Corporate Training: Renting Courses – Is It Worth It? / ITech content

Contents:

• What is educational content rental and why has it become popular?
• What are the terms for content rental?
• Is rental really profitable?
• Several more important factors

Creating a course for corporate training can be done in several ways. If the company has professionals with the necessary knowledge and experience, the course can be developed independently. Otherwise, it is possible to order its production from a contractor or purchase a finished product. When purchasing access to an online course that multiple employees can take simultaneously for a set period of time, this is referred to as renting the training content. When access is purchased to a set of different courses from a single provider, this is called renting a library of training content. These approaches allow companies to effectively train their employees while optimizing training costs and time. Experts shared their insights on the content rental process. They explained the situations in which this approach is most effective, as well as when it's worth considering creating your own unique course. Content rental can be advantageous when time or resources are limited, offering access to pre-tested materials. However, in cases where a customized approach or specific topics are required, creating a custom course becomes more practical.

What is educational content rental and why has it become popular?

A provider, such as an online course platform, offers a ready-made curriculum that a company can rent to train its employees for a specified period, paying a monthly or annual fee. This process is called content rental because the intellectual property for the program remains with the developer or provider, while the right to use it is transferred to the company for a limited period. Content rental allows organizations to effectively train their employees without investing in the development of training materials.

Course creators sometimes adapt programs to the requests of customer companies, taking into account the specifics of their work. In such cases, the customer has the option of purchasing the intellectual rights to the adapted program, which ensures its exclusive use only for the company's employees. In this case, we are not talking about renting, but about purchasing educational content, which allows the organization to fully control access and use of the program.

In recent years There is a steady increase in demand for content rental. This is due to the increasing volume of tasks in corporate training and development departments, which often need to be completed within tight deadlines. Sometimes, using in-house resources and outsourcing the creation of training courses becomes insufficient, as the process of developing programs from scratch requires significant time. In such situations, renting ready-made courses becomes the optimal solution, allowing you to quickly provide employees with the necessary knowledge and skills.

Maria Zykova, Project Manager of the Federal HR Service at DNS, confirms this observation. She notes the importance of adapting HR strategies to current labor market trends. In a dynamically changing business environment, effective human resources management is becoming a key success factor for organizations. Working with talent, their development, and retention are priority tasks for HR specialists, which contribute to increasing the competitiveness of companies.

Previously, we were of the opinion that not all ready-made content complies with the principles and standards of training adopted by the company. Moreover, such content may be outdated and require significant verification. However, last year, the situation changed. This is because developing in-house training materials always requires significant time and financial resources. We now recognize the importance of an adaptive approach and the use of external resources, which allows us to more effectively train employees and keep knowledge current.

Today, the market offers numerous online courses on universal topics, and virtually every online school offers training on time management, delegation, or effective task setting. The principles embedded in these training materials remain consistent across companies. For example, a course on sales techniques will be similar in digital retail as it is in clothing or building materials. There are no significant innovations in this area.

Rented content cannot fully meet staff development needs. Creating highly specialized training programs that are directly related to the specifics of a company's work is important. Such programs allow for a deeper dive into the specifics of the profession and effectively develop employee skills, which ultimately contributes to improved productivity and the achievement of business goals.

Even universal courses are not always ideally suited to a specific company. The content may meet 80-90% of the requirements, but in some situations, this may not be sufficient. It's important to consider the unique characteristics of your business and tailor training to its needs to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

When choosing ready-made courses, it's crucial to thoroughly check their relevance and content quality. While this takes time, it's still less than the cost of creating a new educational product. High-quality providers regularly update their courses to keep them current, which is especially critical when training involves software that may receive updates. Unlike ready-made courses, companies that create their own training materials are forced to monitor their relevance and update them as needed.

Maria Zykova notes that when analyzing the economics and time costs, it becomes clear that some courses make sense to rent, while others will never be rented. This emphasizes the importance of choosing a rental option consciously based on your needs and circumstances.

According to DNS's experience, purchasing professional SCORM courses has proven to be a more cost-effective solution than producing them in-house. This saved 3-4 months that would have been required to develop the courses independently. However, to achieve high engagement and retention rates, it is important that these courses are seamlessly integrated into the staff development program. Proper integration of SCORM courses not only accelerates the learning process but also increases its effectiveness, which ultimately contributes to the improvement of employee professional skills.

Maria Zykova notes that, by analyzing economic indicators and time, it becomes clear that some courses can be rented, while other resources cannot be rented. This understanding helps optimize costs and effectively plan resource use.

What are the terms for content rental?

Rental terms can vary, and they are often flexible enough to allow the parties to reach an agreement on various aspects. During the rental process, you can discuss such issues as the rental term, rent amount, payment methods, early termination terms, and rules for using the leased property. Flexible rental terms allow us to accommodate the individual needs of both the tenant and the landlord, making the process more convenient and efficient.

• various terms (month, several months, a year or more);
• limited or unlimited access;
• providing access on the provider's platform or transferring the rented course to the tenant's internal platform;
• purchasing access to the course with or without expert homework review.

