Establishing and Scaling a Learning Media Production Team: A Cost-Effective In-House Solution

Quick Summary:

• Establishing an in-house learning media production team significantly reduced vendor costs, improved content quality, accelerated speed to market with high-quality learning content, and provided greater control over the creative process.
• By offloading time-consuming tasks like editing to specialized vendors, we maintained high standards while optimizing costs and significantly scaling production capacity.
• Transitioning from traditional project management to specialized roles, such as a production manager and a digital media asset specialist, ensured efficient end-to-end content production and seamless integration with numerous learning platforms and content management systems.

Introduction

In today’s digital-first environment, the demand for high-quality learning media has never been greater. As organizations strive to deliver engaging and effective learning experiences, the pressure to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently has intensified. For many, this has led to a heavy reliance on external vendors—a solution that, while effective, often comes with significant costs and limited flexibility. This article explores how we identified the need to bring learning media production in-house and the strategic steps we took to build and scale a dedicated team, ultimately reducing vendor dependency and controlling costs.

Identifying the Need

When I first took stock of our organization’s learning media production needs, it became clear that our reliance on external vendors was becoming a bottleneck. We were frequently facing long lead times, high costs, and a lack of control over the creative process. The demand for more personalized, high-quality content was growing, and our existing model simply wasn’t sustainable.

Our reliance on vendors to develop traditional eLearning on-demand customer-facing education introduced challenges in maintaining consistent quality and meeting tight deadlines. As we recognized these issues, we identified an opportunity to rapidly create consistent and high-quality content by building upon a proof of concept for video-based instructor-led on-demand training. This new methodology served as the catalyst for demonstrating the value of having an in-house team, allowing us to offload our reliance on external vendors and take greater control of our content production process.

The Decision to Build In-House

Recognizing the limitations of our vendor-dependent approach, we made the strategic decision to establish an in-house learning media production team. This decision was driven by several key factors:

1. Cost Efficiency: By building an in-house team, we could significantly reduce the costs associated with external vendors. This not only provided immediate financial benefits but also allowed us to reallocate resources more effectively.
2. Quality Control: An in-house team would give us greater control over the quality of our content. We could ensure that every piece of media aligned with our brand standards and met the specific needs of our audience.
3. Agility and Responsiveness: With a dedicated team, we could respond more quickly to emerging needs and opportunities. This agility would allow us to better serve our stakeholders and stay ahead of industry trends.
4. Strategic Vendor Management: Although we didn’t fully eliminate vendor partnerships, we optimized our approach by offloading time-consuming post-production tasks, such as editing, to specialized media production vendors. By focusing on efficient vendor management, we established strong partnerships where our vendors understood our content needs, minimizing the need for extensive back-and-forth communication. This allowed us to scale our editing capabilities cost-effectively while maintaining high quality.

Building the Team

Building the team was not an overnight process. It required careful planning, strategic hiring, and a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve. I began by identifying the key roles needed to support our production goals, including video producers, graphic designers, and project managers. Fortunately, there were three highly experienced and capable producers already on staff, so the four of us set out to build the team together.

As the team evolved, I recognized the importance of specialized roles. I transformed the traditional project manager role into a production manager position, responsible for coordinating the schedules of both internal and external production staff to ensure timelines were met. Additionally, I brought on a dedicated digital media asset and publication specialist. This individual’s role was crucial in ensuring our data was organized, indexed, stored, and archived effectively. Their expertise in learning management systems (LMS) made them uniquely qualified to manage the final process of publishing the hundreds—and eventually thousands—of digital assets into the LMS. They ensured that publication metadata and sequencing matched the original design documentation for courses.

Training and development were also critical components of my strategy. I reinforced, through annual goal setting, ongoing professional development for the team members to ensure they remained at the forefront of industry trends and best practices. I also focused on upskilling technical abilities, such as robotic process automation (RPA), to automate manual tasks. This commitment to professional growth has been key to maintaining the high standards I set for our content.

Scaling the Operation

Once the team was established, our next challenge was to scale our operations to meet the increasing demand for learning media. This involved not only expanding the team but also refining our processes to improve efficiency and output quality.

We implemented a production management framework that allowed us to streamline workflows, track progress, and ensure that all projects were delivered on time and within budget. We also developed a content production pipeline that standardized our processes and allowed us to produce content more quickly without sacrificing quality.

The combination of a well-structured in-house team and strategic vendor partnerships enabled us to scale our operations efficiently. By accurately estimating budgets and aligning our internal processes with our vendor capabilities, we could easily adjust our production capacity to meet growing demands.

The Impact

The decision to build and scale an in-house learning media production team, while optimizing our vendor partnerships, has had a transformative impact on our organization. We’ve significantly reduced our reliance on external vendors, leading to substantial cost savings. More importantly, we’ve gained greater control over the quality and timeliness of our content, allowing us to better meet the needs of our stakeholders.

Our team’s ability to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently has also enhanced our reputation within the organization. We’re now seen as a trusted partner in the development of learning solutions, and our work has become a critical component of our organization’s overall learning strategy.

Closing Thoughts

Building and scaling an in-house learning media production team was a strategic decision that has paid off in numerous ways. By reducing our dependency on external vendors and focusing on strategic vendor management, we’ve not only achieved significant cost savings but also gained the agility and control needed to produce content that truly aligns with our organization’s goals. As we continue to evolve and grow, our in-house team will remain a cornerstone of the technical learning strategy, driving innovation and delivering value across the organization.

Let’s Connect

I’m always eager to hear your thoughts and feedback on the insights shared in this article. If you’re interested in diving deeper into how to scale your learning media production capabilities or have any questions, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to discuss strategies tailored to your organization’s needs and help you achieve your learning and development goals.

Last, but not least:

A shout-out to my past and present team members, with whom I've had the distinct pleasure of many conversations about how we would build this team together. This article is dedicated to you and all of your hard work and partnership.

Timothy Ewell , Ramesh BS , Niall Condon , Fiza Kapsi , Neha Agrawal , Akhil Raveendran , Vengatesh C., Garima Sinha Srivastava, Silvia Colonna, Jason Boucher, Russ Fairley, Nate Jones , Sylvia Hoe , Dilin S Kumar