In the age of Entirely Too Much Information, the only way for a communications platform to stay relevant is if it offers novel and thoughtfully designed content. As a result, effective and intelligent content development is more important today than it has ever been before. Creating, curating, designing and organising content is an art, especially in the field of e-learning and instructional design, which are almost entirely content-driven. Recognising this, companies which offer econtent development services have taken it upon themselves to cater to the requirements of the e-learning industry.
Creating effective content:
The benefits of outsourcing content development services
Broadly, there are two ways to create content. An e-learning company may design their content in-house or outsource their content development services. A company may believe that designing their own content will result in their meeting a client’s brief effectively, but that need not always be the case.
Using econtent development services has its benefits- the biggest one being cost cutting. Outsourcing grants companies access to ready, specialised talent pools whose services a company can benefit from. Hiring teams in-house would prove to be much more expensive. In addition to this, it is in the interest of content development services to be abreast of the latest technology in the domain. As a company, you have the option of outsourcing to more than one partner and effectively addressing various client concerns.
The onus of having highly skilled econtent developers is no longer on the company. Another major benefit is that content development services outsourcing results in a much faster turnaround time- projects usually have teams working exclusively on them. Companies designing content in-house, on the other hand, may have multiple projects to work on at a time, and may not be able to deliver as much in a stipulated time.
Having worked with a number of partners across the industry, companies offering content development services will be aware of the best practices in the industry. Econtent development services will be well-equipped to deliver content that will meet global standards. A company’s association with such a econtent development partner will allow the former to address their own in-house content requirements.
The e-learning and instructional design industry needs to constantly re-invent content in order to support developments in training requirements. As a result, content must be regularly refurbished and customised. This is another important reason for companies to partner with content development companies: they offer custom content development services. E-content development firms have the resources and the know-how to keep content relevant and fresh, while keeping in mind the target audience.
Striking a balance: Outsourcing content development vs creating content in-house
It is in the interest of the company to use content development services smartly. Short-terms costs of outsourcing may be higher than if content were created in-house, but in the long-run, the pay-off is often worth the cost. For example, if employees are expected to develop content as and when the need arises, it may impede the progress of their regular work. In other words, companies must also take into consideration opportunity cost. If the aim of a project is simple
for example, if a small company needs to design a simple in-house newsletter or fire safety brochure, designing content in-house may be more cost-effective. However, if the same company needs to cater to specialised client needs, outsourcing client development services may just be the smarter thing to do.