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Features

Published February 2007

Outsourcing Learning: Improving the Experience

  Richard Klingshirn

The learning outsourcing market is exploding at such a fast pace, it might be more a question of "when," not "if," your organization will be outsourcing some aspect of the learning function. Whether you are already there, or you are new to the idea, you have a big advantage over the earliest adopters: the ability to learn from the experiences of organizations that have gone before you.

What's different? Stated simply, learning outsourcing works better today than it did five years ago, and one of the best ways to learn is from the lessons of others. These lessons are coming from both buyers and sellers.

Today's buyer is more sophisticated about separating strategy from process. Buyers recognize even when you outsource the entire learning function, the responsibility for learning remains with the chief learning officer. They also are more adept at structuring deals that support a program's evolving scope over several years. Suppliers have come to understand outsourcing is a business deal. In addition, the basis of all good business deals is the relationship, or more accurately stated, the partnership. Suppliers also are increasing their value proposition by becoming better at developing the competencies required by buyers.

Despite these advances, there is no single solution set or best model to make learning outsourcing a cakewalk. You can, however, learn from proven models developed through a combination of research and many years of experience by buyers of learning outsourcing.

The Process Framework
The Process Framework (Figure 1), developed by TrainingOutsourcing.com, helps people understand the makeup of the learning organization and standardize and manage the discrete processes of the training function. It defines and integrates 22 business processes within four functional process categories: administration, content, delivery and technology.

"Two factors led us to develop the framework," said Doug Harward, Training Industry Inc. CEO and founder of TrainingOutsourcing.com. "One, the growth in learning outsourcing was creating a whole new set of terms that were often misunderstood or misused. We realized the industry needed some standardization of terminology associated with training outsourcing if buyers and suppliers were going to work together effectively.

"Our research shows that all learning organizations perform each of these functional processes at some level of sophistication, regardless of the nomenclature they use. The outcome is a framework that reflects both standardized terminology and processes."

The process framework supports the position that training outsourcing is not an all-or-nothing proposition. In essence, the strategic nature of learning - what, when, where, why and how - should remain within the CLO's domain, and the process aspects can be outsourced.

How do you know what processes to outsource? Where will your organization derive the most value when you selectively hand off these tasks to an outsource provider? How do you know which business processes are critical, or do they vary to one degree or another?

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