In many organizations, learning professionals are facing a serious quandary. They are regularly asked to address the complex and ever-changing needs of the business, while at the same time, deliver effective learning solutions with fewer and fewer resources. Much like kayakers paddling upstream against a fast moving river, learning professionals are looking for answers to help them stay on top of the water and avoid the obstacles scattered along the way. Increasing numbers of organizations are looking toward outsourcing as one way of equipping themselves for the growing complexity of today's environment and higher expectations of their senior executives. The evolution of learning outsourcing mirrors much of what we have seen in the HR outsourcing landscape. Many of the original HR outsourcing arrangements focused on individual processes, with a strong emphasis on administrative areas such as benefits and pension administration. However, over the last several years, we have a seen a trend toward integrated, multiprocess outsourcing that incorporates more strategic capabilities, such as recruiting and compensation planning. Currently, we are seeing the learning function progress through a similar transformation. Initially, learning outsourcing started with areas such as hosting for distance learning and application management services. Now, it has begun to incorporate more processes, including content design, development and delivery as well as facilities management. As the market grows and matures, we expect to see continued out-tasking, more end-to-end outsourcing and an increased number of deals where learning is bundled with other human resources processes. Recently, IBM completed a major research effort to better understand some of the key decisions and risk mitigation strategies associated with multiprocess HR outsourcing. Based on this research and our experience helping clients outsource their learning function, we have identified four pivotal actions for organizations as they begin to undertake an outsourcing effort: - Identify the appropriate leadership capabilities required to oversee the overall outsourcing effort. Leading an outsourcing arrangement is notably different from running a functional organization. In an outsourcing arrangement, an entirely new set of responsibilities emerge, demanding skills that are not typically part of the traditional skill set.
- Create an overall transition management plan that identifies all the activities required to transfer responsibility to the vendor. A well-orchestrated transition management process can play an important role in facilitating the exchange of resources (both physical and know-how) and improving the odds that operations will run smoothly once the transition is complete. In developing an effective transition management process, organizations need to consider six focus areas, as shown in the Figure.
- Develop an ongoing governance and relationship management structure to address conflicts and build an effective working relationship between the client and the vendor. By setting up a formal relationship management structure that begins at contract signing and evolves during transition and commencement of delivery operations, both sides can clearly identify who has responsibility for making certain decisions, how those decisions will be made and how the results will be communicated to others. This helps reduce overall uncertainty and clarifies the accountability that individuals from both parties have in the relationship.
- Build a measurement and reporting framework that communicates how well the outsourcing arrangement is operating. Service level agreements (SLAs) are used to quantify objectively the performance to be provided to a client, report performance consistently to both client and vendor, facilitate analysis of data across sites and regions and identify potential improvement areas. Yet, companies can run into challenges when establishing SLAs, such as inadequate baseline measurements or attempting to simply transfer internal measurements over to the vendor. In addition to SLAs, organizations should consider the use of operating measures to highlight the current "health" of the workforce (and thus the value the HR organization is providing to the larger organization).
Outsourcing the learning function is a bold move for many organizations. Compared to many human resource functions, learning is often a complex activity that is at the heart of the core capabilities that an organization must deliver day in and day out. To get the full value of a learning outsourcing partnership, organizations need to pay close attention to the leadership, transition management, governance and measurement activities that occur early in the outsourcing relationship. By focusing on these four activities, companies can reduce the odds of early mishaps and improve the opportunities for realizing business value throughout the relationship. 
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