Category: Learning Experience Design

If you haven’t partnered with a custom learning vendor before, you might be wondering how a solution provider can create impactful learning experiences when they aren’t experts in a particular industry or subject matter. 

And you wouldn’t be alone. 

In fact, it’s one of the questions we are asked most often—right after how much does it cost? and how long will it take? 

Though we hear this question most frequently from clients belonging to industries that are either highly technical and innovative (think: manufacturing and tech) or heavily specialized and regulated (such as finance, health care, and pharma), it’s something we’re also asked by those in service-based industries and those who operate in a specific niche (for example, hospitality, retail, and luxury goods/brands).   

And we totally get it. After all, we are not experts in your industry (nor would we ever claim to be). 

But we are experts in our own. 

At SweetRush, we’ve been designing and developing custom learning experiences since 2001. During this time, we’ve helped more than 300 companies across dozens of industries and sub-sectors achieve positive business results with our award-winning and impactful solutions.

How is this possible?

When you contract withSweetRush for a custom learning solution, you get a custom partnership experience in which we become a seamless extension of your team. This close partnership means the solutions we create together speak your highly technical language, represent your luxurious brand, and successfully pass all the needed rounds of review by your regulators. 

But don’t just take our word for it; find out what our clients have to say about partnering with us. And read on as we share examples of our partnerships and collaborations with Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits from a range of industries. 

Our Experience: Industry-Specific

The following is just a small selection of our industry-specific custom learning solutions. Should you consider working with us, our Client Solutions team can share more examples of our work that aligns most closely with the specific challenges you’re facing. 

Banking and Finance

Banking example: Bankers develop empathy for their customers by experiencing first-hand their most challenging financial needs.

Our client, a multinational financial services company, identified a unique need for empathy-building skills within its customer-facing banking employees. The client noted that 80% of the employee group were either Millennials or Gen Z and how, as a result of being younger, the group lacked the life experience necessary to empathize with those customers who might have more advanced financial needs, such as:

• Retirement 
• Large purchases (like auto or a home)
• Managing debt

The solution: A complex simulation in which employees walk in the shoes of several diverse customers and experience their financial life journeys. 

In this custom learning simulation, bankers must make tricky financial decisions as they navigate challenging scenarios. Throughout the simulation, learners experience a variety of outcomes and see how their choices affect events later on. The eLearning solution, which leverages a “choose your own adventure” format, enables employees to experience the simulation through the eyes of the customer and, in doing so, build empathy with them.

Finance example: Administrators improve communications and relationships with internal customers by upskilling their (financial) language abilities. 

Our client, a multinational professional services network, had a problem: its Finance and Administration (FA) group (administrative professionals, who provide internal support to the company’s financial specialists and teams) were not conversant in their clients (financial) language. This skill gap led to inefficiencies and miscommunication.

The solution: A compelling and purposeful eLearning experience that upskills administrative professionals on key financial concepts. 

Featuring storytelling, bite-sized content chunks, engaging animations, and strong visuals, this comprehensive learning solution met its goal to close the skills gap and improve internal customer support. What’s more, the program has also been accredited for CPE credit! 

 

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)

Building brand loyalty and a sense of belonging in a global workforce.

Joining a global company with tens of thousands of employees is an exciting prospect for most new hires, but some might wonder  how they, as an individual, might contribute and make an impact. Our client, one of the world’s largest snack food companies, partnered with SweetRush to tackle this very challenge. The task: to create an experience that would welcome new hires, teach them about the company and its history, and foster a sense of belonging and inclusion by empowering them to contribute to its future.

The solution: A unique and innovative experience that invites newcomers to bring their whole selves to work.

In this whimsical yet informative onboarding experience, new hires discover a love for the brand and its consumers, celebrate diversity, and unlock a pathway to becoming extraordinary! Centered around the theme ‘From Unique to Extraordinary,’ new hires discover how each unique individual person, product, and brand comes together to create an extraordinary company and consumer experience. New hires navigate the adventure-packed experience by visiting the “Flavor Factory,” and meet a colorful cast of characters along the way. A custom mini-game allows learners to build, dress, and accessorize their own candy-themed avatars, reinforcing the underlying themes of inclusion and belonging.

Health Care

Healthcare practitioners learn the correct way to operate life-saving “ECMO” devices. 

Our client, a nonprofit organization that supports health care professionals and scientists involved in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), needed a learning solution that would provide practitioners with up-to-date standards of practice as well as practical instruction for the correct use of the ECMO device. 

The solution: A comprehensive learning solution that develops, strengthens, and defines practitioners’ skills. 

This comprehensive eLearning solution consists of 53 modules and covers more than 80 learning objectives foundational to adult ECMO patient care. Each module features clear instructions coupled with custom motion animations that break down this highly complex topic into short, clear, actionable steps thereby ensuring the safe, correct, and consistent use of the device. The course can also be used to prepare practitioners for an ECMO Certification Exam.

Hospitality

Corporate teams enhance their policy and decision-making practices by walking in the shoes of those they affect. 

Our client, a multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts, hires thousands of new corporate team members every year, few of whom have hands-on experience working in hotels. The company’s leaders wanted these new hires to gain empathy for the hotel team members whose lives are touched by the corporate rules and policies these new team members will create.

The solution: An immersive ‘day in the life’ business simulation that shows the impact of the policies on hotel employees.

The SweetRush XR team created a VR training experience that includes a hotel tour and three hands-on operational tasks: setting up room service trays, checking in guests, and cleaning guestrooms. This “day in the life” exercise has had a profound impact on the target audience of leaders and policymakers—with 94% agreeing that the experience increased their empathy for hotel team members.

Manufacturing/Logistics

Embedding a culture of safety within the manufacturing environment.

Our client, a subsidiary of a multinational aluminum and copper manufacturing company, wanted to redevelop its existing safety training. With topics including machine safeguarding, fall prevention and protection, and working in combined spaces (to name a few), our client was looking for an experience that would embed a culture of safety and leave a lasting impact on its audience. 

The solution: An experiential learning solution that places learners in the center of the action and reveals the consequences of bad safety practices.

In this highly interactive scenario-based learning solution, learners must work quickly to identify workplace hazards and take action to prevent and avoid danger to life. Custom 3D renders of the company’s manufacturing facilities dial up the immediacy by placing learners in environments that look and feel familiar. Interactive elements ensure learners remain fully engaged throughout the experience. High-quality videos featuring interviews with real employees who’ve been involved in or affected by workplace incidents add gravity to the experience by showing the consequences of ignoring workplace safety rules and best practices.  

Pharma

Pharma sales reps close the deal with new product training that educates and informs.

Being a sales representative (rep) in the pharma industry is a highly complex role. Each rep must obtain a deep understanding of the product they are selling before they can approach their target audience of healthcare professionals and specialists. They must learn about the science behind each product including its application, benefits, and risks so that they, in turn, can educate their clients, earn their trust, and influence them to make a purchasing decision. Our client, a pharmaceutical company specializing in dermatological treatments and skin care products, needed a partner to develop new product training for its sales reps. 

The solution: A custom learning experience that sets sales reps up for success.  

This engaging, interactive eLearning experience blends storytelling techniques (featuring a 3D animated avatar guide) with informative videos and scenario-based knowledge checks to provide reps with the information they need to meet successfully with their clients and present the new product. Learners loved the experience, and key stakeholders told us that the training “felt like nothing they had seen before.”

Retail

Retail store associates increase transaction values by connecting with their customers. 

Our client, an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, needed to educate sales associates in 3,000 retail outlets on its new sales model. Specifically, the client wanted its associates to connect and engage better with their customers and to inspire them to purchase more. Its ultimate goal: to increase the average transaction value (ATV) of each individual sale. With little time for sales associates to step away from the sales floor, the learning solution needed to include short, impactful lessons that would be easy to access in the flow of work. 

The solution: A mobile-first learning solution that blends storytelling, simulation, and presentation to educate and inspire. 

In this custom scenario-based learning experience, learners are immediately immersed and engaged as they meet and interact with custom 3D animated characters who represent the colleagues that teach the new sales model and customers with whom they practice their skills. And the practice is paying off: Our client measured a 15% increase in ATV in those sales regions with higher course completion rates!

Tech

Educating the public on the wonders of the metaverse. 

A unique challenge in the tech industry is the need to train people on products and solutions that are still developing and evolving. Our client, a multinational technology conglomerate, wanted to create a training program for Coursera that would teach members of the public about the metaverse.   

The solution: A video-based digital learning solution that educates and informs members of the public on this immersive technology. 

The eLearning solution features a deep dive into the technology, functionality, and use cases of the metaverse, featuring high-end video testimonials from the thought leaders, movers, and shakers pioneering this new immersive environment. In-video questions (IVQs), aligned with Coursera’s content creation best practices, check for understanding along the way. Elements such as on-screen graphics illustrate abstract concepts like the structure of the metaverse and the extended reality (XR) spectrum. 

