Just 37% of organizations in Brandon Hall Group’s survey, Transforming Learning & Development for the Future of Work, believe their approach to learning is strongly positioned to develop the skills the organization needs for the future of work. The biggest challenge they face may not come as much of a surprise. L&D teams believe they do not have the people, time, and financial resources to support their future skills development needs. One of the biggest drains on those resources is content.
Companies source a lot of their content from “off-the-shelf” providers, but the majority of content is developed in-house. This approach presents many L&D teams with a conundrum. The subject matter experts within the organization are typically in the best position to know what people need to learn and how, so it makes sense for them to be directly involved in creating content. But the SMEs may not have the instructional design expertise, or the tools required to create high-quality, effective content. Given that time and resources are hard to come by, companies may be sacrificing quality in the name of efficiency.
We have entered a phase where more L&D teams are opening themselves up to the idea of finding partners to relieve some of the pressure they are feeling. In some cases, that could mean complete outsourcing of the Learning function, but for most, finding a partner that can help create the right content can make all the difference.
In the past, L&D teams have been reluctant to cede control of anything to anyone. But in today’s volatile environment, it makes sense to have a partner to lean on when challenges arise. The key is to find just that — a partner. A vendor will be happy to sell you their services, but finding a partner is important to ensure critical elements like quality, accountability, and efficiency.
Brandon Hall Group is partnering with Lumious to conduct a webinar that looks into what goes into finding this kind of partner. We will focus on when it makes sense to use a partner (and when not to!), as well as what to look for in a partner and how to measure success.
