How to Choose the Right Instructional Design Consultant

Choosing a partner for your next training project is a critical decision. The right instructional design consultant will act as an extension of your team, taking the time to understand what’s important to you, your organization, and your employees. 

This collaborative approach leads to better learning outcomes than a consultant who simply insists on doing things their way. Just as learning projects vary across industries, instructional design consultants come with different capabilities, specialties, and levels of expertise. 

Critically assessing these qualities is essential and will have a direct impact on the overall quality and effectiveness of your training. In this article, we’ll explore how to navigate this important choice, covering:

• How a clear understanding of your project needs can guide your search. 
• What qualities and capabilities to assess in a consultant before making a decision
• How the cost of instruction design consultant structures differ based on a consultant's work, experience, and expertise

In need of custom instructional design services today? Reach out to Neovation’s Custom Learning team for a free quote for your next learning project.

Choosing Instructional Design Consultants: Understanding Your Project Needs

To choose the right instructional design consulting solution, you first need to assess the details of your project. You may not know every detail of your project scope, but you should have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your project. 

In addition to project scope, there are other criteria you can use to understand your project. Answering the following questions can clarify your needs and help you answer the bigger question of, how do I hire an instructional designer?

• Who are your learners?
• What is the budget for your project?
• Who are your project stakeholders?
• How much of the project will be completed by your team?
• What materials are required for your project? 

Neovation’s Custom Learning clients often seek guidance on very large projects to ensure they start on the right foot. Even if they do not have a robust idea of how every detail of the project will unfold, they have a vision of what they want the final product to look and feel like. With this information, we can work with them to determine the extent of our involvement:

• What’s needed to effectively reach their goal—like technical ability, expertise, etc.
• How the training will be presented to learners—like ILT, VILT, blended learning, eLearning, etc.
• What eLearning interactivities would be featured in their training to best engage their learners? 

By understanding the scope of your project and the level of involvement needed, you’ll have a clearer idea of which provider of instructional design consulting services would be best suited for your project.

Match Instructional Design Consultant Skills to Your Project Needs

To ensure your learning project achieves its goals, it's crucial to align the specific skills of an instructional design consultant with the project’s requirements. Understanding what expertise instructional designers bring to the table will empower you to select the best partner to transform your content into an engaging and effective eLearning experience.

Key skills of a successful instructional design consultant

Use the following criteria to help assess the key skills you’d need from an instructional design consultant to ensure your project is a success.

• Expertise is a critical factor when selecting instructional design consultants, as their foundational knowledge in learning theory, instructional design models, curriculum development, and knowledge assessment design impacts the quality and effectiveness of your training solutions.
• Proficiency in eLearning authoring tools like Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate is critical for developing interactive digital training that enhances learner engagement and retention.
• Strong project management skills are vital for instructional design consultants to ensure training initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget.
• Communication with clients and subject matter experts (SMEs) to ensure content accuracy, relevance, and alignment with organizational goals. Clear and consistent communication is essential throughout the process, enabling smooth feedback loops, timely updates, and alignment on key decisions.
• Aligning business goals with broader business goals, such as driving growth, increasing efficiency, or preparing teams for future demands. This is particularly crucial in instructional design consulting for corporations, where training must deliver measurable ROI. By designing scalable learning solutions, they support the organization’s ability to grow without compromising training quality or consistency.
• Positive reviews and testimonials from past clients offer valuable insight into a consultant’s reliability, professionalism, and effectiveness. They provide real-world evidence of successful outcomes, strong collaboration, and client satisfaction across various projects.

How Much Do Instructional Design Consultants Charge?

The cost of instruction design consultant services varies widely from project to project, which impacts how much the client will be charged. Larger projects will require more work and expertise, and may even require additional consultants. 

Consultants may charge by the hour or by project, both of which are influenced by the size of the project. Another key factor that determines the instructional design consultant cost is the kind of consultant providing the service. Three of the most common instructional design consulting vendors are:

• Agency-based consultants work for instructional design firms that offer instructional design consulting services to clients. If you need to hire instructional design consulting services for large, complex learning projects, such as instructional design consulting for workplace training, an agency is generally best-suited, as they can offer multiple consultants with dedicated specialties for client projects.
• Freelance instructional design consultants are individuals who offer consulting services to clients. They will likely have expertise in certain aspects of training development but may lack knowledge in others. Freelancers are best-suited for projects where the client requires a specific service, such as specialized instructional design consulting for compliance training.
• Off-shore instructional design consultants operate remotely in different countries from their clients. They can have large teams of consultants to perform tasks across a wide range of instructional design-related skills and may offer cheaper prices than other vendors. However, they may not have the same level of expertise as more established instructional design firms.

Make an Informed Choice When Hiring an Instructional Design Consultant

Choosing the right instructional design consultant starts with a clear understanding of your project’s specific goals, audience, and constraints. 

When you match your needs with a consultant’s skills, experience, and approach, the results can significantly elevate the impact of your training initiative. The right consultant brings a range of benefits, including:

• Better assessment of learning needs
• The right fit for your budget
• Alignment with your project timeline
• High-quality, engaging learning materials
• A smooth and collaborative partnership process
• A more effective and successful learning program
• Long-term benefits for teams and overall business performance 

As a leading instructional design consulting agency, Neovation’s Custom Learning team can bring expertise in instructional design and eLearning development to your learning project. We take a partnership approach with our clients to give them the support they need to create successful and effective training for their learners. 

If you’d like to learn more about how Neovation will work with you to help you meet your learning objectives, get a free quote for our custom instructional design consulting services.

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