Talent acquisition for the various roles within your company is hard enough; add a specific skill set such as e-learning, training, or development and you may find yourself at a disadvantage. You need qualified, screened candidates who have proven skills and experience. Of course, you already know this because you are the person required to fill these job positions while enabling the company to quickly fill an open position with minimal downtime!
But there is a process enabling you to hire e-learning developers and instructional designers with more confidence.
In our blog “Recruiting Agencies Creating Partnerships” we described what to look for in an agency as well as how to create a positive partnership experience. But another critical reason for creating these partnerships is so you can turn to niche agencies that focus on identifying uniquely qualified employee recruits for a specific skill set or industry, such as training and development. This makes for a more positive, successful, and less stressful employee hiring experience.
Boutique or niche recruiting agencies have direct knowledge of your hiring requirements for certain types of positions. They also have established relationships with active and passive recruits with the skills and experience you need.
E-learning impacts business goals
Training and development have evolved from yesterday’s method of flying in your trainers or sending out your employees and recruits for hands-on training to today’ s creation of virtual, online classrooms so your staff can learn new software or take classes related to your company’s specific service or product. This has generated an increased need for writers and developers to create these training rooms and related instructional materials. However, when you add the requirements for various software and development programs used for training, the available writing talent pool just got a little smaller.
ASTD Research – e-Learning and Training on the rise.
For example, while working with a telecommunications company, my team used Primus to develop solutions for internal customer service representatives. As this program was being enhanced, we required classroom training to walk us through the nuances of using this program – such as their new Boolean searches and options for editing and producing solutions. Then the customer service reps needed training on using our solutions in this new portal. Now take into consideration that literally hundreds of employees needed to be trained, and flying everyone to a central destination certainly was not economically feasible. On the other hand, online virtual training enhanced our ability to train multiple teams all across the country at their own pace and time schedule.
For cost reasons alone, e-learning and instructional design has a valid and valuable place in today’s business world. Traditional methods of having an instructor on-site have become antiquated and are not cost-effective in a global workplace and virtual world.
Training in today’s technology has its advantages, but only to the extent that you match the recruit with the most experience to your requirements. Niche employee agencies such as UserEdge focus on filling positions with specialized requirements and can help you identify potential employees who have these qualifications and experience much quicker and at a lower cost compared to in-house recruiting teams.
Training and development knowledge is key to your success
What sets niche recruiting agencies apart is specific knowledge versus general knowledge. When hiring employees for e-learning and instructional design you need to be assured that the firm’s recruiter:
*Is an expert in the roles of information design and development for which they recruit
*Understands the types of tools required and has established relationships with people who use these tools
*Has knowledge of your personnel career objectives and specifics of the position – matching the candidate to the client’s needs and requirements:
o Why the position is available o What department plans are
o What the potential candidate does within the organization and structure of the team
*Works with the hiring manager regarding corporate culture:
o Cultural fit
o Interpersonal fit – peer-to-peer relationships
Niche recruiting agencies save clients time as well by conducting in-depth screening of candidates and reviewing potential candidates’ work as it relates to specific role. Finding a recruiter for e-learning and instructional designer talent acquisition means they know (these lists are not all-inclusive):
The role:
*E-Learning Developer – Lectora
*E-Learning Developer – Camtasia
*Instructional Designer
*Instructional Designer & Project Manager
*Project Manager
*Training Coordinator
*The responsibilities and skills:
*Develop e-learning modules
*Produce videos, hotspots, and simulation exercises
*Have knowledge of XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Photoshop, Illustrator, and SML
*Research and document task analysis
*Write learning objectives and modules: exercises, workbooks, worksheets, scripts, storyboards, manuals, job aids, tutorials, testing and evaluation forms, case studies, training databases, computer-based training, and computer-managed instruction
*Organize, plan, schedule, and implement all phases of a project
*Conduct needs assessments
*Recommend training solutions to meet business needs
*Lead design and development of solutions
*Provide Learning management system support
Each client’s need is unique. A niche employee recruiter understands that an instructional designer may need a blended role of instructional designer and project manager. These roles are creative and organized. Having a large talent pool makes your employee acquisition more streamlined. Whether you are looking for a training specialist, instructional designer with e- learning development, e-learning developer, or learning management system manager, for internal or external training on products, systems, or sales training, let UserEdge help you hire your next e-learning developer or instructional designer. Gain the edge with UserEdge.
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By Donna Cornelius Contributing Editor