Ruben as a Contractor

Abstract:

Ruben, a learning designer from Lima, Peru, holds a psychology degree with specializations in clinical and educational psychology from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. After starting his career as an instructional designer, he transitioned to learning design consulting. Since 2020, Ruben has worked remotely from Groningen, Netherlands, while pursuing a master’s in organizational psychology. He collaborates with Peruvian organizations serving industries like insurance, real estate, and retail. 

I like doing more work on the analysis and design phases. But, sometimes, I get projects in which I am “added” and, many times, that means I will work on the development phase. I feel like a third wheel of the car. This means that I get a job where the first two stages have already been done. So, I get to work on the development of materials, and it is the one that I like the least. When you contract with an organization, you don’t necessarily get the work that you want to do, but the work that they define that has to be done. I do not get to meet with the client and get the opportunity to do a little bit more consulting with them. I don’t have that access to that first meeting between the final customer and the contracting company. Obviously because I’m not in the company! So, I miss the opportunities to do that type of work. The other daily issue is that if I have to contact my contact, the redundancy! The company that hired me has to contact the end customer for any type of information that I need, so that can make the process bureaucratic and therefore slow it down. The processes are not finished in a length of time that are very efficient. On the other hand, one of the benefits is that the one responsible for what has to be done is the company that contracted me, not me. Obviously if I do a bad job, in the long run, even if you don’t meet the final client, the company that contracted me will stop hiring me. But, the effect of an error in the final product is not as direct on me, the contractor. There is less stress!

In his interview, Ruben emphasized the importance of strong analytical skills for learning designers, particularly in distinguishing between human performance needs and learning interventions. He also highlighted creativity as a vital component in crafting engaging and learner-centered materials. Ruben’s experiences underscore the value of adaptability and foundational competencies in delivering impactful and effective learning solutions.

It’s a good question, in terms of instructional design, I have only worked with Peruvian clients. We talked about a while ago, training or in general any educational event is also an act of communication. So, the communication we have in Peru is hardly direct, on the contrary, it is very circular. It takes us [Peruvians] so long to get to the point. Because that’s how it is, even in our literature. We very much take different paths until we get to the point. It is rare then, that in my culture, an email is less than two paragraphs. It is rare! That also affects the way we design training. Sometimes we are wordy. We sometimes do that because in our culture, we do it unconsciously. It is also reinforced because the client agrees with this wordy culture. When we are very straightforward, the client ends up telling us: Hey, something is missing, right? You have to explain more, you have to say more.

Romero-Hall, E. (2025). Learning Designers in Context: Examining Practices Across the Global South. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003270591

Photo by Carlos Ruiz Huaman on Unsplash