With over 55K enrollments and counting, the program has become one of the most popular courses on Coursera’s platform! In fact, at the time of writing this article, the program has received an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from more than 600 users. Why not try it out for yourself?

Transportation

Maintenance workers perform critical checks safely and consistently.

Our client, a US national transportations service, understands that maintenance training is essential for worker safety. Its existing instructor-led training solution was, however, in need of an upgrade. These hands-on learners loved the classroom setting and the opportunity to meet with their peers and instructors but were craving some hands-on training. Our client needed a way to provide opportunities for learners to get hands-on practice without leaving the classroom. 

The solution: A cutting-edge virtual reality training to enhance the ILT experience

This fun, memorable learning activity, part of a new and improved instructor-led workshop, is filled with interactive learning experiences to ensure that all maintenance supervisors are ready to consistently perform safety tasks. Using VR, learners practice the tasks of their job in a safe, realistic simulated environment. A game clock adds an element of excitement as learners race to correctly identify problems in the garage. 

Our Experience: Nonprofit Organizations

In addition to our work with Fortune 500 companies, we also have extensive experience partnering with nonprofit organizations to create custom learning solutions via our Good Things service. 

At the time of publishing this article, Good Things has helped no fewer than 44 nonprofit organizations educate both their internal (employee) and extended enterprise audiences on a wide-range of subjects including: 

• Personal safety training for humanitarian aid workers and volunteers. Experience the training. (Note, you will need to create a free account. Once in the learning portal, search for the Stay Safe curriculum.)
• Free online learning resources and performance support tools for humanitarian aid workers in Syria. (In partnership with Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation.) Find out more. 
• Trial monitoring training to evaluate the fairness of trials and ensure that the judicial process conforms to international human rights standards for independent assessors. Experience the training.
• Training to promote adolescent and youth participation in local governance for youth-focused professionals working in government, the nonprofit sector, the private sector and related domains. Experience the training.

Our Experience: Certification Programs

More than a dozen clients have chosen SweetRush as their trusted partner for the development of their professional certification programs, including:

• An external IT certification on Coursera for a global technology company
• A certified technician apprenticeship program for a leading global tire manufacturer
• A crisis management certification program for staff at a global humanitarian aid organization
• A re-certification program for nurse anesthetists 

A qualification program for people managers developed in partnership with our friends at SHRM (The Society for Human Resource Management)

Our Experience: Industry-Spanning Content and Topics

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our experience as an award-winning custom learning provider of solutions that cross industries and topics. This includes, but is not limited to, programs such as:

• Competency and skill development (includes both hard and soft/power skills)
• Compliance and safety training 
• Coaching and leadership development
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) awareness and training
• New hire onboarding
• Sales and other role-based training

I hope we’ve been able to address any concerns you may have about our ability to create meaningful and impactful learning solutions for your industry.

Ready to take the plunge and find out more about how we can work together? Get in touch with us today and tell us more about your unique business challenge. 

You’ve read our articles on cost and what’s included in the cost when you partner with SweetRush on a custom eLearning solution via our Custom Learning service, but did you know that we also offer alternatives to this service that might save you time and money? 

If your current budget or timeline doesn’t quite match up with our Custom Learning solutions, there are other ways you can partner with us. 

In this article, we’ll share three SweetRush services that offer alternative options for partnering with us to reduce the overall cost of your custom eLearning solution.

Want to refer back to this later? Download the article in full to read later or share with your team! 

Service 1: Talent Solutions

Augment Your L&D Team with Award-Winning SweetRush Talent

Don’t need the full SweetRush experience? No worries! You can augment your team with our experienced L&D staff through SweetRush Talent Solutions. We’ll place talent to work as part of your team through our talent acquisition service.

One of our most popular placements is a “one-person-band”—a multi-talented eLearning creator who can do the instructional design and writing and also assemble the eLearning course in your preferred authoring tool.

How did this service come about? We heard a need over and over when working with our client-partners. We discovered many of our client-partners needed temporary L&D talent to fill gaps directly on their teams rather than working with an external custom eLearning partner. We happily filled the gaps for them in-house, created innovative workshare models, and our staff augmentation service evolved naturally.

Here’s how SweetRush Staff Augmentation has helped these L&D professionals.

An instructional designer had to take unexpected family leave and needed us to find someone to step in and cover her work for their team so they wouldn’t miss project deadlines while she was out. 

A new L&D manager needed to hire a team but wasn’t quite sure what roles she needed until she got her arms around the business needs. We set her up with a team with diverse skills so that she could safely experiment with different roles and skill sets. She later ended up transitioning quite a few of the temps to her full time team!

With years of experience shaping the right team for every project, we excel at finding superior talent and onboarding and mentoring them for success. And because we also create custom learning solutions, we deeply understand your work and the temporary talent you need.

We are thrilled to be able to help our clients with their talent management challenges.

Service 2: Good Things

A Thank-You to Nonprofit Organizations

SweetRushians are do-gooders at heart because we know that Good Things Change the World. Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to help nonprofit organizations that are doing good in the world with some of our most meaningful projects.

We have unending respect for nonprofits that focus on helping others. Thankfully, we have a craft that can be applied to doing good for them (which is one of the reasons we love what we do so much). 

If we can help and participate in these efforts to help you help the world, we’d be honored to do so at an adjusted rate because we know that education- and behavior-changing messages are powerful tools.

Please reach out if we can help. If you work for a nonprofit, we are happy to offer a discount on our services. It’s truly our pleasure and our mission to help change the world for the better.

Service 3: CoDesign or CoDevelopment 

Pick Your Level of Involvement 

Don’t need SweetRush to build the entire project from start to finish? An easy way to cut costs on your custom eLearning project is to pick your level of involvement, meaning you can choose from the following scenarios below.

We design, you build (aka Phase 1 projects)

If you want to save on cost, we can help you come up with a solution design blueprint and then hand it back to you to build yourself. Developing the solution yourself is a significant way to cut costs while still getting expert help with the analysis and design portion of the process.

In this scenario, SweetRush creates the design work (blueprint) of your solution and hands it back to you, and then you build it. This usually happens in one of two ways: 

1. Collaborate on a new learning solution together
2. Reimagine your existing training 
3. Collaborate on a new learning solution together

Do you need help coming up with a new solution for a learning need? Maybe you have some content but aren’t sure what to do with it? Are you completely open to suggestions? 

If you answered Yes, our CoDesign service may be right for you! 

CoDesign is our proven, effective, inclusive (and dare we say, fun?) method of applying design thinking to learning and development. 

With CoDesign, not only do you get a team of experts to ideate with, but we also include your learners in the equation, so we design a solution that’s right for them. 

The CoDesign process begins with a live needs analysis to understand your unique business and learner needs, constraints, goals, and desired outcomes. We then take things a step further by codesigning a solution with your dedicated team. 

In this model, you and your CoDesign team ask the question “How might we…?” to solve different challenges. This open mindset and curiosity helps determine the right solution for your organization and needs. 

If this sounds like something you’d like to explore, we’d love to hear from you.

If you don’t need SweetRush for the design and you want us just for development of the solution, that’s another option. And who doesn’t love options!?

You design, we build

Do you want us to build a solution that you’ve designed? Need an extra pair of (or dozen) hands to build your blueprint? In this instance, you can hand over your design to us! YOU dream it, WE build it.

Since you’ve likely already done the needs analysis on your own to create your blueprint, we can skip that part when we step in. You have a clear idea of what you want your solution to look like and don’t need our help with analysis or ideating. We’re happy to oblige.

We’ll get right to the developing phase. We can quickly and easily storyboard your blueprint for you. Then, we’ll start developing and building to create the custom eLearning solution you’ve dreamed up.

Don’t see the exact co-development option you’re looking for? Our solutions are customizable to your needs. Whether you want us to participate from start to finish or just at the start or at the end, we are flexible and adaptable to your needs. 

So, to sum up, you have several solid options and alternatives to save cost. Better yet, each option ensures the same level of quality that people have come to expect from us but at a lower cost. 

If you’re interested in pursuing our custom eLearning solutions, let’s talk and figure out what works for you, your organization, and the challenge(s) you’re trying to solve through training. 

We’re here for you! 

 

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Additional Resources to Help You Decide 

Still weighing your options?

If you’re not quite ready to make a decision yet and are still in research mode, we’ve also got your back with these articles. 

👀 Want to know the price tag? Read What Does a Custom SweetRush eLearning Solution Cost? to peek behind the curtain on cost calculations.

👀 Want to know exactly what you’re paying for? Read What’s Included in the Cost of My SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution? to find out exactly what bang comes with your buck!

👀 Weighing the benefits of custom eLearning vs. off-the-shelf solutions? 

Read Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best? for an honest look at the pros and cons of each option.

