With India being the numero uno outsourcing destination in the world for IT related businesses, outsourcing and off shoring are probably the newest entrants into the collective jargon of the country. The past few years have seen a preference for business functions such as customer service and IT as the unanimous outsourcing choices, but corporate training is surely catching up as the new favorite.
Why outsource
The most important reason for outsourcing any corporate learning is easily obvious. Markets in the developing world have thrown up possibilities of getting cheap labor to perform jobs that lie outside the core business of the company. Grabbing a piece of this low-priced workforce has been the prime force behind the outsourcing mania. Though there is no denying this fact, it holds equally true that outsourcing presents several other advantages to the company. First, it can concentrate on its basic business goals and strategic activities without getting bothered by peripheral jobs. Second, the company can afford to keep a minimal staff without impinging on stringent demands of the business. Not to mention the expertise that off shoring partners bring in with them, thus rendering the e-learning initiative successful.
Success of an outsourced e-learning project
The success of an outsourced e-learning initiative, or any outsourced business function for that matter, depends largely upon the outsourcing partner. Having said this, a good outsourcing partner would not be able to bail your company out if the project and process is poorly managed. So, if you are convinced of the returns of outsourcing your e-learning initiative, taking care of the points discussed below could be of help in successfully completing the process.
In-house evaluation
This is the first step towards making the e-learning initiative a success. Evaluate your needs to see if you can keep parts of the project in-house. Since managing the project becomes a bit more difficult in such a scenario, exercise this option only if you want more control over the project and your resources permit you to do so. Communication is the key to the success of this partnership, hence an in house team comprising of instructional designers, developers, technical personnel and a project lead is worth maintaining for better communication. Also make sure that the role of each team member is clearly lined out.
Mark out clear expectations form both the parties, defining standards of assessment. Also keep in mind the fact that working together on a single project is likely to be disappointing. The initial snags will give way to a comfort level wherein both partners work in tandem to cumulatively build up successful projects together.
Choosing an off shoring partner
The choice of an off shoring partner can be made easy by basing the selection of the vendor on the following factors.
Tenacity
Scalability
Service and support
Process driven
Talent
Companies with proven tenacity and wide client base are always a safer bet than newbies. Check the company's financial records for the past three years to gauge its profitability and financial status. Do not get enticed by the lower rate offered by a smaller company, since it might not have long term potential. Analyze the resources of your off shoring partner to determine their ways of approaching and managing work. See if they can cater to varied demands over a period of time. As far as the service and support is concerned, companies swear by the amount of personal attention imparted by smaller vendors. Find out if the company has the necessary tools, methodologies and management expertise for its processes. Check for the number of on time deliveries as well as if the project can be monitored by you at will. Assess if the staff of the off shoring partner is aware of basic learning and instructional design principles by evaluating a sample course by them. Check the course for objectives, instructional methods and user interface. Speak to the staff to find out their knowledge of learning theories.
Reviewing potential partners.
Eliminate vendors on the basis of the above factors, and taper your gaze to a selected few. Visit heir offices to meet them in person and also go through the premises where the work would actually be performed. After this review, you could boil down to a single vendor (sole source) or several vendors. A number of vendors prove to be beneficial if there is too much work for one vendor to handle. Moreover different vendors have different strengths and core competencies, which you can make use of. A partnership with multiple off shoring vendors allows you to get a new outlook and more creativity. At the same time, maintaining too many relationships at one go could be disastrous. The process of knowledge transfer can be best carried out with one or a small number of partners.
Drafting the contract
Parameters of success and failure must be clearly defined for both the company and the off shoring partner in the agreement. Offer incentives based on performance, and for meeting deadlines. Dole out a bonus for before time delivery and outstanding quality. On the contrary, award penalties for delays due to vendor errors, or lack of quality. Instead of going in for a per hour pricing policy, opt for pricing per project. Handle the issues of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and privacy, since they are differently understood around the world. Be crystal clear about the exit clauses addressing points such as responsibility of documents, transfer of knowledge and intellectual property rights.
Wrap up
Outsourcing of functions like content development and delivery has been around for some time now, and though it brings with it freshness of ideas, managing it is a complicated task nonetheless. Aim at a good partnership and you are sure to gain.
