If using Managed Learning Services seems a step too far for your organisation at the moment, then Training Outsourcing is a good way to move forward.
Training outsourcing means handing training work to an external provider. This could cover particular tasks, such as course sourcing and booking administration, or the delivery of a programme. Managed Learning Services can be a form of outsourcing with broader, ongoing support. What matters is the work included in your agreement.
Here’s a useful article to help you make the right choice between keeping everything in-house, Training Outsourcing, and Managed Learning Services. It guides you through 4 key points you need to get right to make any kind of outsourcing work for you:
- Tangible Goals
- Thorough Research
- Supplier Suitability
- Choosing The Scale
We hope you find it helpful.
Read more about Managed Learning Services.
What could you take off your desk?
Training rarely stops at booking a course. Someone has to compare quotations, get approval, send joining instructions, deal with changes and make sure the invoice reaches the right person.
If that someone is always you, training outsourcing might help.
Start by listing the jobs that eat up your time. Which need your knowledge of the business? Which could someone else handle with clear instructions? You may need help with a particular programme, regular administration or both.
What can you outsource?
The arrangement should fit the work you need done. You could ask a provider to source suitable courses, organise bookings, send learner communications, coordinate training delivery or prepare reports. Check which tasks they actually offer rather than assuming everything comes as standard.
For each task, agree where their responsibility starts and ends. Booking a place might be one job. Chasing an approval, rearranging it and recording attendance could be three more.
What stays with your business?
You still need to decide what your people should learn and why. Someone in the business should own the relationship, approve spending and make decisions the provider cannot make for you.
Tell the provider about the practical constraints, too. A course might look perfect on paper but be useless if half the team cannot attend on that date.
Agree who answers learners' questions, handles complaints and checks whether the training achieved what you wanted. Having outside help should make responsibilities clearer, not leave everyone wondering who is dealing with the problem.
What might that look like in practice?
Imagine an HR manager organising courses for several teams. Every booking brings another quotation, approval email, joining instruction and invoice. None is a huge job on its own. Together, they swallow most of Friday.
An outsourcing arrangement could put those agreed administrative tasks with a provider. The HR manager would still set priorities and approve spending, while the provider coordinates bookings and reports on progress.
That's an example, rather than a promise about every service. The point is to agree the handover before Friday disappears again.
Choosing a provider: four things to get clear
Tangible goals
Write down what you want to improve. Faster bookings? Less administration? Better information about spending? Choose a few measures you can review together, rather than settling for "make training better".
Thorough research
Ask for examples of similar work and speak to references where possible. Compare providers against the same brief, including fees, responsibilities and the support included.
Supplier suitability
Can you work comfortably with the people involved? Ask who your contact will be, how they handle problems and whether they can work with your existing suppliers and processes.
Choosing the scale
Be explicit about what you want to hand over and what stays in-house. A defined programme may be enough; wider support needs a wider agreement. Ask how the scope could change later.
Start small and review
Where practical, begin with a defined piece of work and a review date. Agree how existing bookings, learner information and access to systems will be handled before the handover.
At the review, look at the work as well as the invoices. Are bookings accurate? Are learners getting information on time? Has your team actually spent less time chasing things?
If the arrangement ends, you should know how records and outstanding work will come back to you. It's easier to discuss that while everyone is getting along.
Which kind of help fits?
For help finding and booking courses, explore Training Brokers. For broader ongoing support, read about Managed Learning Services. Our Help with Training guide compares the options.