Read Buy, Build, or Blend? Use Cases for Off-the-Shelf and Custom eLearning to find out when it makes the most sense to buy off-the-shelf vs. building custom learning vs. a blend of both options.

Send us your questions

Did we miss anything? What other questions would you like us to answer? What other articles can we create to help you make more informed decisions? 

Get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!

Are you ready to partner with a custom eLearning solution provider? Or are you still exploring your eLearning options in the research phase? Either way, you know that deciding whether to move forward with creating a custom eLearning solution is a big decision. 

In our article What Does a SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution Cost?, we shared the factors that affect the cost of custom eLearning solutions and revealed what you can expect to pay for one hour of SweetRush custom eLearning.

In this article, we explain what you can expect when partnering with SweetRush and what’s included in the cost of a SweetRush custom eLearning solution. We introduce you to your dedicated SweetRush team by sharing their roles and responsibilities. We also walk through the project deliverables you can expect to receive. Finally, we share how we manage the cost of your custom eLearning solution throughout its development.

Want to refer back to this later? Download the article in full to read later or share with your team! 

What Can You Expect from the SweetRush Team? 🤔💭

Curious about the roles and responsibilities of your dedicated SweetRush project team?

When you decide to embark on a custom eLearning project with SweetRush as your eLearning partner, you can expect to connect with an expert team of experienced and passionate professionals. From initial consultation to design to production to the final details, we partner and collaborate with you every step of the way. 

Each project is assigned a hand-picked team, who you’ll meet in just a moment. Different roles and additional team members may be added depending on the scale and complexity of your project, or the technologies involved, but you can expect to have at least one of the team members listed here as a minimum. Regardless of what your final team looks like, you can rest assured that they’ll be working with you (face-to-face or or behind the scenes) to bring your eLearning dreams to life!

Consultation Phase

During your initial pre-sale consultation, you’ll meet the following folks.

Solution Architect

We don’t call them architects for nothing! These talented individuals will listen to your needs, understand and answer your questions, and dig in to fully grasp the scope of your project. They’ll make sure we have the right tools and people in place to provide a solution to match your eLearning needs. They will be your initial point of contact. In fact, if you decide to send us a request for proposal (RFP) during your custom learning partner search, the Solution Architects are the folks who’ll answer your questions. 

Design and Development Phase

If, after the initial consultation, you decide to move forward with us, we’ll assign a team who’ll work with you on your eLearning project from beginning to end. Here’s who you’ll be working with.

Project Manager (PM)

Your SweetRush Project Manager is your liaison and go-to point of contact for the lifecycle of your project. Once the Project Manager receives the information from the Solution Architect, that Project Manager will be your client liaison and project team lead who manages all of the in-house experts for you. Your Project Manager is responsible for the entire scope of the project, from inception to launch—both the big picture of the project and day-to-day details. 

Lead Learning Experience Designer (Lead LXD)  

🏡 The Lead Learning Experience Designer takes over the role as chief architect for your home.

 The role of the Lead Learning Experience Designer (Lead LXD) is to ensure the instructional integrity of the learning solution. They want to know, Are learners learning something? Are they immersed and engaged in the experience?

You can expect to work very closely with the Lead LXD at the beginning of the project when they’ll bug you with questions partner with you to confirm the overall business need and identify the performance gaps of your target audience. Depending on the scope of your project, the Lead LXD will create a high-level design or solution blueprint that you’ll review and sign off on (more on this later). From this point on, the Lead LXD will switch to a leadership role and will guide and support the learning experience designers (LXDs), who will take over to flesh out the high-level design into a finished solution.

Learning Experience Designer (LXD)

Learning Experience Designers (LXDs) are the folks who’ll write and create your eLearning story, complete with characters and storyboarding. In addition to being incredible LXDs, many of our team double up as subject matter experts (SMEs) with specialties in different areas such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. We make sure to pair the right LXDs to your project based on their background and your needs. The LXDs are guided and supported every step of the way by the Lead LXD for your project.

Creative Director

Just as the Lead LXD designs the learning solution, the Creative Director (CD) does the same for the visuals of your eLearning solution. 

While we are known for creating beautiful, agency-level design, we know our solutions have to be instructionally sound. Our CDs work closely together in a crucial partnership with the Learning Experience Design team to craft beautiful, engaging learning experiences that speak authentically to your learners. 

CDs provide the creative vision and design for the experience, including the characters and backgrounds that will bring your learning to life. With a laser-sharp focus on the audience, they create moodboards and style guides that adhere to your company’s brand. The CD also directs and leads the multimedia experts who build the course assets—such as videos, illustrations, and animations—that keep learners actively engaged in the experience.

Finally, the CD makes sure the user experience and interface—buttons, menu, and navigation tools—all are in line with the look, feel, and overall experience they’ve created for your custom project.

Multimedia Experts 

Following the direction of the Creative Director, this pool of creative folks includes graphic designers, 2D/3D illustrators and animators, artists, and videographers. 

What Can Our Multimedia Experts Create? 

A better question is what can’t they create. While we are an eLearning company, we have the capability to produce agency-level design. Our award-winning creative team of graphic designers, animators, illustrators, and voiceover artists can provide the following during your eLearning journey:

• Infographics (charts, diagrams)
• 2D and 3D illustrations (custom backgrounds, icons, objects)
• 2D and 3D animations (text and graphics)
• 2D and 3D avatars
• Avatar animation
• Screen captures or simulations
• Video including video shoots and production
• Audio from a pool of more than 70 voice-over actors 

Lead eLearning Engineer/Developer 

The Lead eLearning Engineer/Developer works with the other leads (Creative Director, Project Manager, Lead LXD) to examine the high-level design or blueprint and eventually the storyboard to make sure what’s been dreamed up can work in reality. With a focus on technology and specifically the user experience—think accessibility and interactivity—they provide the direction to actually build the solution with the help of eLearning Developers. 

eLearning Developers

The engineers push the boundaries of learning technologies to customize the learning experience for you. With a solid foundation of the learning and creative strategy, they can then make suggestions on execution and solve challenges that come up.

Audio Team

The Audio Lead collaborates with the other leads on the project (Creative Director, Lead LXD, Project Manager) to understand the vision and needs of the project. With a pool of over 70 voice actors covering a range of ethnicities, accents, and genders, this in-house speciality is a strong differentiator for SweetRush. The Audio Lead will provide you with several options for characters. These accomplished voice-over actors have both extensive eLearning and commercial experience.

Copy Editor

Copy Editors adhere to your organization’s style guide. They advocate for your brand’s tone, language, and overall grammatical structure and consistency. Before the solution is even built, they make sure the text and dialogue are at the highest professional standards. Their review is thorough and detail-oriented. With Copy Editors on the team, you don’t have to worry about typos creeping in or the tone sounding unlike your organization.

Quality Assurance (QA)

The Quality Assurance team will make sure they understand exactly how you want your eLearning to be accessed by your learners (platform, browsers, etc.). They make sure your storyboard and product match, including screens, dialogue, and buttons. They also make sure that all sounds, interactions, accessibility requirements, learner evaluations and tests within the eLearning solution function properly. They perform tests and make sure that your solution works on the appropriate devices, browsers, and/or learning management systems (LMS). 

What Deliverables Can I Expect During My Custom eLearning Solution Project?

Once your project is signed and underway, you can usually expect at least five deliverables from us: a Detailed Design Document, a storyboard, an alpha and beta version of your eLearning solution, and the final SCORM package.

Note that on some projects, we may work more iteratively, in which case you can expect to see solution blueprints, prototypes, visual storyboards, and much more. On blended learning projects, you’ll also receive facilitator and participant guides, presentation decks, and performance support tools. Since every project is custom, the specific details will vary, but this list gives you an idea of what you can expect as a minimum.

Deliverable #1: Detailed Design Document (DDD)

The DDD, which may go by a different name depending on your specific project, provides you with a sneak preview of the learner journey, the interactions we’re planning to use, as well as any knowledge checks or assessments. Often presented in a table format, the DDD lists the number and types of screens we’re planning to use and where each lesson or section ends and begins. You shouldn’t expect to see any specific detail, such as graphics or script, in the DDD; however, you will have a clear understanding of the structure, sequence, and flow of the solution. 

Deliverable #2: Storyboard

Once the overall learner journey is complete, the LXDs get to work on the storyboard. The storyboard documents all the on- and off-screen content and action. You’ll be most interested in the on-screen content, which includes the text and visuals that will appear as well as detailed scripts for narrators and any characters. The off-screen information has everything our developers need to build the experience, including how the interactions will work and cues for animation and sound. If the experience contains branching or adaptive learning features, the storyboard will also call out these prompts and directions. Needless to say, the storyboard is a bit of a beast and can be overwhelming at first but don’t worry! We will provide tips for your review and will call out the things you can safely ignore.

