Freelancers: the key to helping reinvent the corporate learning function

The freelance economy is on the rise. Just this week two new reports reveal the extent to which the freelance – or gig economy – is growing. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that this independent workforce consists of 162 million people working across the US and most of Europe. That’s 30% of the working-age population.

This is consistent with data from the Freelancing in America: 2016 report that shows 35% of the US workforce is now freelance. The study shows that the number of freelancers in the US has grown by two million in the last two years, from 53 to 55 million workers.

The trend is not a surprising one considering technology has made it easier for freelancers to find work. The job market is also changing as it adapts to what this growing, on-demand talent pool can offer. Highly-skilled freelancers can be found and hired on-demand and at a fraction of the cost of employing a full-time equivalent. It is the ability to access skills on-demand that is helping organisations respond more quickly to rapidly changing markets and economic trends. That’s why platforms such as Upwork, Task Rabbit and Uber are so popular.

So what do these trends mean for UK businesses and in particular L&D teams?

According to the UK government’s Office for National Statistics, there are 4.7 million self-employed workers in the UK representing almost 15% of the total working population.

The good news is that many freelancers work in the creative sector and are highly-skilled specialists. We have seen this reflected in the broad range of skills now available on the Jam Pan platform – ranging from digital learning skills through to a wide range of digital creative skills – from film making and animation to app building. These are the skills that L&D teams are looking for as they shift focus to digital learning.

Jam Pan has seen a sharp rise in the number of freelancers and agencies signing up to the platform as well as a large increase in the number of jobs that are being posted by organisations. We currently have more than 50 live jobs that range from elearning development work, app development and games to LMS management and performance support. These jobs reflect the diversity of skills available. They also reflect a growing interest by the industry in hiring skills on demand.

But it doesn’t stop there. One recent client used the platform to bring in a range of on-demand skills that have helped reinvent a major part of their L&D function. How? Starting with some business analysis, the client was able to identify the business need, create a business plan and design and deliver a new approach to deliver compliance training.

This was followed by help in identifying all content assets and duplication, re-engineering the learning management system to be able to deliver a new learning experience and introducing a new authoring tool to enable the organisation to create and update content as required, thereby no longer relying on costly third parties for ongoing content support.

All of this work was carried out by highly-skilled, on-demand freelancers. The small in-house L&D team was able to continue its work and the head of L&D was able to re-engineer how a large part of his function worked at relatively low cost and quickly.

The key here is that this client was able to tap into skills that were not available within his team. The team could focus on the business whilst freelancers plugged the gaps.

And because freelancers have a wealth of experience working across a range of organisations and sectors they are able to provide insights into how others may have approached a similar challenge.

Platforms such as Jam Pan bring a much broader range of skills to L&D teams and this is set to grow as the freelance market grows. Could your L&D team benefit from this freelance talent pool?

Ref Link: http://jam-pan.com/blog/freelancers-the-key-to-helping-reinvent-the-corporate-learning-function/

Freelancer versus Agency – What’s The Best Approach for eLearning Projects?

When it comes to outsourcing elearning design or development the complexity of the overall project is reduced to a simple choice. Do you hire a freelancer or an agency?

But that simple choice has important ramifications for the project and for some projects can be the difference between success and failure. So how can an L&D teams make the right choice?

As a global online marketplace for elearning services, Jam Pan has helped deliver a wide range of outsourced elearning projects produced by agencies and freelancers. From this experience we have gleaned some important insights into when to use a freelancer and when to use an agency.

When to hire a Freelancer

To build capacity

L&D teams, like any other team or department in a business, plan their workflows according to business need. However, there are plenty of occasions when an unexpected project requires urgent attention. At this point, do you jeopardize other projects or build capacity to ensure that urgent project is delivered on time without negatively affecting the team’s other work? Freelancers enable you to build capacity quickly.

For speed

These urgent, unplanned requests from the business tend to need immediate attention. By accessing trusted freelancers you will be able to fill jobs within hours. Some freelance requests are filled in minutes on Jam Pan.

For smaller jobs

Freelancers are a great option for smaller jobs that require a fast turnaround. That might be a new module on a course or developing content from a subject matter expert. The key here is to know the limits of a freelance job.

For a fresh perspective

Freelancers are used to working across a variety of organisations and therefore have a broader perspective on how elearning could be designed and delivered. They are also free from approaching the project in the way an internal team member might be expected to do the job. That means they can challenge mindsets and ‘the way things are done around here’.

To quality assure the work

Freelance elearning designers tend to be very experienced and are therefore well placed to look at a brief and question how it will be rolled out and what the success criteria will look like. Savvy L&D teams will involve freelancers in this evaluation of the work to ensure the brief is a success.

To support the learning design process

Finally, freelancers should be seen as playing a part in a process. They are not managing the process, simply fulfilling their role. This is important because it helps L&D teams focus on the role of the freelancer in the process of designing and delivering elearning. This typically involves them in developing content.

