How to choose a custom eLearning partner in South Africa

Search for eLearning companies in South Africa and you’ll find lists of names, most of them written by one of the companies on the list. They tell you who exists. They don’t tell you who is right for your training.

This is the guide we’d want if we were on the other side of the table: what actually separates one eLearning partner from another, what to ask before you sign, and how to compare quotes so you’re comparing like with like.

Start with what the training has to change

Before you look at suppliers, write down what people should be able to do differently once the training is done. “Understand the new policy” is not enough. “Process a return in the new system without calling the help desk” is.

That one sentence decides which kind of partner you need. Awareness training on a generic topic may only need an off-the-shelf course. Training on your own systems, products or way of working needs someone who will learn how your business runs. Our guide to what custom eLearning costs in South Africa explains where each option fits.

What separates one partner from another

1. They ask about the work before the content

A partner who opens with “send us your slides” will turn your slides into a course. A partner who asks who the learners are, where they get stuck and what a good day looks like will build training around the job. The second conversation takes longer and produces better training.

2. Their courses work on a phone, properly

Most South African staff will open at least some training on their own phones. Many courses described as mobile-friendly are a desktop slide shrunk to fit, with tiny text and buttons too small to tap. Don’t take a description on trust. Ask for a link to a real module and open it on your own phone, on mobile data, before the call ends.

3. You own what you pay for

Ask who owns the finished course and its source files, in what format you receive them, and whether your own team or another supplier could change them later. A course that only one person at one agency can open will go out of date the first time a process changes.

4. They’re clear about your LMS

Packaging a course as SCORM is routine. Agreeing what it reports, such as completion, score and time, is not, and it needs to happen with whoever runs your LMS before anything is built. If you need records for an audit, as you do for compliance training, say so up front.

5. You know who will do the work

Ask who will write, design and build your course, and who you’ll speak to week by week. Agencies that subcontract the build are common and not necessarily a problem, but you should know, because it affects how quickly changes happen.

6. Updates are planned, not an afterthought

Ask what happens when a process changes six months after launch: who makes the change, how long it takes and what it costs. The answer tells you whether the course will still be right next year.

Questions specific to South Africa

• Data costs. If people learn on their own phones and their own data, a heavy course costs them money. Ask how large a module is to download.
• Languages. Decide early which languages you need. Each extra language with audio or video is close to a fresh round of production, and the translation should be checked by a first-language speaker who knows the work.
• POPIA. If the course or its reporting handles personal information about your staff, ask where that data is stored and who can see it.
• Procurement. Many organisations require a B-BBEE certificate, a tax clearance pin or a supplier registration before a purchase order can be issued. Ask for these at the start, not when the work is ready to sign off.
• Local or offshore. Offshore developers can be cheaper per hour. A local partner shares your time zone, your context and your currency, and can be in the room for a workshop. Neither is right for everyone, but price the review time and travel honestly when you compare.

Questions to ask on the first call

1. Can you send me a module I can open on my phone right now?
2. What would you need from us, and from whom, to get started?
3. Who owns the course and source files at the end, and in what format?
4. How do you agree tracking with our LMS team?
5. How many review rounds are included, and what happens if we need another?
6. Who exactly will work on our project?
7. How are changes made after launch, and what do they cost?
8. What would you do differently from the way we’ve described it?

The last question is the useful one. A partner who only agrees with your brief is taking an order. One who pushes back, politely and with a reason, is thinking about your learners.

Warning signs

• A fixed price before anyone has asked about your learners or your content.
• No working examples, only screenshots or a showreel. (Client courses are often confidential, which is normal, but a partner should be able to show you something running, on a call if not online.)
• Vague answers about who owns the files.
• “Mobile-friendly” with no demonstration on a phone.
• No mention of how the course will be kept up to date.

Compare quotes fairly

Send everyone the same written brief: the learners, what they should be able to do afterwards, the content you have, the number and length of modules, any film or practice in a real system, your LMS, and the deadline. The cost article has a checklist of what to include. Then compare what each quote includes, not only the total: review rounds, revisions, imagery, voice-over, LMS testing and updates.

If you’d like a second opinion on a brief or a shortlist, book a call. We build custom eLearning in code for South African teams, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit or someone else is.