Deliverables #3–5: Alpha, Beta, and final SCORM package

To get to the final product of the learning solution, we will first build the alpha version, which is a basic wireframe that first brings your vision to life so you can react to it. We need to make sure everything is there for you and that you are in agreement with the direction of the solution. You’ll likely give the most feedback during this first stage. 

Once that’s approved, we move onto the next stage and build the beta, which includes feedback from the alpha. This version includes polished graphics, video, voiceover, and should be very close to the final product. 

Once you review the beta and give your feedback, we can then produce the final SCORM package, which your learners can then enjoy!

How Will I Know What’s Happening? 🤔💭

How do we keep all the moving parts, people, and pieces coordinated and organized as we create your impactful custom eLearning solution? Strong project management tools, processes, and tools keep everything on track! 

During the entirety of your project with SweetRush, you will have:

Personalized project dashboards 📊

Welcome to your one-stop shop of information! All of your project information, tips, and guides will be located here. You don’t have to hunt and peck for different files and folders because this is your one single source of truth for the duration of the project.

Regular project meetings 🧑🏾‍💻

Let’s chat! Weekly meetings with your dedicated SweetRush team will help keep the project on track and keep you informed of what’s to come. Regular communication is key to connection and efficiency.

Delivery dates 📆

No surprises here. We will inform you of dates and when you will need to review with as much advance notice as possible. You will also have a wealth of client education tools to help you understand what is needed from you, how to review, and next steps needed from you. The Project Manager will work hand in hand with you (and virtually hold your hand, if needed) to make sure everything is crystal clear and set up for success! We will walk with you and guide you, clearly communicating every step of the way to make the process smooth and consistent.

How Do You Manage the Cost Once my Custom eLearning Project is Underway? 🤔💭

Ok, so you understand who’s involved and what the project lifecycle entails. Now, let’s get back to talking dollars and sense. Even the best-laid plans can sometimes veer off course. Here’s how we manage any deviation to the plan and scope. (Spoiler alert: It’s communication!)

🔎 First things first, we work to be as transparent as possible from the get-go. We ask a lot of questions during the initial analysis phase to ensure that we can accurately scope your solution. 

📄 Next, we develop a very detailed statement of work (SOW). And when we say detailed, we mean super detailed. We list every deliverable, resource, and asset and provide a breakdown that shows you exactly what you can expect to receive at the end of the project. 

📈 The SOW is then used alongside a budget tracker to record small changes throughout the project’s lifecycle. This allows us to identify in real time where and when any small decisions begin to add up and could place us at risk of getting off course (aka change order territory).

With these best practices in place, we can work with you to identify, mitigate, and communicate these risks before they happen! And we’ll work with you to resolve any challenges that arise. We are in this together as partners!

With an all-star team of learning experts guiding and listening to you each step of the way, tools to keep everyone in sync, and healthy communication, your dream is in great hands. Together, we will build the custom eLearning solution that your organization needs to thrive.

Ready to start building? We’d love to hear from you!

 

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More Resources to Help You Decide If a SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution Is Right for You

Still digging around for information?

If you’re not quite ready to make a decision yet and are still in research mode, we’ve also got your back with these articles. 

👀 Want to know the price tag? Read What Does a Custom SweetRush eLearning Solution Cost? to peek behind the curtain on cost calculations.

👀 Looking for a lower cost option? Read Does SweetRush Offer any Lower-Cost Options for Custom eLearning? to find alternative solutions to fit your budget.

👀 Weighing the benefits of custom eLearning vs. off-the-shelf solutions? 

Read Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best? for an honest look at the pros and cons of each option.

Read Buy, Build, or Blend? Use Cases for Off-the-Shelf and Custom eLearning to find out when it makes the most sense to buy off-the-shelf vs. building custom learning vs. a blend of both options.

Send us your questions

Did we miss anything? What other questions would you like us to answer? What other articles can we create to help you make more informed decisions? 

Get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!

Making the decision to invest in a custom eLearning solution is a big step—one that typically involves getting buy-in and approval from senior leaders and stakeholders, who’ll almost always want to know (among other things), What is this going to cost? and How long will it take?

At SweetRush, we have a saying: Dream it and we can build it. In fact, we tend to liken our capabilities to the construction world. Our experienced, award-winning team of talented designers and developers can design and build anything you can think of: from a small addition to your home (we call this a Level 1 solution: think a microlearning experience) all the way up to a palatial mansion with multiple spaces for entertaining and relaxing (Level 3: think an immersive, highly customized simulation for a global audience)—and everything in between (Level 2)!

But, just as the cost of building a small addition versus an entire home varies, so too does the cost (and time it takes) to design and build a custom eLearning solution. There are just so many different factors to consider. 

The good news is that, with more than two decades of experience working with our amazing clients to build their dream custom eLearning solutions, we have a pretty good idea about what those factors are and how they affect cost and time. 

In this article, we reveal those factors and how we use them to calculate the cost of your custom eLearning solutions. We also explain how together we can manage the cost of those factors.

But that’s not all! 

We also share what you can expect to pay for 60 minutes of SweetRush custom eLearning as well as how much time it takes to develop

You heard that right.

We are lifting the lid on the price ranges of our custom eLearning solutions.

Why would we do this, I hear you ask. 

Because we want you to have all the information you need before you have that all-important conversation with your stakeholder (and before reaching out to us, for that matter)

Your time is valuable, and we don’t want to waste it by putting you through an unnecessary discovery phase—especially if price is a deciding factor for you. 

While you might be tempted to jump straight ahead to look at the pricing (hey, we get it, we even hooked you up with a hyperlink!), we encourage you to also look through everything else so that you have the full picture and understand what goes into these calculations. 

We also want you to understand what that price tag will get you. In, What’s Included in the Cost of my SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution? you’ll find out what to expect when working with us, from the project team roles to the workflow and deliverables. 

Knowledge is power, and you want to be fully informed when it comes to making the right decisions for your business.

So, assuming you haven’t jumped ahead and looked at the cost already (there’s that link again!), let’s look at the factors that have the biggest impact on the cost of a SweetRush custom eLearning solution.

Want to refer back to this later? Download the article in full to read later or share with your team!

What Are the Factors That Affect the Cost of a Custom eLearning Solution?

We likened creating a custom eLearning solution to designing and building a house. We expand on that analogy as we walk you through the factors that affect the cost of your custom eLearning solution. When applicable, we also share how we calculate those costs, what can affect the cost of each factor (we’re going meta with the factors that affect the factors!), and ways to potentially lower the overall cost of your solution.   

1. Seat Time 🪑

Usually expressed in minutes, seat time is the total amount of time it takes the learner to complete the eLearning experience. It’s also probably the easiest to understand: the longer the experience, the higher the cost.

Sounds simple enough, but it’s not always a straightforward calculation. Let’s break it down a little.

🏡 Building a House: 🪑How Big (or Small) Do You Need It to Be? Are you looking for a one-bedroom ranch or a multi-story mansion with a dozen en suite rooms plus a screening room, outdoor kitchen, and a pool house? Perhaps all you need is an addition built onto the side of your existing home? Understanding the size and scale of your need gives us a starting point for determining the scope of your project.  

How is seat time calculated? 🤔💭

There are a couple of ways we calculate the seat time depending on whether we’re converting an existing program or building something from scratch. 

Converting ILT/vILT to eLearning 

When converting an existing instructor-led or virtual instructor-led training (ILT or vILT) to eLearning, we use a typical conversion rate of 20–30 minutes of eLearning per hour of ILT. (These numbers can vary depending on the source content and density of the original design.) We then carefully consider the desired business and performance outcomes to refine these numbers and calculate the seat time needed to meet those objectives and goals. 

New Solutions

For custom eLearning solutions that are not conversions from ILT, we begin with a needs analysis to reveal the desired business outcomes and performance gaps. We then identify the number of learning objectives and the evaluation strategy and work backwards from there to determine how much content (seat time) is needed to support the learning outcomes. 

Note that what both of these approaches have in common is the learning objectives, which are always the driving force behind our seat time calculations. 

What are the factors that can impact the seat time calculation? 🤔💭

Even with these guidelines in place, seat time calculation is more art than science and there are other factors that can impact the final numbers. Here are the ones we come across most often.

> The number of learning objectives 🎯

As we’ve already mentioned above, we use learning objectives to help us determine the seat time for your eLearning. More learning objectives = more content = a higher seat time. And a higher seat time = a higher cost

> The complexity of the content 🧩

At SweetRush, we group content into two broad categories or types: knowledge-based and performance-based.

• Knowledge-based content is usually focused on teaching facts, concepts, and processes. In other words, what learners need to know.
• Performance-based content focuses on procedure and decision-making and what learners need to do.

Each of these content types requires a different instructional approach. The same is also true when it comes to assessing comprehension and competence. Knowledge can be tested with traditional testing methods such as quizzes and assessments. Performance, however, must be demonstrated, which means building more sophisticated means of testing the learners. Which, you guessed it, means higher seat times and higher costs. 

