the fastest way to outsource, this simply involves a company buying the right to access another company’s intellectual property.
With so many different resources on the market, why exactly should your company be looking to outsource your training?
Why Use a Training Outsourcing Company?
1. Lack of Internal Resource
While a lot of companies are home to technology experts who possess in-depth knowledge and experience within their field, these people simply may not be trainers.Â
Being able to outsource to experts who understand both technology and proper methods of training allows companies to elevate their learning experience to another level.
Maybe your company is small and just doesn’t have the means yet, or you’re growing at a faster rate than you expected and your internal staff are struggling to keep up, or maybe you’re starting to incorporate training external audiences which requires a specific type of training.
Whatever the reason, extending your access to proper talent with specialised sets of skills available will help you deliver the training you require.
2. On-Hand Expertise
Having access to a range of experts is also beneficial for extending the talent pool your team can dip in to. Rather than burdening existing learning and development staff to tackle alien information, which is a long and arduous process, an outsourced company can instantly supply a variety of people dedicated to providing the required training. This can be achieved regardless of factors such as location, extending your geographic reach within your team and to your customers.
It’s also far less disruptive to have access to this knowledge for one-off training initiatives and events than it would be to pull your existing staff away from focusing on completing their regular everyday tasks. Normal commitments can continue, while experts remain ready and available to support the training programme on your behalf.Â
3. Lack of People Management Time
Managing a business takes time. Staying on top of developing training methods can be tricky, especially across multiple sectors and facets of a company.Â
Outsourcing gives companies the opportunity to offer the most up-to-date and expert training at a much faster rate than they might have the resources to on an internal level.
Without stretching existing employees too thin across multiple departments of the organisation, external resources can meet a range of training needs with a deeper level of understanding and capacity that may not be otherwise available.
4. Boosting Speed to Market
If you’re operating under any time constraints, outsourcing is a terrific avenue to get the job done quickly and efficiently. External training companies are already fully equipped with the tools to get programmes started right from the word go.
The quicker you complete your training, the quicker you can establish your business, whether that be through a service or a product. Not only does this mean your reach extends to your clients or customers faster, but it also has a positive impact on the scalability of your business.
5. Cost-Saving
It might sound counterintuitive, but outsourcing is the more cost-effective route to training your team. The costs incurred through establishing an internal team and finding qualified trainers to hire are often far greater than seeking external support.
While the contract might be fixed term, this might be as small as a rolling month, so allows for greater flexibility rather than fixed term. It allows access to a wide range of services and skills, without the commitment of another set of salaries to fill.
Related reading: Everything you need to know about our managed learning services
How to Make the Right Choice for Your Business
If you think outsourcing training sounds like it could benefit your business, where’s a good place to start?
Taking the time to consider your exact requirements is key. Choose a company that covers everything you and your business needs, in one place. Set yourself selection criteria that breaks down exactly what you want. This could include factors such as:
- Cost efficiency and financial stability
- Quality and technology capability
- Time scale and turnaround
- Capacity and scalability
- Cultural fit with your company
- Contractual terms and conditions
It’s crucial to establish your key wants and needs before you go looking. The top training outsourcing companies are judged on their capability of delivery, their industry visibility and innovation, the strength of their reach, and their company growth potential.
Whichever route you go for, outsourcing training is a direct route to success for maintaining and enhancing not only your team’s learning and development, but the growth and output of your company.
Are you ready to start delivering quality training programmes to your channel partners? Get in touch today to hear how we can help.