Having an effective learning management system is a must for any mid- to large-size organization. No matter what industry, there is always a need for continuing education. But implementing that continued education can be difficult without the right system in place.
There are more than a few things to keep in mind when looking for the right LMS. Here are six tips in particular that can help make your search a little easier and allow you to find the right system and the right fit for your organization.
1. Know Your Learning Objectives
Before you can choose the right LMS, you need to know what your core objectives are. Are you looking to provide training on updating protocols and regulations? Implementing new techniques that can improve efficiency on the job?
Knowing what your goals are before you start is the best path to finding the right LMS. There are so many options to choose from that going into this blind can wind up being a really confusing, frustrating experience. Make the path easier by knowing what you hope to achieve from your LMS.
2. Know Your Team
Just like you can’t pick a learning management system on a whim, you can’t just throw your team into one on a whim, either. When choosing the right LMS, it helps to know what the skills of your team are before making the decision.
Maybe finding an LMS that allows team members to take advantage of their know-how and experience is important. Maybe you want to introduce them to new concepts to get them to think outside of the box. Understand how your team ticks before just throwing them into an LMS environment blindly.
3. Get Feedback From the Staff
What better way to find out how your team is doing with the LMS than to ask them directly? After all, there is no better provider of feedback than those who have actually used the system and seen how it works directly. It can be an invaluable tool for any company.
Ask things such as what they would like to see done differently, what they might want added, whether the tools or materials provided are enough to help them learn and make the job easier. These will tie into your strategy and only work to make your LMS all the more effective.
4. Determine Technical Limitations
Perhaps one of the most important things to consider when choosing an LMS is how that system will be integrated into current technologies. Also, determine how employees will be able to access this learning system and when you would prefer them to undergo these courses.
Knowing whether or not the LMS you choose has mobile access is huge as well. In this day and age, everyone has a smartphone and does most everything on it. If employees could do their LMS training, that just provides another level of convenience to the matter.
5. Consider Support Options
No matter the system, no matter the industry, things can and will go wrong with software. It is just the way of the world, which is why it is so important to have proper support with whatever LMS software that you wind up going with.
Quality software should not go down for long, but when it does, you can have confidence knowing that quality support will resolve the issue sooner rather than later. The less downtime that you have to contend with, the less wasted time you have to worry about. Make sure there is quality support for your LMS.
6. Always Ask for a Trial Period or Demonstration
A huge mistake that companies everywhere make is purchasing LMS software without knowing how to use it first. It might seem like a simple mistake but it happens all the time. Before you purchase LMS software, make sure that you either get a trial period or have a demonstration done first.
Not only will this shorten the learning curve, but it will cut down on the time spent learning the system initially. That means faster integration, less questions, and less wasted time trying to figure out how everything on the new system works.