When to hire an Agency

The job needs project management

Once a project involves more than three subject matter experts it requires project management. At this point you should look to an agency to manage the work as it can bring in the design and development skills as well as project management skills.

The job is complex

Bigger elearning projects require a mix of skills which can be delivered by an agency. These jobs become a process in themselves and therefore require management, both on the agency side and the client side.

The job is likely to grow

Bigger elearning projects can grow as internal stakeholders start to see successes and that the agency approach is working. This can lead to projects becoming bigger as they develop. Agencies are better placed to fulfill these projects as they have the capacity and project management skills.

They are the only people who can do the job

Some elearning jobs don’t require an elearning solution at all. They may require an app or an animated film or a virtual reality experience. These specialist skills tend to be delivered by bespoke agencies.

The decision to hire a freelancer or agency requires a lot of thinking through and there are benefits to both.

However, our experience shows that despite the fact a freelancer might be the best option, organisations are not set up to use them effectively.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the freelance market is very fast-paced which means someone could be available in the morning but hired by the end of the day. So, you need to be in a position to hire someone and that means having a good brief that outlines the job, the timescales and the fee. This is the basis upon which a freelancer can make a decision to do the work or not.

The second reason is payment. Many organisations have payment terms that preclude freelancers from pitching for the work – 90-day payment, for example. Some organisations pay on completion of the project, which means a freelancer could wait for months before they are paid. In order for freelancers to consider working for you, you will need freelance friendly payment terms such as 30 days.

Currently, the jobs won on Jam Pan show that there is increasing interest in hiring freelancers. However, organisations must work harder to make their projects more attractive to them.

Agencies continue to win larger-scale, more complex work but the message from our data is that there is a bulk of quick-turnaround elearning work that is well suited to freelancers. The challenge for organisations is to know when to use them and how to be ready to use them.

About Jam Pan

Jam Pan is a global On-Demand eLearning Services Platform founded by David Wood in 2014. Jam Pan connects expert freelancers and agencies from around the world with businesses that need them.

Platforms like Jam Pan are transforming how business services are purchased. In finance, marketing, technology, HR and right across business, marketplaces offer customers greater choice, ease of buying, lower prices, faster delivery, more customer-focused terms and greater purchase security. http://www.jam-pan.com

Ref Link: http://www.jam-pan.com/blog/freelancer-versus-agency-whats-best-approach-elearning-projects/

Leading eLearning Solutions

With the advent of the internet, the way people learn has changed drastically. Gone are the days when one would be required to travel far and spend their full time studying courses to enhance careers and learn new skills. A fast life and even less time to spare has resulted in the proliferation of customized elearning solutions.

Today the fruits of tailored elearning can be reaped by individuals and organizations alike. The need for constant skill development and career enhancement requirements have led to the proliferation elearning agency that take on elearning projects to deliver specific solutions for an organization’s learning needs. 

Wondering What Elearning Really Is? 

Elearning solutions encompass a variety of applications technologies, and software that aid learning. Elearning Projects have not only made learning more accessible; the interactive and animated mode of these solutions has also made education much easier to grasp.

Customized Solutions For Maximum Learning

In order to make the most of the various elearning solutions available in the market, it is important that the learner and the educator knows what tool will work the best for them. Hiring an elearning agency to take on your elearning projects is the fastest way for organizations to manage their employees’ learning needs effectively.

Offline software are best for teaching students, while interactive web based tools are best suited for learners who want to juggle learning with their full time jobs. The interactive nature of such elearning tools ensures that the learner is able to receive a two-way learning for maximum growth. 

Flexible Learning Through Versatile Modes

From universities, to companies, to students; elearning has something to offer to everyone. Not only is it convenient, flexible, accessible, barrier-free and interesting, it also elevates the learning capacity of the students and learners through multimedia, instructional designs, etc

Connecting businesses with elearning agency and freelancers

In today’s time, the variety of skills needed to deliver the requisite elearning solutions for asingle organization has grown exponentially. It has in fact grown beyond the abilities of a Learning and Development Department. This is where the on-demand elearning services platform Jam Pan comes into play!

Collaboration to deliver impeccable elearning projects

Founded in 2014 by David Wood, Jam Pan is one of the best online marketplaces that benefit the learning sector by connecting elearning agency and freelancers with businesses to develop strategic learning solutions.

Here’s what you can do through Jam Pan:

• Compare portfolios, conduct interviews and hire the right freelancer or elearning agency.
• Get connected to perfect matches and the best candidates.
• Work directly with freelancer or elearning agency for your elearning project.
• Use the Jam Pan payment method to ease your payment woes and streamline the finances.

Ref Link: http://www.hr.com/en/app/blog/2016/06/leading-elearning-solutions_ipgsunhq.html