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Part 2 of Smart Way of Doing L&D
Suppose you have paid attention to my previous email where I outlined the structure L&D should operate within. In that case, you will realize that most things you use L&D for are the responsibility of supervisors and managers.
If you strip those away, you notice that what is left are compliance & mandatory training and leadership development. Both are most effective when done by external providers. Why? Because:
- You get highly qualified people (not facilitators) who are Organizational Developers looking after specialized areas of L&D.
- You get access to subject matter experts who have studied their topic. Those are highly experienced and qualified people with degrees and P.hD who have invested decades in mastering their specialized field. This caters to your company's numerous and diverse training needs; in-house teams cannot address that. Impossible.
- They can develop training programs according to your needs. And here I mean, they are qualified instructional designers trained to design programs taking into account the Psychology and Neuroscience of learning.
- They have an extensive network of professionals and resources to connect you with the right people or course.
- They work for measurable outcomes, not for a monthly paycheque; hence you can make a difference if you know what you want to achieve.
- They are qualified coaches that are missing from organizations, which is really a tragedy, as coaching is the most effective development tool.
- Somehow, external providers have greater credibility and impact, especially when aligned with the employee's needs.
- You have temporary or short-term training or development needs that require one-off intervention.
Very few companies can afford highly qualified in-house L&D teams because setting up and hiring an expert Learning & Development team can be expensive. The in-house team will need proper software tools, authoring tools, audio and video editing, and subject matter experts. These tools and the licensing costs that come with them can be expensive. If the corporate office provides technology and learning, it is time-consuming, and usually, a one-size-fits-all training is provided most of the time with zero value.
Time is also an issue when resources are scarce. The development of training requires planning, effort, and time which becomes an issue when you have a couple of L&D in house. Outsourcing L&D, the services you need only when you need them, can make all the difference, especially when budgets are tight. With an outsourcing model, the talent is no longer an expense once the project is over.
It is time to look at L&D from a different point of view.
