No matter how good you are at building eLearning, sooner or later youwill likely have to rely on an outside provider. Perhaps you have more workthan you can handle, or maybe you were asked to deliver a product that requiresa skill set you don’t have. If you’re new to the eLearning game, it may beuneconomical to build a capability in-house.
Time to go shopping. But how do you separate the good vendors from thebad? How do you make sense of all the hype and sales pitches you’ll hear? Afterall, you’re not just investing money in a project; you’re also investing yourinternal reputation.
It would be nice to have an “Angie’s List” for eLearning providers, butsuch a universal and authoritative resource is mostly lacking in our field. Yes,there are consultants who will do this for you, but even there, you need toqualify them. So what should you look for? How do you increase the odds thatthe vendor you select will be the right one for you and your organization? Hereare seven vendor qualities you should look for:
- Reputation – Check out how well people regard the vendorinside and outside your company. If someone in your firm has used them before,ask about the experience, see the deliverables, inquire as to how well thevendor met deadlines, and find out if they would invite the vendor back. Also checkwith your purchasing or procurement department to see how easy the vendor wasto do business with. Outside your organization, don’t just look at testimonialson the vendor’s Website, ask their clients. Any vendor that doesn’t provideclient contact information may be hiding something.
- Available resources – What resourceswould the vendor bring to your project? Check to see if the provider willprovide a full-time, dedicated project team, or just “whoever’s available atthe moment.” You don’t want a revolving door of consultants working on yourproject; and you do not want to go through the sales department to get to yourteam. Look to see if you will have the services of a good project manager. Youalso should assure that you will have access to key people, including seniormanagers and instructional designers. Where those people are located is not asimportant as their accessibility is. Waiting days for someone to get back toyou when you have a question is not good.
- Expertise and experience – Of courseyou should evaluate the vendor’s eLearning experience and expertise, but thisis not as easy as it sounds. There may be the right expertise in the providercompany, but if they don’t apply it to your project, what’s the point? This iswhy looking at reputation and availability(above) is so important. Communication skills are also essential. You want avendor that can speak with you, and your internal clients, in ways you and theycan understand. Too much jargon may seem impressive, but at the wrong time, itdoes more to alienate and confuse.
- Match your work style and need – Doproviders appear ready to work in a manner that is comfortable for you? Do theybalance time on site with virtual work? Do they understand that you have otherthings to do and thus are able to get the job done without undue stress on youand your team? Most importantly, does the service offered reflect yourexpectations as to what you need? If you are looking for a strategic advisor, that’sfine, but if you just want another “pair of hands” to get the work done, willthe vendor conform to that need?
- Knowledge of your company and its business– You can’t expect vendors to know as much about your business and yourbusiness challenges as you do, but you can expect them to do their homework. Dothey seem aware of the issues and opportunities facing your company and yourindustry? Have they done work in your industry before? Even more important,when you speak with them, are they listening; do they continuously work tolearn about you and your needs?
- Knowledge transfer – Look for vendorsthat have no problem in transferring skills to your organization, whereappropriate. You should balance your reliance on a vendor with your need togrow your own knowledge. A vendor that creates a long-term dependency may bedoing you a long-term disservice.
- Cost – Naturally, cost is a factor, buthere again, it’s not so simple. Project price is one thing, but time tocompletion, upgrades, support and maintenance, expenses, and the amount of timeyou and your colleagues must devote to the project are just some of the factorsthat play into your decision. The cheapest up-front price may not necessarilybe your best deal.
Getting reliable information can be tricky. A vendor’s Website givesyou basic information, but remember who wrote it. And even when vendors giveyou client contacts and testimonials, you can be sure they’ve kept anydisasters off the table. So this is the start of your research, not the end. It’sgreat if you can access independent reviews, and talk to former clientsprivately and confidentially. It’s even better if you can benchmark othercompanies.
As Ronald Reagan was fond of saying, “trust but verify.” Nothing beatsgetting to know potential vendors personally. Check them out at a trade show(see my column, “HandyTips for Expo Shopping,” for more ideas about this). Visit their locationand ask them to visit you. Get “under the hood” with their software andprocesses, and ask for independent time to play with their most recentproducts. Build these criteria into your RFP. Above all, look them in the eyeand ask yourself, “Can I do business with these people?” “Do they know whatthey are doing?” “Will they have my best interests at heart?” When you see it,you’ll know.
Want to know more? If you’regoing to the Guild’s Learning Solutions Conference in Orlando on March 21-23,attend my session, “Writing a RFP and Selecting a Vendor,” on Wednesday, March21, at 2:30pm.
