WHY OUTSOURCE LEARNING?
As companies face continued pressure to slash budgets
and headcount, Learning managers must find ways to
do more with less. In this environment, companies increasingly
rely on outsourcing providers to maintain service levels
while decreasing costs. In addition, as companies expand
globally, they rely on outsourcing firms to design,
deliver and coordinate Learning activities across geographic
boundaries.
But these are the obvious justifications. There’s
another reason to consider outsourcing—it’s
the fastest, most cost-effective way to promote Learning
transformation. With outsourcing, your provider is
responsible for acquiring, maintaining and upgrading
technology infrastructure. A strong outsourcing firm
also provides top-quality service and reduces costs
while evaluating and reengineering your business processes.
In short, the stronger your outsourcing firm, the more
effectively it can manage complexity and remove risk
from your strategic Learning initiatives.
When considering outsourcing as part of a Learning transformation
strategy, consider these factors:
Speed
Has the potential service provider invested in a
solid, highly available, multi-client infrastructure?
This type of foundation enables you to accelerate
your business progress, and mitigate many of the
risks and challenges involved—especially those
concerning technology.
Cost
Do potential outsourcing providers demonstrate their
ability to improve your Learning cost structure across
multiple dimensions? For example, will they:
- Reduce your direct costs?
- Defer your upfront capital investment in technology?
- Shift
your investment risk from fixed costs to variable
costs?
Strategy
While Learning outsourcing is often publicly justified
on the basis of cost alone, many companies are also
addressing a more strategic question: How much focus
and how many resources should be invested in non-core
business processes? A knowledgeable outsourcing firm
can walk through this analysis with you, determining
how best to allocate your resources based on expected
returns.
Results—What to Expect
If your company is like others, outsourcing can help
you develop more effective Learning solutions to address
a wide range of issues—the challenges of an aging
workforce, Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory compliance, and
how to manage Learning for increasingly complex bundles
of products, services and solutions.
Outsourcing can also help you reap the benefits of new
technologies (such as integrated Learning management
systems and distance Learning capabilities) without the
need for significant capital upgrades and additional
technical skills.
The Bottom Line
Above all, it’s important to determine where
Learning outsourcing can provide the greatest benefits
to your business, overall. In some cases, it’s
all about cost savings. In others, it’s about
enhancing or upgrading existing Learning tools and
technologies that would otherwise be underutilized
in your organization. And for others, it’s about
uncovering new and innovative ways to boost business
performance through Learning.
Expertus can help you assess your short-term and long-term
needs, and develop an outsourcing plan that specifically
addresses those requirements. In addition, we can show
you how to implement the plan with a high degree of confidence.
Let’s talk about
how Expertus can help you achieve your Learning goals…
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