> The number of audiences 🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏼🙋🏿‍♂️

Note the wording here. We’re not talking about the size of your audience, we’re talking about how many different audience types the solution is for, and more specifically, whether the eLearning content or experience will need to be different for each audience. For example, we see this happen most often when there is a need to create an eLearning solution for an entire team or business unit that has either additional or nuanced content for leaders within that same team. Different versions of the same content will require additional design and development, which will impact the overall cost. 

> Personalized or adaptive training requirements 🧭

Personalized or adaptive learning experiences are ones in which the learners have control over how much or how little content they consume. The idea is that they can skip over or test out of content and concepts they’re already familiar with and take a deeper dive into areas of personal interest or those that need further development.

Since the true seat time for each learner will be different based on their experience and expertise, seat time is calculated on the time it would take for one person to go through each and every piece of content—even if this is not a likely scenario. The additional content still needs to be designed and developed, which has an associated cost. It’s worth mentioning that, while there’s an up-front investment in the content development, there are downstream savings in your busy learners’ time, and it’s overall a better experience for them—we can help you think through those tradeoffs

> Branched or scenario-based experiences 🔄

Along the same lines as personalized or adaptive eLearning experiences, scenario-based learning also means that we are developing content that not all learners will get to experience.

For example, we recently created a scenario-based call center training experience. Each scenario was branched, meaning that the learners’ response would trigger the scenario to play out in different ways. And while it took learners, on average, 10 minutes to complete the scenario, we created five times that amount of content to account for all the different paths the conversation might have taken. More content = higher total seat time = higher cost.

Want to sit down and talk about seat time? Get in touch!

2. Content Readiness and Content Stability 📚

The second factor affecting the cost of your custom eLearning solution is content readiness and content stability. Put simply, we want to understand what information we have to work with and how reliable it is.

What is content readiness and how does it affect the cost of custom eLearning solutions? 🤔💭

Content readiness refers to the amount of content that is readily available to us before we can design and build your custom eLearning solution. To be clear, we’re talking about the tangible stuff here. How much already exists in writing—as an existing slide deck, PDF, job aid, and so on—versus how much exists only in the head of your subject matter expert (SME)?

Having more documented content readily available means we can get to work much more quickly. It also means we won’t have to spend as much time on content analysis and research to identify and fill content gaps, all of which affect the timeline and cost.

Having little to no documented content readily available means we need to spend more time up front to identify the content gaps and then locate and interview the SMEs who can help us fill them. This additional effort, particularly SME involvement, will have a significant impact on the cost of your solution.  

What is content stability and how does it affect the cost of custom eLearning solutions? 🤔💭

Content stability is essentially reliability, in other words, how much we can count on the content staying the same throughout the duration of the project. 

When content is stable, we have a clear indication of the total seat time, which, as we’ve already talked about, is a major factor in the cost. Having stable content also means we can prepare accurate project plans complete with milestones and deadlines that you can hold us accountable to. 

When content is unstable, it becomes difficult for us to predict how long things will take. This means you can expect a more collaborative and iterative experience that will involve more reviews, longer development timelines, and a higher likelihood of scope creep. 

How can you manage the cost associated with content readiness and content stability? 🤔💭

Since content readiness and stability are the only factors on this list that are completely out of our hands, here are some ways you can manage this cost.

💡Do your needs analysis. Having a clear understanding of what the business needs and the expected outcomes are is critical. You’ll also want to find out who your target audience is and what their performance gaps are. Without this, you are maneuvering in the dark and won’t know what content you need to find. 

💡Identity the learning objectives. As we’ve already discussed, we use learning objectives to calculate seat time, but they are so much more important than this. The learning objectives also inform the content that will be needed to support the learning. Knowing what the learning objectives are will help you to track down content (and SMEs) more intentionally. We should add that we’re not looking for perfection here, but if you can describe what it is your learners should know and be able to do by the end of the training, you’ll be off to a flying start! 

💡Gather content that aligns with the objectives before engaging with a custom eLearning provider. The heading for this bullet originally read, Gather as much content as you can before engaging with a custom eLearning provider, but more content isn’t always better. You’ll save the most time (and money) if you gather content that supports the objectives (what learners should know and be able to do). 

💡Be honest about what you have and what you don’t have. This is perhaps the most important tip we can give you. The more transparent you are with us, the more accurate we can be with our scoping process. Higher accuracy means fewer surprises down the line.      

💡Wait until your content is stable. If you know that your content won’t be ready for some time or that it needs to go through several more rounds of internal reviews and is subject to significant change, then it might make more sense to wait until things are more stable. The key being significant change.  

💡Avoid bringing in new reviewers at the end of the project. This is good advice no matter what, but it’s especially relevant if you know you’re working with unstable content. To avoid last-minute changes, make sure you have all your stakeholders identified at the beginning of the project and get commitment from them to be part of the review process throughout.   

Finally, we should point out that we can work with any and all variables when it comes to content readiness and stability. Got no content? No problem! Got all the content you need? Great! Got some content but you’re waiting on it to be finalized? We’re good with that too. Need us to find the perfect SMEs? You got it.

Are you ready, willing, and stable (groan) to talk content readiness? Get in touch with the team today!

3. Visual Design 🎨

The third factor to impact the cost of your eLearning solution is visual design. Since everything we create is custom, the cost associated with visual design depends entirely on how pretty, punchy, or plain you want it to be. 

What can affect the visual design costs? 🤔💭

The most significant drivers of cost when it comes to visual design relate to customizing the eLearning interface (the screen that learners interact with) and the multimedia elements that we’ll be leveraging or designing and developing. 

While the level of customization for every project is different, we typically offer three different levels as a jumping off point.  

• Low customization (Level 1): Level 1 typically involves customizing the interface of your eLearning solution to align with your company’s branding. We’ll match colors and fonts and can bring over logos and other graphic elements that you provide. Level 1 programs tend to be photo-based; we can use photos that you provide or stock photography. Level 1 visual design also includes the design and development of digital assets such as infographics and charts. 
• Medium customization (Level 2): Turning things up a notch is our level 2 offering, with which our designers will perform additional customization of the user interface. You can expect to see customized buttons, menu bars, and navigation tools or devices. Multimedia elements are also more sophisticated at this level and might include custom 2D illustrations, GIFs, and animations. Level 2 is where you’ll also see avatars presented as an option.    
• High customization (Level 3+): This level of customization is as fancy as it gets! At Level 3 and above, pretty much everything and anything can be customized. This is where we’ll also bring in 3D illustration and animations. The sky’s the limit!    

How do we manage the cost of visual design? 🤔💭

In addition to making recommendations about the level of design and the use of different multimedia elements, there are a couple of very specific ways we manage cost.

We focus on learning first. 🚌 

When you’re working with a custom eLearning provider for the first time, it can be very tempting to go after the “shiny new thing.” And while we’re very good at making shiny new things, we know that what’s most important is that people actually learn something. To make sure this happens, our Creative Directors work hand-in-hand with our Learning Experience Design team to create experiences that impact learners’ performance first. 

We don’t do things just because we can. 🚦

Following on from the last point, we don’t animate avatars just because we can. We do so only when it enhances the learning experience. Instead, we’ll offer up an alternative (such as a motion graphic) as a more cost-effective way to create the same visual “wow.” This ability to present different options is made possible by our team’s deep understanding of the learning objectives, scope, and budget. 

We consider the big picture. 🌎

If we know that we’re going to be working on multiple courses or projects together, we’ll recommend developing eLearning templates, interactions libraries (customized versions of the screens we think you’ll use most often), and design assets (think buttons, avatars, backgrounds, etc.) for you that can be repurposed across multiple projects. 

Creating a series of ready-to-go assets means spending a little extra time up front on your first project with us, but you’ll get that time back with dividends on every project we complete together after that!

We use an asset tracker. ✅

When we scope your project, we’ll have a starting list of assets (for example, number of photos, illustrations, animations, and videos, etc.) that are included in the cost of your project. However, when we begin the project and dig into the content, we often find that different assets would make the learning more effective. Our asset tracker is a nifty tool we use to itemize and calculate how long it takes to create each asset and how many hours we have overall to create all the assets. We can use the asset tracker to make trades—for example, one illustration might take eight hours to create, but a chart might only take four; so we know that we could swap one illustration out for two charts if we wanted to and stay within budget and hours. We keep a close eye on the asset tracker throughout your project to make sure we’re sticking to our agreed budget. 

4. Technology and Tools 🛠

The fourth factor affecting the cost of your custom eLearning solution involves the technology and tools we’ll use to build your solution.   

At SweetRush, we’re both LMS and technology agnostic. Our talented team of developers have experience and expertise across multiple learning technologies and will work with you to identify the best fit for your learners’ needs. 

What can affect the technology costs? 🤔💭

We could write a book about this one, but we’ll keep things simple with the three things we run across most often.