There is a subscription model that allows the T&D department to focus on the development of specific groups of employees, such as analysts and marketers. The T&D specialist selects a platform offering a variety of courses for these professional categories. They determine the course packages, choose the option with or without homework review, and the required number of accesses. After signing a contract, the T&D specialist has the ability to manage access at their discretion, granting access to specific employees for relevant courses as part of their team development strategy. This model facilitates more targeted training and employee development, which in turn improves the overall efficiency of the company.

Often, large numbers of licenses are purchased for general-purpose programs required by most office workers, regardless of their professional responsibilities. An example of such a program is Microsoft Excel, a popular data processing and analysis tool.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in posting rented content on corporate online platforms of tenant companies. This is due to several factors. First, many large organizations use their own learning management systems (LMS), which allow them to control the learning process. Second, some companies have strict information security restrictions. Employees may be prohibited from accessing external resources, including training platforms, from work computers and mobile devices connected to the corporate Wi-Fi network. In such cases, migrating courses from third-party providers to internal corporate platforms becomes necessary to ensure employees have access to up-to-date training content. This solution not only improves security but also facilitates more effective management of training and development.

Creating a SCORM package (zip archive) for a course is technically feasible. The tenant can deploy the files on their platform. However, it is important to consider that specific requirements may exist. For example, the tenant's LMS must comply with the xAPI standard. It is recommended to discuss these details with the provider before entering into a deal to avoid potential issues and ensure compatibility.

It is important to note that when transferring a course, only video and text content can be transferred. However, if the course includes homework with expert review and feedback for students, the provider will not be able to provide such support on a third-party platform. In this case, the tenant will need to organize this part of the work themselves.

Creating a "showcase" on your own platform for presenting corporate training courses is an effective solution, if the tenant's security service allows it. Such a storefront can display descriptions of all available courses, including both internal company programs and offers from third-party providers. Users can click a link from the description to the provider's platform, where the full course will be available. This not only simplifies the process of finding information but also makes it easier to select the necessary training programs.

Modern learning and development departments must not only provide employees with high-quality educational content but also analyze data on the learning process and achieved results. Whether this is possible if the course remains on the provider's platform, while the internal platform hosts only an online showcase, requires additional configuration. It is important to discuss the feasibility of such analysis with a potential provider in advance to ensure effective tracking of employee progress and optimization of training processes.

Is Renting Really Profitable?

Websoft CEO Alexey Korolkov emphasizes the importance of content rental, which is more cost-effective than purchasing or creating it yourself. Furthermore, it is worth noting that individually purchased courses are often significantly more expensive than renting an entire course library, which can be three to four times more cost-effective. This is explained by two main factors. First, renting provides access to a wide range of courses, which saves on ongoing investments in new content. Secondly, renting allows for the flexible adaptation of educational resources to user needs, which makes the learning process more effective.

• Rented materials can only be used for a limited period of time;
• Buying in bulk is always more profitable—providers usually offer discounts in such cases.

Elena Tikhomirova, CEO of eLearning Center, recommends starting with an analysis of the frequency of employee requests for training on universal programs, the content of which is similar across different companies. Next, it is necessary to determine the budget spent on developing educational content—either in-house or with contractors, or on purchasing ready-made courses. After this, these costs should be compared with the potential costs of renting similar content for the same period. This approach will help effectively assess the return on investment in training and optimize spending on educational programs.

Developing a full pool of courses for a company can be significantly more expensive than acquiring a course library, even if it is purchased rather than rented. If we decide to purchase courses, we will face the need to pay for subsequent updates. In contrast, rentals offer fixed costs without the additional cost of course maintenance. Elena notes that the subscription rental model is becoming increasingly popular. We're seeing it everywhere: subscriptions to movies, TV series, music, and books are becoming commonplace among users.

The expert recommends compiling a list of courses that will help develop employees' general and soft skills in the coming year. Renting ready-made courses is the most effective solution, as it saves time and resources. However, if training is planned on a few general topics for a small group (up to 60 people), creating your own course may not be practical. In such cases, renting courses will be a more profitable option, says Elena.

When it comes to organizing a large number of courses for a wide audience, renting content can may be a more cost-effective option. For example, if you rent a library for one-tenth the cost of the content, over ten years you'll have spent the equivalent of purchasing it. However, this money remains in your company's treasury, allowing it to operate and generate profits. Furthermore, high-quality libraries are regularly updated, meaning you continue to receive new content without increasing your costs. This approach ensures access to current materials without the need to constantly invest in purchasing them.

Several More Important Factors

When choosing an educational provider, in addition to the content and quality of the courses, it's important to consider several key factors. Pay attention to the company's reputation, customer reviews, and instructor qualifications. It's also worth exploring available training formats, such as online or offline courses, as well as the possibility of receiving certificates upon completion. Payment terms and flexibility of the class schedule are equally important. These aspects will help you make an informed choice and select the most suitable provider for receiving a quality education.

• Does the provider update the content of their courses and how often do they do so?
• Is it technically possible to transfer the course to your internal platform if your security rules do not allow training on external resources?
• Is it technically possible to organize the collection of learning analytics for you if employees take the course on the provider's platform?
• If it is important to you that employees complete homework with expert review, but you want to transfer the course to your LMS, do you have the resources to organize such review yourself?

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