Training your people sounds straightforward. Find a course, book a place and let them get on with it. Then come the quotations, approvals, joining instructions, cancellations, invoices and questions about whether it was worth the money.
If all that is taking up more time than you have, you can get help. Managed Learning Services, Training Outsourcing and Training Brokers offer different ways to share the workload. The trick is choosing the help your business actually needs.
First, a word about the names
These aren't three neatly sealed boxes. Training outsourcing is a broad description of handing training work to an outside provider. Both brokerage and Managed Learning Services can be forms of outsourcing, and providers use the names differently.
Use the labels as a starting point. Then ask what is included, who does what and what it costs. A grand title won't book next Tuesday's course for you.
Managed Learning Services: ongoing support across your learning activities
A Managed Learning Services provider can support several connected parts of learning and development, such as sourcing, administration, supplier management, reporting and learning systems. The scope depends on your agreement.
This is worth exploring when the problem is bigger than individual bookings: several teams buying training separately, lots of suppliers to manage or no clear picture of spending and results. Your business still needs someone to set priorities, make decisions and review the service.
Explore Managed Learning Services.
Training Outsourcing: hand over a defined piece of work
Perhaps your training plan is working, but organising it is stretching the team. You might want an outside provider to manage course administration, coordinate a programme or deliver particular training while you keep other tasks in-house.
Start with the work you want to hand over and agree its boundaries. Who handles changes? Who keeps the records? What needs your approval? A clear division of work is more useful than assuming the supplier will take care of everything.
Training Brokers: help finding and booking courses
If you know roughly what training you need but don't want to spend hours searching for providers and comparing quotations, a training broker may be a useful place to start.
Brokers can help source courses and arrange bookings. Some also offer wider administration and reporting. Ask about provider choice, how they are paid and whether their quotation includes all the support you need. Compare the overall value rather than assuming a broker will always be cheaper.
Which sounds most like your business?
| Your main need | A useful starting point |
|---|---|
| Find suitable courses and arrange bookings | Training Brokers |
| Hand over specific training tasks or a defined programme | Training Outsourcing |
| Coordinate several learning activities with ongoing management and reporting | Managed Learning Services |
The size of your company alone won't give you the answer. A small business with complicated training requirements may need ongoing support. A large business with an effective internal team may only need help sourcing occasional courses.
Five questions before you choose
1. What's taking up the time? List the jobs you want help with. Be specific: finding courses, chasing bookings, managing suppliers or getting useful reports.
2. What should stay with you? Decide who sets priorities, approves spending and owns the relationship with learners. Make sure the supplier's process fits yours.
3. What will you actually pay? Ask about service fees, course charges, cancellation terms and any minimum commitment. Compare quotations covering the same work.
4. How will you know it's helping? Agree a few useful measures, such as time spent on administration, booking accuracy, learner feedback or reporting quality. Ask to see examples of what you'll receive.
5. How will it start, change or finish? Discuss existing bookings, access to systems, handling of information and how records will be returned if the arrangement ends.
Start with the problem, then choose the service
You don't have to hand over everything at once. Where practical, start with a defined piece of work and review how it goes. If you need wider support from the outset, make sure the responsibilities and introduction plan are clear.
Write down the three training jobs you'd most like someone else to take off your hands. Use that list when talking to providers. It's a much better opening than asking them to sell you a package and hoping it fits.
For more on setting objectives and choosing the scope of support, see Optimus Learning Services: four things to consider when outsourcing training.