Outsourcing Instructional Design - Bane to Boon!

Have you ever been part of the instructional design outsourcing process? If you have, irrespective of which side you’ve been on, you’ve probably experienced the miseries that are associated with the process. There is a high probability that while you were involved in the process, you swore never to let it happen to you again. But by and by you realize that outsourcing is so much a part of our lives that it is impossible to keep away from it, and you grudgingly begin to accept it along with its ills.

What is it that makes the process so tedious, so defeating, and so depressing? Why is it that we seldom come across people excitedly telling us about the great time they had working as a freelance instructional designer? Why don’t we ever find project managers and project leaders, who don’t lose sleep over the projects for which they have outsourced content? Is there a way to make it a win-win for both parties?

This article is an attempt to answer these and some other questions that nag the project managers, project leaders, and the instructional designers (both in-house and freelance!) Let me begin with the answer – Yes, there is a way to ensure that instructional design outsourcing becomes a fulfilling process. There is nothing wrong with the concept of outsourcing content development and instructional design. The error lies in its implementation.

Here’s a short story…it could be yours!

At Learnayam (Pvt.) Ltd.

At 10:00 PM Raina Murthy, the Senior Instructional Designer is still in office. She called up the freelance instructional designer on the Structural Mechanics project almost an hour back and the bitterness of the call still lingers on. She and the Project Lead had selected Ramola after interviewing almost a dozen. Ramola had worked as an instructional designer with one of the leading eLearning companies of India for three years.

For the last three days, Raina’s assistant had been trying to reach Ramola but her phone calls and emails had failed to elicit any response from Ramola. She was unreachable. Now with the project deadline looming larger with each passing hour, Raina was forced to do what she hated…call Ramola at 9:00 in the night. In their conversation Ramola mentioned that she preferred to opt out of the project and that they need not pay her the amount due for half of the project that she had already completed.

Raina was Learnayam’s in-house reviewer for the content of four courses that were being developed simultaneously. In absence of an emergency plan, it now fell upon Raina to complete the script, find a person to read it through, and upload it for the client review…before tomorrow evening!

At Ramola's Residence:

Ramola is still fuming! Almost an hour ago she had received a call from Raina, the senior instructional designer at Learnayam. After evading her calls for five days, Raina had the nerve to call up and ask if she would be able to complete the module by working through the night!

When Ramola had accepted the project it was under the impression that she will receive a short orientation on audience profile and client requirements. She had also expected more support on the more mechanical part of the job, which included formatting pages, numbering the graphics and animations, and other such tasks. She had also expected raw content from the subject matter expert, and SME support.

It was only when she worked on the first module she realized that there was a huge gap between her expectations and the reality. She had repeatedly asked for support, but her contact at Learnayam, a junior instructional designer expressed her helplessness. She had then tried to contact Raina, but couldn’t.

“Now she has the nerve to call me and ask me – what happened? Well, I’ve delivered half the project; they’ve paid me nothing so far!”

Raina’s and Ramola’s situations seem quite familiar. Don’t they? The organizational viewpoint (reflected in Raina’s situation) and the freelance instructional designer’s viewpoint (reflected in Ramola’s musings) are both valid and true-to-life. Let us review both these viewpoints and list some guidelines that could help improve the experiences related to outsourcing of instructional design.

Organizational Viewpoint:

• The delivery is never on time.
• The work is shoddy.
• Outsourcing increases organization’s effort in terms of review and rework.
• Accountability Suffers.
• Project risk increases multi-fold.

Freelance Instructional Designer's Viewpoint:

• There is a lack of subject matter expert support
• Scope of work is not defined accurately.
• New Requirements arrive in form of feedback.
• Feedback is given in a non-congenial manner.
• Reporting and Support structures are not defined accurately.
• Payment is not released in time.

If you’ve been through any of these, you would probably not believe if someone told you that outsourcing instructional design work could be a pleasure, no matter which side of the outsourcing process you are on. I’ll present my views on the process from both angles, and let you be the judge.

Organizational Perspective:

Let us review the organizational angle first and try to trace the beginnings of any outsourcing exercise. Most outsourcing exercises are set into motion by one of the following two drivers.