The tool/technology itself

The biggest factor affecting the cost of the technology we’re using is the tool itself. For example, a solution that’s built with a rapid development tool, such as Rise 360, will take less development time than a solution that’s coded from scratch. Or mobile apps. Or AR and VR experiences. Or chatbots! We know! We’ve built them all! 

It’s worth noting that with savings comes limitations, such as fewer customization options and interaction types to engage learners. And sometimes that’s okay!

The level of customization

Most of the eLearning authoring tools you’ve heard of are capable of being customized. You know this already. You can change up colors and fonts and adjust the timing of interactions and so on. Some of them can even be customized to the point at which you might not even recognize the tool that’s sitting beneath the finished solution. Each level or degree of customization, no matter how big or small, requires additional development time, which leads to a higher cost.

When we’re using new or unfamiliar technology

We’re pretty well-versed in learning technologies and use our experience and expertise to recommend the best tools for your custom eLearning project. From time to time, however, we’re asked by clients to use a learning technology that’s either new or unfamiliar to us. In this instance, we may require additional time to learn about the technology, which could add to the cost of your project. More often than not, however, we’ll source an expert to join our team for the duration of the project.

How do we manage this cost? 🤔💭

As with all the other factors we’ve looked at, we always have your best interest at heart and will work with you to select the learning technologies that best meet your needs. Our talented team of developers will then leverage their experience and expertise to optimize those technologies to get the very best out of them. 

5. Timeline 📆

We’ve saved the easiest one until last! The final factor is timeline, and it’s a pretty straightforward concept to wrap your head around. 

We want to know: How soon do you need your solution to be ready?

How does the timeline affect cost? 🤔💭

So far, we’ve been talking about the factors that impact the cost of a custom eLearning solution. We’ve also called out how most of the costs are associated with the time it takes to develop the solution. 

More seat time = longer development time = higher overall cost. 

More complex technology = longer development time = higher overall cost. 

But the timeline itself can also be a factor.

We’ve been designing and developing award-winning eLearning solutions for two decades. We’ve fine-tuned our processes and teams to maximize productivity. We have a good sense of how many people and how much time it takes to get the job done to our industry-leading standards, and we scope and price our solutions that way. There’s one thing, however, that can upset the proverbial apple cart when it comes to timeline and cost.

You need your solution ready sooner! 🚀

Sometimes you’ll have a deadline that falls outside of our timeline guidelines. In these instances, we’ll carefully assess the need with you to determine whether we can make it work and do so in a way that allows us to deliver the quality you’re looking for. Usually this means adding more team members to a project than we’d usually need, which comes with a higher overall cost for your project.

Fun Fact About Factors: They’re Universal!

We’ve been transparent with you about the factors that we weigh when pricing our custom eLearning solutions. It’s important to note, however, that this list is not exclusive to SweetRush. Other eLearning solution providers will have very similar, if not the exact same lists as ours, so don’t be shy in asking how the factors we’ve shared affect their pricing models too—especially if you are comparing costs against multiple vendors.

These factors also apply to eLearning solutions that you create and build in-house! We wholeheartedly recommend that you use this list to help determine your own internal costs, especially if you’re weighing the decision whether to build something in-house versus partnering with a solutions provider like SweetRush

The more you understand about how price is calculated, the better informed and prepared you’ll be when it comes to decision-making time.

Now, on to the main attraction! The price!

What Does 1 Hour of Custom eLearning Cost?

You’ve learned about the factors that affect cost and how we, and sometimes you, can manage and minimize those costs. Now, on to the big question: How much does it cost to create a custom eLearning solution?

We’re about to tell you! 

But first, it’s important to reiterate that, since everything we create is custom and there are so many factors that can impact the price, these numbers are ballpark figures. The actual cost of your eLearning solution will depend on us having a deeper understanding of your needs and requirements.

That said, we want to give you an accurate range, so we’re sharing what it will cost to develop 60 minutes (one hour) of custom eLearning at three different levels. 

Each level takes into account the instructional complexity (content), creative complexity (visual design), and technical complexity (technology).

We’re also sticking our necks out a little further with some average development timelines for each of the three levels. When it comes to timeline estimates, note that we’re assuming that your content is both readily available and stable.

What if I have a very large project?

Great question! The prices below are based on projects with 60 minutes of seat time. If your project exceeds that time, you can expect to receive a lower rate per hour of custom eLearning development as our work is amortized over multiple hours of seat time.

Enough talking, let’s cut to the chase… Drumroll please…🥁

What Does One Hour of Level 1 (Low Complexity) Custom eLearning Cost? 

Our Level 1 eLearning projects are usually built in Rise 360 and, therefore, include a number of built-in navigation devices such as scrolling and clicking to reveal content as well as interactions such as character-driven scenarios. Level 1 solutions also offer a variety of basic assessment options including multiple choice questions, matching, and drag-and-drop-style sorting activities.  

From a creative perspective, Level 1 solutions involve some customization of the eLearning interface with still photos and images as the main multimedia elements. 

This type of eLearning experience is well suited for knowledge-based content such as toolkits and interactive reference guides. It’s also typically mobile responsive. 

We want to stress that low complexity does not mean low impact. Our instructional, creative, and technical teams work together to push the boundaries of our Level 1 solutions with compelling and engaging experiences to delight your learners! 

💰The price tag 💰

You can expect to pay $45,000 to $65,000 (US dollars) for one hour of Level 1 SweetRush custom eLearning.

🗓️ Typical timeline 🗓️

You can expect a Level 1 project to take, on average, 11 to 12 weeks to complete from the project kick-off date. 

What Does One Hour of Level 2 (Medium Complexity) Custom eLearning Cost?

Want to elevate the learner experience with something more immersive? Our Level 2 projects usually feature more sophisticated visual design, with 2D illustrations, animations, and avatars entering the frame. The learning experience itself is also enhanced with storytelling and with exploratory instructional techniques such as scenario-based learning and branched content and assessments. Learners might also be able to choose their path through the learning as opposed to following a linear path.

This type of eLearning experience is well suited to knowledge- and performance-based content. 

💰The price tag 💰

You can expect to pay $70,000 to $110,000 (US dollars) for one hour of Level 2 SweetRush custom eLearning.

🗓️ Typical timeline 🗓️

You can expect a Level 2 project to take, on average, 13 to 21 weeks to complete from project kick-off.

What Does One Hour of Level 3+ (High Complexity) Custom eLearning Cost?

One hour of high complexity eLearning includes all the bells and whistles to keep learners engaged (and entertained!) as they discover and practice new skills. Fully customized visual design immerses learners in the experience, enabling them to connect with the content on a deeper level. 

Whether it’s a first-person simulation that tests the learner’s ability to perform under pressure or a serious game that tests learners’ problem-solving skills, our Level 3+ solutions will have learners on the edge of their seats as they learn and demonstrate their ability to perform.

This level of complexity is ideal for performance-based content in which learners benefit from having the opportunity to practice (and fail at) new skills in a safe, nurturing space. 

💰The price tag 💰

You can expect to pay $120,000 to $180,000 (US dollars) for one hour of Level 3 SweetRush custom eLearning.

🗓️ Typical timeline 🗓️

You can expect a Level 3 project to take, on average, 26 to 28 weeks to complete from project kick-off.

That’s not all. We’ll also offer you options. When you choose us as your custom eLearning partner, we will present you with at least two options at different price points. You can then make an informed choice about what you need and what budget works for your organization.

So there you have it! We’ve laid all our cards on the table and we truly hope what we’ve shared will help you to decide whether a custom eLearning solution—and better yet, a SweetRush custom eLearning solution—is right for you.

And if it is, we’d love to hear from you! Just get in touch!

If you do make the decision to reach out, know that when you choose us as your partner, we’re committed to making your eLearning dreams come true! We’ll also have your back by considering all the factors we’ve shared to ensure that we’re recommending a solution that best meets the needs of your business, your learners, and your budget.

 

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More Resources to Help You Decide if a SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution is Right for You

If you’re not quite ready to make a decision yet and are still in research mode, we’ve also got your back with these resources. 

👀 Want to know exactly what you’re paying for? Read What’s Included in the Cost of My SweetRush Custom eLearning Solution? to find out exactly what bang comes with your buck!

👀 Looking for a lower-cost option? Read Does SweetRush Offer any Lower Cost Options for Custom eLearning? to find alternative solutions to fit your budget.

👀 Weighing the benefits of custom eLearning vs. off-the-shelf solutions? 

Read Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best? for an honest look at the pros and cons of each option

Read Buy, Build, or Blend? Use Cases for Off-the-Shelf and Custom eLearning to find out when it makes the most sense to buy off-the-shelf vs. building custom learning vs. a blend of both options.

Send us your questions

Did we miss anything? What other questions would you like us to answer? What other articles can we create to help you make more informed decisions? 

Get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!

