Let’s say you’ve decided to outsource your eLearning or instructional design project. Just as important as finding someone that does great work, you also want a great deal. Don’t we all? What might surprise you is that as a learning partner, we want you to get the best price too!
1. Content is complete and available
- Your content is unique, and only you, or someone in your organization can really know what you want to communicate in your learning deliverable. It’s best when clients have figured out what they want their staff to know or do and can communicate that to us. The content might be written in one or more documents, it might live in someone’s head, but it is available. If you don’t know what content you want developed, we can help do that, but it’s going to take time and time is money.
2. Content conflicts are resolved
- Sometimes client subject matter experts (SMEs) disagree on the content. It’s best to sort this out before you engage with a vendor. Not knowing the realities of a client’s business makes it hard to know who has the final say. Should we take the word of the executive or the person closer to the actual work? We can help sort this out, but it’s going to take less time, and cost less, if you have this nailed down before you engage with us.
3. SMEs are available
- SMEs often hold the content in their head. They understand the unique nuances that will help us produce materials that are accurate and effective. Try not to engage with a learning vendor just before your SME heads out on vacation or is assigned a time-sensitive project. When SMEs are able to set time aside in their schedule to meet with us, everything goes more smoothly.
4. Stick to the project schedule
- When we start a new project, we create a detailed schedule, share that with our clients, and we both sign off on it. Every single step in our process is accounted for. We allocate time to meet with SMEs and plan our internal work – it’s all accounted for on our calendar. If a client is unable to stick to a schedule that they agreed to, it really throws things off. Of course, life happens, and we will always rearrange things on our end to get a project done, but all that shuffling of calendars may mean a change order.
5. Build the relationship
- Our best clients are the ones where we are able to build relationships over time and forge a true partnership. We look forward to our meetings with them, they bring a sense of camaraderie to work, and are as committed to excellence as we are. They are often repeat clients, and because they are transparent and allow us to understand their organization at a strategic level, we are often able to move more quickly.
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Project Management