How to compare employee training pricing

When trying to choose an eLearning solution provider, you should consider many facets of your options instead of merely considering how much each would cost. Yet, many times we have prospective clients that only look at the expenses when considering their training options. They aren't considering the potential outcomes of the training and whether or not what they are buying will be effective.

"Check the box" on employee training

Consider the very common corporate need for anti-harassment training. As of today, there are seven American states plus D.C. with state-specific anti-harassment training requirements (CA, CT, DE, IL, ME, NY, WA, and DC). These requirements include presenting the correct topics in the training, examinations, interactivity, and minimum lengths of running time of the video content.

Many companies are looking to add anti-harassment training for the sole reason of not being found out of compliance with state law. They have not experienced any issues with harassment, so they just need to show that they have "some" training in place, and they look for the least expensive solution. We call this the "check the box" mentality

This article will break down the components of training in a way that will allow you to compare the costs with other employee training providers.

Compare the training videos

If you are considering adding a library of off-the-shelf videos to complement your internal employee training efforts, there are few things to consider that will affect your pricing. It is important to consider the expertise that goes into scriptwriting and the production value of the courses. Some videos simply cost more to produce and will likely be more engaging and effective at changing behaviors.

Do a side-by-side comparison: Choose a topic you plan to assign to a large group of employees. Watch the videos from your short list of providers and see whose you like the best. Whose courses do you think your employees will prefer? Did you learn anything?

Consider the video styles: This is where you will see a difference in production value. Do the videos include a live presenter, graphics, music, voice-over, etc.? Are there special effects or animations? Is there one single camera angle with a simple, generic set? Are courses interactive? All of these elements can contribute to higher or lower costs. They also affect learning outcomes.

Compare the approach to microlearning: What is the average length? Ask the vendors about the strategy behind the length of their courses. Does each video have a beginning, middle, and end so it makes sense to the viewer? Is microlearning important to you?

Evaluate the age of the videos: Is it important for your learners to view current and relevant training? Outdated training content reflects poorly on your organization. It also affects the amount of learning your employees can accomplish. Ask your potential partners how often they update their videos. Are they still selling the same old videos from the early 2000’s or late 1990’s? The pricing they offer will take that into consideration.

Compare the technology

It's tough to compare technology offerings "apples to apples" when there are so many providers with a variety of different features. With a list of acronyms like LMS, LRS, HRIS, SCORM, etc. it sounds more like alphabet soup.

You and your team of internal stakeholders need to make your list of the problems you are trying to solve through employee training and the features (and content) you require to solve them so you can try to compare pricing. Why buy the Ford Mustang Shelby when the Ford Fusion or Fiesta will do?

Is there tiered pricing depending on the features you turn on or off?
What happens when new features are launched?
Can you create workflows, automations, and reports?
Is the technology scalable?
What about social learning technology?
Does it include an authoring tool?
Is the dashboard customizable?
Storage space for your own content?
Competency mapping?
Training reinforcement?
Languages?
Classroom management?
Are all of these included or at an additional charge?

Compare the support

It's also important for you to ask about support during your vendor review process. Ask about implementation, training, technical support, content consultation, etc. Many companies charge for all of this in the four and five-figure dollar range.

What is the average length of time for implementation? Days? Weeks? Months?
Will you and your team of admins be trained? Or is it all self-guided via videos and PDFs?
Will you be assigned a personal learning consultant? Or will you be calling into a call center?
Will you get to speak to a human? Or will you be required to submit a ticket into a ticketing system and only receive support via email and online?
As new features are added, will you and your team receive additional training and support?
What about bug fixes or reporting questions or course recommendations? Are all of these included?
Will you receive help in launching and promoting the content to your learners?
Does the vendor offer a client marketing toolkit?

And, not to sound cliché, you aren't just choosing vendor. Many contracts for employee training are most effective over two to three years. Ideally, you will build a relationship with your training provider. You're looking for a partner so you can truly change behaviors. You want to develop your workforce, keep workers safe and meet regulatory and operational compliance requirements. You want employees to engage, improve their skills, and, ultimately, for your company to be more successful.

If you need help making the business case for training, check out our ebook on "The Costs of Not Training." What are the biggest losses that come with not training? Think about the costs of lost productivity from workplace bullying. Or the costs for OSHA penalties for willful and repeat violations. Our ebook explores the top eight areas where the lack of training costs the most.