In our article Comparing Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best?, we took an honest look at the benefits and potential pitfalls of buying a ready-made eLearning solution versus building something from scratch with a custom eLearning solution provider. As for which is best, we also gave you an honest answer: It depends!

In this article, we’ll dig into what “it depends” means by exploring use cases for both off-the-shelf and custom eLearning. And just like our first article, we’ll present you with information to support both options so that you can decide which one is best for you.

Why would we do this?

Because we want to help you make the choice that is right for you—even if that means you don’t end up choosing us. 

By the end of this article, you should be able to assess your own unique situation and make an informed decision.

Should you decide that a custom eLearning solution is the way to go, we hope you’ll get in touch!

Need a quick refresher on the difference between off-the-shelf and custom learning solutions? Read on or check out our last article for a more detailed look. Already in the know? Jump ahead to the use cases.

What is off-the-shelf learning?

Off-the-shelf, or “out-of-the-box,” training describes any content or learning experience that is ready-made. 

We typically think of “off-the-shelf” training as eLearning that’s purchased and loaded into an LMS, but there are many other types of off-the-shelf training experiences. What each experience has in common, however, is that they are non-customizable. Meaning, what you see is what you get. 

See our companion article Comparing Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best? for a full run-down of all the options.

What is custom learning?

Custom learning describes any content or experience that is designed and developed—usually from scratch—to meet the specific needs of a company and learner audience.

Depending on the capabilities of the custom learning provider—here are just some of ours—the solution can include modalities such as eLearning, ILT/vILT, mobile learning, games, simulations, performance support, and VR/AR experiences—or a blend of any of the above.

In this article, we’re providing use cases for off-the-shelf and custom eLearning solutions. 

Let’s begin with off-the-shelf eLearning. Or, if you prefer, you can jump straight to the custom eLearning use cases.

When should I choose an off-the-shelf eLearning solution?

Buy: 8 use cases for off-the-shelf eLearning

There are lots of reasons to choose an off-the-shelf product over a custom eLearning solution. Here’s when we think it makes the most sense to buy a ready-made program. 

Need to refer back to this list? Download the article to revisit at any time or share with your team! 

1. When you need to implement content quickly 

If you read our companion article, Comparing Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which Is Best?, you’ll know that when it comes to implementation timelines, nothing beats off-the-shelf eLearning for speed. 

That’s because developing a quality custom eLearning solution takes time. And while there are numerous eLearning authoring tools to choose from, including many that are considered rapid-development tools, you’re still looking at a development window that will span at best days or weeks depending on your project’s scope and your team’s or vendor’s capabilities. 

If you can’t wait that long, it makes sense to go with an off-the-shelf solution.

2. When your audience size is small / When the need is isolated

Small is a relative term and will mean different things to different-sized organizations. For a large multinational company, for example, a “small”’ audience might mean 500 people. On the other hand, a company with fewer than 150 employees worldwide might consider a handful of employees to be a small audience. And then, of course, there’s everything in between.

Why does size matter?

Because, as we illustrated in our previous article, while you can expect to receive deeper licensing discounts on off-the-shelf content for larger audiences, there is a point at which the balance shifts in favor of custom eLearning. We estimate this shift to begin at around the 1,000-learner mark on a like-for-like eLearning program with the same seat time and complexity.

With that in mind, if your need is isolated to one or two people (e.g., marketers need a copywriting course), a small team or department (e.g., the IT team needs risk analysis training), or even a division (e.g., the entire customer service division needs active listening skills), it may be more cost-effective to look for a ready-made solution.

3. When you need to lower your up-front cost 

We talked about cost at length in our last article. If you haven’t read it yet, and if cost is important to you, stop what you’re doing and review our comparison of off-the-shelf and custom eLearning up-front and long-term costs. (You can find it in the custom learning pros section.)

You’ll discover that off-the-shelf training has a significantly lower up-front cost than a like-for-like custom eLearning solution. 

We think this is important to call out because we know that you have a budget to manage. In particular, smaller companies, or those with a more conservative L&D budget, may not be able to justify the cost of a custom solution. 

One thing to keep in mind with off-the-shelf eLearning solutions, however, is the ongoing cost of renewing or extending licenses. So don’t forget to factor this into your budget for as many years as you expect to need the licenses.

4. When you need “one and done” training

Before you say it, we know. Learning should never be thought of as a “one and done” event. Learning is an ongoing experience. A journey. And we agree 100%. Except when it isn’t…

Sometimes, we have to take training for the sake of training. Box-checking compliance and regulatory topics such as GDPR, sexual harassment prevention, and IT security all come to mind. For this type of content that will be taken one time by your learners, it makes more sense to purchase an off-the-shelf solution. 

A note about box-checking content

We’re noticing a shift toward embedding compliance into companies’ cultural values by way of focusing on mindset shifts. 

If your company still sees compliance as box-checking and it needs to be right now, then off-the-shelf is the right path for you. If, however, you’re sensing an energy around shifting these efforts to having a bigger impact, then you may want to explore a custom eLearning solution.

5. When it’s OK for the content to be generic

If you read our article, Comparing Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which is Best?, you may recall we talked about how off-the-shelf training is typically designed for mass consumption and, therefore, tends to be both industry- and product-agnostic: In other words, generic.

But we also said that this is not necessarily a bad thing. And we stand by that.

Off-the-shelf training is a great option for knowledge-based content and for introducing learners to a concept or topic for the first time. In fact, many of our clients select off-the-shelf training because the content is considered industry-, product-, or service-agnostic. This might include compliance or regulatory topics like GDPR; diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); IT security; and even power skills like active listening and giving feedback. 

What’s important to remember if you’re considering heading in this direction is to think about what, if any, content you might need to develop to augment or reinforce the content to make it easier for learners to transfer their new knowledge back into the workplace.

This could be something as simple as a job aid or more complex, like a solution that blends off-the-shelf and custom eLearning content. More to come on this later!  

6. When you need professional accreditation from a recognized provider 

This one is simple. If you belong to a professional association and need to obtain or renew certification in a particular methodology or process, you’ll need to head straight to the source.  

Did you know?

SweetRush has helped many professional associations develop award-winning online certification programs, including SHRM, AACN, and the IFRC. 

7. When you’re expanding upon an existing course or program

If you’re already using content from a trusted vendor and the content is meeting your learners’ and business’s needs, it makes perfect sense to continue that partnership and add new content when needed. The emphasis being the content is meeting the needs. To get a pulse on this, we’d recommend sending out periodic assessments to your learners to find out what they think about the learning and how they are applying it before investing in more of the same.

8. When you don’t need to reinvent the wheel 

We’ll end this section with a confession. We’re a custom eLearning solution provider, and we recently purchased a suite of 10 off-the-shelf IT security training courses that were distributed to our entire workforce. Why? Because it made no sense whatsoever for us to spend valuable time and resources designing and building something that someone else had already made. 

What we did do, however, was to augment those courses with custom “SweetRushified” guidelines and best practices to help us apply the theory. More on how you should do this later.

So, there you have it! Our recommended use cases for off-the-shelf eLearning solutions. Now let’s look at when it makes the most sense to choose a custom eLearning solution.

When should I choose a custom eLearning solution?

Build: 8 use cases for custom eLearning

We’re big fans of off-the-shelf training both as consumers and as developers of content for our client partners. But there are some instances when you simply can’t beat a custom eLearning solution. Here’s our list.

Don’t forget, you can download this article to revisit anytime and share with your team.

1. When you need to convey a specific message or teach company-specific content

While there are many scenarios in which it makes perfect sense to buy off-the-shelf eLearning, there will be instances when it’s critical that the content reflects who you are as a company (your culture, values, policies, and ways of working) and who your learners are as people (what they do, and what’s expected of them). New employee onboarding and any training and development that centers around proprietary processes, tools, or methodologies all fall under this umbrella.

In this instance, you’ll need to build the content yourself or work with a custom eLearning provider, like us! 

We’ve helped numerous Fortune 1,000 clients deliver tailored, impactful training to their learners with our award-winning solutions. Get in touch to share your learning needs with us today!

2. When you need to simulate actual workplace environments and conditions

There’s a reason why pilots spend hours and hours in a flight simulator: It offers them a safe yet authentic and realistic environment to practice dealing with emergency situations. 

So, while your learners might not need to demonstrate how to safely land a commercial jet with only one engine working, they might need to demonstrate how they’d resolve a conflict between two coworkers, de-escalate a customer problem, or make a tough decision under pressure. And they probably won’t want to do that by being thrust into the action without any preparation or opportunity to practice.

One of our favorite things to do as a custom eLearning solutions partner is to prepare learners for the challenges they’ll face in the real world by bringing their world to life on screen. Our team of talented visual designers and developers has recreated everything from hotel lobbies, suites, and kitchens, to car maintenance shop floors, restaurant interiors, and just about every office environment you can think of. Our instructional designers and audio team experts make sure that what the onscreen characters say and do accurately mirrors what your learners can expect to be confronted with. 

