{"id":37049,"date":"2020-01-20T15:06:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T13:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/?p=37049"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:58:14","slug":"outsourcing-training-and-development-all-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/outsourcing-training-and-development-all-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Outsourcing Training and Development – All You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Regardless of the size or sector of your business, learning and development is fundamental to the growth of your company. Training used to be classified as a \u2018nice to have\u2019 in most businesses, but nowadays companies understand that, in order to remain competitive and sustainable, ongoing training<\/a> is foundational in supporting the needs of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With mounting pressure from executives to keep operational costs down, while still maintaining a focus on learning and development, businesses are increasingly choosing to outsource their training and development. According to ISG Research, the global outsourcing market amounted to $95.2 billion in 2018.1<\/sup> Deloitte\u2019s recent global outsourcing survey of more than 500 executives from leading organisations shows that outsourcing is answering challenges in both business and IT, utilising emerging technologies to drive innovation, speed to market, improved user experience, and enhanced performance.2<\/sup> It\u2019s clear that outsourcing non-core business functions is a mainstream practice, and it follows that outsourcing the learning functions of your business should be no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why companies outsource training rather than develop in-house programmes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why businesses are considering outsourcing their learning and development:<\/p>\n\n\n

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As with most companies, businesses are made up of various departments that each have their own skills and functions. The same applies to their training needs. The marketing department may need training on social media strategy, customer engagement, SEO or to learn how to use a new marketing automation application, whereas the IT team may need brushing up on the latest cybersecurity threats and best practices. Bearing in mind how niche, complex, and varied each of these training topics are, it\u2019s unlikely that a business will have the in-house expertise required to successfully undertake training programmes for each department and skill set.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It often happens that we ask internal technology experts to carry out training. However, they were not hired to be training experts. Widening the talent pool to outsourced technical experts who have invested in training skills gives employees access to expertise that they would not ordinarily find within their organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It can be challenging when a company is planning a company-wide upgrade or changeover to new technology, and it has a broad geographical footprint and needs to customise the training to suit role-specific functionality. Outsourcing training helps to successfully facilitate this training burst without having to hire more employees.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It\u2019s often less disruptive to outsource training for once-off learning and development (L&D) initiatives or temporary training events, than to pull a team\u2019s focus away from carrying out their core duties. Outsourcing L&D means company deliverables remain in tact, while training is simultaneously carried out.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The benefits of outsourced training for an L&D team are quality and cost. Outsourcing the skills and services required during the necessary training period offers teams access to a subject matter expert without the expensive salary commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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When a project is on a tight deadline and training material needs to urgently be developed, outsourcing training content may be the answer. Most training providers are able to produce training content efficiently and can assist with rolling out the training according to your schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why outsourcing is proving to be effective for companies\u2019 training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A recent report shows that one out of every three companies outsources their learning management system (LMS) in its entirety.9<\/sup> The reasons for this include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n