E-learning that’s tailor-made, efficient and cost-effective?

E-Learning and cost control

It’s true that e-learning and cost control have a long history together…

If we compare a face-to-face training system with its blended-learning corollary, the costs of content design/production are to the advantage of face-to-face. But this is quickly offset by the cost of trainee immobilization. And the trend is even radically reversed when animation costs are added. We therefore need to put e-learning back into a global perspective: even if it may seem expensive to some, e-learning still offers significant economies of scale.

When a company decides to introduce e-learning into its training systems, it has three choices: purchasing “off-the-shelf” e-learning content, purchasing “customized” e-learning content produced by an external service provider, or designing and producing customized e-learning content in-house. Here again, a number of parameters need to be taken into account. The time available, the budget allocated, the subject to be covered, the need for updates, the complexity and sophistication of the expected level of mediatization are all criteria that play a decisive role in the choice of production method.

Purchasing outsourced e-learning confronts the buyer with an extremely wide range of products. An hour of e-learning is a bit like a car: you can find it for €8,000, €15,000, €30,000, or even €100,000… it all depends on what you’re looking for!

As you can see, off-the-shelf content is far from being able to cover all a company’s needs, and outsourcing custom content represents a significant cost.

Should we then take the step of upgrading the skills of an in-house team? These are just some of the questions a wise training manager needs to ask.

The true costs of E-Learning

If you’ve opted for outsourced customized e-learning, when the question arises as to what the real costs of e-learning are, you’ll quickly realize that these are not limited to the amount shown at the bottom of the commercial proposal from the fixed-price provider. In fact, in addition to visible costs, there are hidden costs, or even additional costs.

The hidden costs are simply the internal expenses incurred by the project. Companies new to e-learning are often surprised to discover that an e-learning project, even when outsourced, is extremely time-consuming. The time spent in-house on management, expertise transfer, proofreading, acceptance, technical testing and business validation is considerable. These are all items that are generally underestimated when starting this type of project.

Finally, cost overruns do exist, and there’s no denying it: overruns and changes in scope during the course of a project generate budget amendments.

So how do you reduce these costs?

On the visible costs side, a good benchmarking and referencing policy should enable you to identify market players and prices. On the hidden costs side, a real awareness of the internal costs involved in carrying out an e-learning project is essential. This transparency is the only way to organize and rationalize these costs. Finally, in order to curb cost overruns, you need to become more professional. After all, these extra costs are generally the result of amateurism. Methodical project management on the customer’s side is the key to real cost control.

The answer to the question “Are authoring tools a valid alternative? But the reality is more nuanced. Because tools alone are nothing without people and ideas.

Building the in-house e-learning production team is crucial. The right man or woman will have to combine both technical and pedagogical qualities.

Then there’s the real question of the volume and frequency of production to be delivered. After all, a small team with occasional use of authoring tools will not be able to maintain its skills without long-term support from professionals.

In short, if you want customized e-learning at lower cost, there are two parallel paths open to you. Take the step of upgrading the skills of an in-house team, and rationalize the management of projects carried out with external service providers.

In both cases, it’s a question of professionalizing your projects. The only way out of amateurism and into project control is to get to grips with the time-budget-quality triangle familiar to all project managers. And only a proper analysis of risk factors can ensure good risk management.

And we’ve hit on a key point here. If we draw a comparison with another sector, you can have a garment made to measure at a tailor’s, or buy it on a hanger in ready-to-wear. But tailoring is a craft, whereas ready-to-wear is an industry. The economic model underlying these two activities is radically different, as are the costs involved. On the other hand, quality and customer satisfaction levels can differ dramatically.

But we want the quality of made-to-measure at the price of ready-to-wear. This can only be achieved if we accept a degree of industrialization in our methods and deliverables, in order to optimize costs.

And let’s not forget: what’s the point of getting the best price if you can’t deliver? That’s why benchmarking and referencing only make sense if they take into account the QUALITY/PRICE ratio. … But how can we be sure of achieving the required level of efficiency? In the field of training, it’s well known that you can’t measure effectiveness without EVALUATION.

And evaluation systems are at the very heart of the e-learning sphere. Most e-learning platforms, or LMSs, integrate or support these functions. Hot and cold assessments, as well as satisfaction and skills assessments, are all made much easier with these tools.

In conclusion, today there should be no feedback that doesn’t link cost and effectiveness. In this way, we’ll be able to map out the real possibilities for tailor-made, effective e-learning at the lowest possible cost!