This is an area in which custom learning truly shines and where off-the-shelf solutions simply can’t compete.

If you’d like to find out more about our capabilities, or if you’re curious about working with us to develop a custom learning experience for your next eLearning project, why not get in touch!

3. When you don’t need the solution right away

As we mentioned earlier, developing a custom learning solution takes time—and this doesn’t include the time it takes to identify a solution provider to work with in the first place.

At SweetRush, we use ADDIE as a framework for our instructional design strategy. This means that before we can begin building your solution, we must first understand the business need. Once we understand why the solution is needed, who it’s for, and what the desired outcomes are, we’ll prepare a detailed design of your solution—usually in a storyboard format—to get alignment and sign off on the vision. Once the design is approved, we can begin the development process. Using an iterative process (we have experience with both Agile and waterfall project development), we’ll build, test, evaluate, and refine the solution. As you’ve probably guessed, this also takes time!

Depending on the size and complexity of the solution, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months or even years to design, build, and implement a custom learning solution. In fact, we often work with clients who have a multi-year strategy in place for the development of their learning solutions. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you to find out how we can help.

Is custom eLearning worth the wait?

We like to think so, but don’t take our word for it. Find out what our clients have to say about working with us. And check out our awards for doing what we love! 

4. When your audience is large (>1,000 learners)

We’ve talked about the cost of off-the-shelf and custom eLearning solutions already in this article. And in our companion piece, Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom eLearning Solutions: Which is Best?, we compare the up-front vs. long-term costs of off-the-shelf and custom eLearning solutions as well as the impact that the audience size has on both.

One of the conclusions we were able to draw from that comparison is that custom eLearning is a more cost-effective option (both in the short and long term) when your audience size is large (>1,000 learners). In fact, the bigger your audience is, the better the cost savings.

What about my off-the-shelf volume discount?

While many off-the-shelf eLearning vendors will offer licensure discounts for high volumes of learners, if you need to renew those licenses on an annual basis, the cost will add up over time. By comparison, a custom eLearning solution has a flat fee for content that can be rolled out to an infinite number of learners.

The majority of projects we work on at SweetRush are for large multinational companies with audiences of >2,500 learners per program. If this sounds like you, get in touch to find out how we can work together.

5. When you want a professional-looking solution but don’t have the expertise, tools, or time to build it in-house

While we love to partner with our clients on what we call “solutioning”—needs analysis, program design, and prototyping—sometimes, our clients already know exactly what they want and need. They just need help building the “thing.” Perhaps they don’t have the expertise or tools in-house to bring their vision to life. More often than not, however, they just don’t have the time.

At SweetRush, our capabilities include end-to-end eLearning solution design (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) and everything in between, and we often work with clients on what we call “co-development” partnerships. 

In a co-development partnership, we might do all the up-front solutioning work (we call this “Phase 1”) and then hand off a fully-fledged design that our clients will build in-house. More often, however, our co-development engagements are the other way around. Clients have already done their Phase 1 work and need our help to build the learning experience.    

If you’ve already done the groundwork and need an award-winning partner to bring your vision to life, get in touch to find out how we can help!

6. When you can’t find what you need off-the-shelf / When you want something completely different

Many of our client consultations begin with questions like these: How will you deliver a magical user experience? What can you do that we can’t find elsewhere or build ourselves? What makes your solutions special?

Why do clients ask these questions? Because they are looking for something unique and innovative—something different that they haven’t seen before. (And our clients have seen and experienced a lot of eLearning!) They want to create experiences that will resonate with their audience and leave a lasting impression. Experiences that off-the-shelf eLearning products can’t always deliver.

At SweetRush, we consult closely with our client partners to understand their wants and needs to deliver memorable experiences for their learners. And they don’t just look good. In addition to winning awards for our capabilities and creative design, we’re also consistently recognized for our results.  

If you’re looking for a creative partner that gets results, you know what to do!

7. When you want to be actively involved in the process 

If you read our companion article, where we compared the pros and cons of off-the-shelf vs. custom eLearning, you may be experiencing déjà vu right now. Why? Because in it we explained that, as a custom eLearning vendor, it’s true we’ll do most of the heavy lifting for you, but we also want you to be actively involved in the design of your solution. What’s more, we listed this as a con. 

You read that right! 

While most of our clients do want to be actively involved in the design and development of their custom eLearning, every now and then, we’ll encounter folks who either don’t realize just how involved they need to be, or they straight up don’t want to be as involved as we need them to be.

In our experience, the most successful projects are the ones in which there is synergy and collaboration between our team and yours. Yes, we’ll do all the heavy lifting. We’ll design, develop, build, test, revise, and tweak your solution until it’s exactly what you want. But we want you there with us every step of the way. 

This means we want you in our up-front analysis and solutioning discussions and to review our designs and prototypes. We want you to coordinate SME interviews and review storyboards. And we want you to review and sign off on prototypes and finished builds. This is your baby, and we need your help guiding and informing its development until it’s ready to stand on its own two feet and be introduced to your target audience.

Depending on the size and complexity of your project, this can end up requiring a significant time investment. Luckily, you’ll have a SweetRush Project Manager on hand to help you plan for this and understand exactly what is expected of you throughout.

If you want to be an active participant in the development of your eLearning, a custom solution could be right for you!

8. When you want to impress your stakeholders

Getting stakeholder buy-in and support for your eLearning strategy can be a tough sell. Stakeholders want to be sure that they are getting a maximum return on their investment when it comes to value and results. Trust us. We know. 

As a custom eLearning vendor, we love helping learning leaders look good by equipping you with the resources you need to win over your toughest critics and skeptics at every stage of your project.

– We’ll help you get buy-in. Our tailor-made and beautifully designed proposals bring your business needs to life.  Each proposal includes hand-picked case studies and demonstrations of our work that most closely aligns with your specific challenge. Depending on the size and complexity of your project, we may even build a working prototype that will help your stakeholder visualize the finished product.

– We’ll help you demonstrate value. We’re confident you’ll love how our courses look, but we know that isn’t enough. That’s why we work closely with our clients to identify your desired business and performance outcomes. We then build content and assessments that align with those outcomes so that you can measure the results.

– We’ll help you build your internal brand. Your course is built, and you’re excited to get it out to your audience. But will they be as excited as you? We can help you build a buzz around your brand with campaigns. One of the most exciting ways we can help you build your brand is with awards. We’re highly experienced and incredibly successful (if we do say so ourselves) with the awards submission process. If you’d like to boost your internal brand with your next eLearning solution, we’d love to help!  

We want you to help you look good in front of your stakeholders. If you feel you could benefit from some help in this area, reach out and share your challenge with us.

The best of both worlds!

Blend: Use case for a blended eLearning solution

So far, we’ve been talking about off-the-shelf and custom eLearning as an either/or solution. But the truth is that many savvy L&D professionals prefer to blend both options. 

If this were an article about blended learning in general, i.e., one that blends two or more modalities, we’d have another long list of use cases for you. Since we’re focusing specifically on comparing off-the-shelf with custom eLearning experiences, we’ll spare you from that list (you’re welcome!) and share the use case we see most often.

When you want to stretch your training budget or timeline

If you made it this far, and perhaps even read our sister article, you’ll have seen a couple of themes consistently appear throughout our comparisons: time and cost.

On the one hand, off-the-shelf eLearning is quicker to implement than a custom eLearning solution but can become costly if you need to train a large audience. On the other hand, custom eLearning solutions take longer to develop but can end up saving you money over time, especially if your audience is large.

It’s quite the conundrum! 

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution that will help you make the most of your budget and your timeline: Blend the two together! 

How? 

Many of our clients begin by hand-picking off-the-shelf content to provide their learners with an introduction to some basic concepts and tackle knowledge-level objectives. Then, they’ll partner with a custom solution provider, like SweetRush, to develop custom content that bridges the gap between theory and application. 

We recently partnered with a client who did just this! 

Our client, a global sportswear brand, needed to upskill their entire digital wholesale team of 4,000 people on e-commerce skills, but they didn’t have the budget, time, or capability to create an entire custom eLearning solution from scratch. 

Find out how they solved this challenge and went on to design an award-winning solution by seamlessly blending both off-the-shelf and custom eLearning content.

So, which should I choose?  

The answer to this question is still “it depends,” but, hopefully, these use cases will help you identify with a specific situation and, therefore, narrow down the right solution for you.

As always, we urge you to take some time to understand the needs of your business as well as the preferences of your learners and your constraints before you investigate solutions. If you need a partner to help with this analysis, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Once you have a good understanding of the problem you need to solve, you can narrow down your options.

Here’s a quick summary of the use cases we covered.

Don’t forget, you can also download the article to refer back to later.

Whichever path you take, be sure to choose a vendor that will be consultative throughout and who has your best interests at heart. We’d love to be that partner for you! If you feel the same way, we’d love to hear from you!