The organization lacks skilled resources:
There is a possibility that an organization, which is in the process of finding its feet in the eLearning industry, lands a huge order and finds itself in dire need of instructional design work. The time available with the organization, as well as its disinclination to engage permanent staff at this early stage may force it to outsource. Let’s call this type of organization, Type A.

The organization finds it more cost-effective to outsource the work:
Another reason why an organization may wish to outsource the work could be that despite skilled instructional designers, it finds the outsourcing option more cost-effective. An in-house resource has more cost associated to it than an outsourced one. It also allows more flexibility to the company in terms of vying for more projects. Outsourced resources can be tapped whenever organization requires them, thus bringing the costs down considerably. Let’s call this type of organization, Type B.

The macro objective of outsourcing for any organization, thus, is to deliver quality in time. With this lofty objective, the organization determines that the instructional design work for a project would be outsourced. The finer details of the outsourcing process are, worked out by the project team, specifically, the project manager.

The project manager now reviews the project and determines the budget for outsourcing. He then pulls all the strings that he can among his contacts to find an instructional designer who could suit the project requirements. If the organization is big and has pre-established vendor databases (or is of Type B), the instructional designer database is queried, and phone calls are made. Most often than not, the project deadlines ensure that the best among the first few responders is selected for the job.

If the organization is of Type A, it is quite possible that the interviewers would have little or no experience of instructional design themselves, and their selection will probably be based on the resume of the applicant. Almost all Type B organizations sign an agreement with the instructional designer, which helps determine the responsibilities and the scope of work.

The freelance instructional designer is now given some documents, samples, and standards, which form the basis on which the development begins. The freelance ID is also introduced to the in-house ID or project lead who would be the contact point during the development process. In some cases, a standards orientation is held by the client organization. A schedule is created by the project lead and sent to the instructional designer.

Then the chase begins…Very often the end is tragic!

Here’s a short list that may help organizations ensure that the outsourcing process is a pleasure for those involved.

1. Organizations of both Type A and Type B, should realize that instructional design is a specialized field of learning and to make their project successful, they should ensure that the outsourced resource is a capable instructional designer. Following is a short checklist that can help in this:
   • Can the candidate apply the principles of instructional design?
   • Does the candidate understand the delivery platform for the final product?
   • Is the candidate forthcoming with queries and doubts?
   • Is the candidate comfortable with receiving feedback?
   • Can the candidate manage his or her time?
   
   
2. Type A organizations should avail professional services for selecting their freelance instructional designers. Since these organizations are young and tender, a setback in the beginning of the project (well, ID is the first process of any eLearning project!) could be disastrous!
   
   
3. Organizations should realize that good instructional design comes at a cost. A survey of prevailing market rates should be carried out before outsourcing is implemented. Instructional design is a rare skill, and if you combine it with creativity, visualization, and good writing ability, it becomes rarer still. What should be remembered is that ID is the foundation of any course, and a weak foundation will ensure cracks in your course – cracks that will bring rework, which will increase costs, thus defeating the objective that you began with.
   
   
4. Type B organizations should ensure that their senior instructional designers select the freelance instructional designer and not the overworked project manager. For each project there should be a customized sample creation round. An instructional design test will not solve your purpose here, a sample would.
   
   
5. Type A organizations should always sign an agreement before the freelance ID begins work. It binds the instructional designer to the project and creates a commitment to deliver. Type B organizations always sign contracts beforehand so this point doesn’t apply to them.
   
   
6. Organizations should make sure that the instructional designer is oriented for the project. This orientation will help the ID understand client requirements better.
   G. Organizations should lay down timelines not just for development but also for reviews. The reviewers should respect the freelance instructional designer’s right to personal time.
   
   
7. Many creative instructional designers do not like to work with thought-inhibiting, complex formats. The project managers should review their budgets to figure out if a person of lesser skills (and hence lesser cost) could be allocated to transport the instructional designer’s work, which is done in a simpler format, to the official format. Formatting issues too could be taken care off in the same manner.
   
   
8. Organizations should make sure that they always pay in time. It’s true that most organizations work for foreign clients, and they require client’s approval on the projects before the client releases payment to them. It’s also true that some eLearning organizations prefer to cover themselves back-to-back, and stop payment to the instructional designer until the payment is received from the client. These organizations earn a bad name for themselves, and good instructional designers try to keep away from them. A better idea is to pay on the basis of in-house reviews and make the in-house reviews stronger.
   
   

I think the above tips should help. Now let us shift our focus to the freelance instructional designer.

Freelance Instructional Designer's Perspective:

The process from the viewpoint of the instructional designer is usually as given below.

A content writer, technical writer, or instructional designer becomes part of the ID outsourcing process, through a phone call or an email. The linking is through some or the other contact. This contact usually knows some bit about the project requirements and some bit about the skills of the prospective instructional designer. Probably, the only reason behind the act is the will to help both parties concerned.

The prospective freelance instructional designer gathers as much as possible from this initial phone call and waits for the project manager or any other organizational representative to call up. The call from the organization usually probes into the background of the candidate and sets up an interview. When the interview takes place, it still revolves around background, current situation, reasons for giving up the job, and so on. Usually, if the person can speak good English, exhibits confidence, and replies to the questions logically; he or she is selected!

The game begins:
The ID receives a short brief, a CD containing some samples, lists of some standards (which may include graphic and programming standards too!) and the work begins. The first draft is returned with almost each line track-changed. The comments do not make much sense as they discuss standards that either were not explained or client requirements that were not discussed. Requirements that were not discussed before are garbed as review comments and sent across with condescending wrappers!

The ID doesn’t like it at all. The time spent on the project is almost double of what the PM had mentioned. The changes are too many, and not all relate to errors; some relate to new requirements, the person who calls the ID up for progress reviews talks unpleasantly and disrespectfully. The ID wishes to flee!

Here’s a list for the freelance instructional designers, who would like to execute their projects in a happier frame of mind.

1. A. The instructional designer should ask as many questions as possible about the course before starting work on it. These questions result in information that can help the ID map his or her skills to the prospective task. Each of us is equipped with a particular skill-set, with our unique likes and dislikes, and requirements. Taking up an assignment without owning the required skills to complete it, is killing your reputation in the market. Even if the organizational representative tries to sell the idea to you, be firm. It may only be about throwing the monkey on your shoulders.
   
   
2. B. A fresh ID should find out whether the organization is Type A or Type B. For a fresh ID with little or no experience, it is not advisable to pick up assignments from Type A organizations, as guidance will be little and learning scant.
   
   
3. C. The instructional designer should understand the importance of applying instructional design to content development. ID is the underlying logic of any instructional content, without which the content will sooner or later fall flat on its face. If you want to be a freelance instructional designer, learn instructional design.
   
   
4. D. The ID should prepare a time-plan for the project. It’s always better to approach the work in a planned manner, lay out a design (even if the client doesn’t demand it,) then begin work.
   
   
5. E. The instructional designer should demand an agreement, which should be signed by both parties before work begins. This is especially important in the case of new clients.
   
   
6. F. The ID should always be honest with the client. It’s also advisable to be in touch with more than one representative of the client, as this helps ensure that your queries are always answered.
   
   
7. G. The ID should aim at not just “fulfilling the requirements” but “delighting” the client. Every extra bit of effort that you spend on your script will win your client’s heart. An example could be: If you detect plagiarism in SME content, let the client know. This could save some heavy penalties for the client.
   
   
8. H. The freelance instructional designer should learn to say “No” to unethical practices. Even if the client “asks” you to plagiarize; refuse. There are no two ways of tackling this situation. The moment the client asks you to do something unethical, the client is not worth working for! Turn your back on such clients forever!
   
   
9. I. The ID should always maintain a time record for all projects. This time record will help you review, whether your freelancing work is paying you enough for your time. It will also help you weed out the time consuming issues, and make your development work more efficient.
   
   
10. J. Finally, the ID should be in touch with the market and ensure that the payment being given is at par with the market rate.
    

I hope you find the above two lists helpful. These lists are not exhaustive. They cannot be as experiences vary. Yet they can help in projecting a more logical course of action for organizations as well as individuals. The organizations that contract freelance instructional designers for their work should carefully design their selection process to ensure that quality and delivery-related issues are substantially reduced. On the other hand, instructional designers who wish to work on contract should carefully select the organization they would like to work for and ensure that their skills map to the assignments they accept.

Happy Outsourcing!

Author: Shafali R. Anand