Is Your Organization Ready For A Learning Management System? 7 Tell-Tale Signs To Consider
To know if your current training system is effective, you need to look at various metric parameters. There are many LMS metrics to track and questions to ask to determine if your current Learning Management System meets your needs. Here are 7 crucial things to consider when weighing your training options to decide if your organization is ready for a Learning Management System.
1. Training Department Load
The training department staff creates the online training content, deploys online training resources, and leads live events. These are obvious duties, but are there other behind-the-scene duties? Depending on the size of the organization, another key consideration is content management. In order for the organization to grow and stay competitive, current and future online training needs must be evaluated and implemented yearly. Questions to ask are:
- In the last year, how many employees left and what were their reasons?
- According to past surveys, what are the two most popular requests for online training?
- Is career advancement based on trained skill certifications and implementation?
- Are there online training modules in place for skill certifications?
- How often do managers request soft skill training?
- How robust are the soft skill online training programs? What should be added to make them better?
Depending on the training department and organization size, implementing solutions to address these issues may prove difficult.
2. Budgeting Concerns
Budget is a major concern and plays a crucial role in training development. Do you feel frustrated with your online training program? Does upper management balk at throwing more money your way? You may be asking the wrong questions. Address the questions they have concerns about, such as:
- What is the initial investment to start something new?
- How will our current online training program fit within the new one? Will we have to start completely over?
- What is the ROI if we implement another online training program?
- How will we measure success or failure? How will this be determined and tracked?
It is a good idea to have ready-made answers and possibly statistics as proof that an LMS solution is a good investment.
3. Lack Of Reporting Capabilities
Even if your training department doesn’t control the record keeping and LMS metrics, you still utilize this information. Metrics compilation ensures your current online training platform meets the needs of each department. Ask the following questions to determine if the record keeping efforts are adequate:
- How robust is the current record keeping system?
- How is the data entered and collated?
- How easy is it to track employees? Can you see all of an employee’s training on one page?
- Can you track clear career progression steps?
- Are performance evaluations part of the training metrics?
If these questions are difficult to answer, you may need a more robust tracking system.
4. Employee Retention
A crucial and often overlooked management area is staff development. Do you currently have a plan in place to help train your employees to be better and more engaging? If your staff is overworked, they may quickly become complacent in delivery technique. To find out how effective they are, do you:
- Evaluate and provide feedback?
- Conduct random surveys to obtain learner engagement?
- Offer latest trends or tips to improve their performance?
Remember that constructive feedback is not negative. If done properly, your staff will show improvement and be open to learning how to use a new Learning Management System.
5. Clear Objectives In Online Training Program
All new hires need the same information. Therefore, when several instructors give the company orientation presentation, how aligned are they? This question is crucial for your online training program. The delivery can vary but the online training content must be the same. Do online instructors skip over online training material? If so it may be due to:
- Virtual session starts late
- Several late attendees missing portion of the online presentation
- Technology problems
- Presenter gets too caught up in one topic so pace is skewed
If your training department struggles to deliver consistent online training content, you may need to upgrade to a better delivery system and opt for a new Learning Management System.
6. Manager Involvement
Perhaps your biggest challenge is buying-in from department managers. These managers may not promote or utilize the online training available for their staff. Possible reasons may be:
- Unknown benefits for encouraging or promoting online training modules
- Time restraints or production interruptions
- Department goals and training alignment unclear
- Unclear training needed to advance to the next level
Defining and addressing each of these points may help more participation from departments currently not utilizing the online training program. However, this can then cause more online training efforts needed to create a cascade effect.
7. Individual Online Training Assessment
An effective online training program is best evaluated through the employees who need the training. If you feel your current Learning Management System is inadequate to meet the needs of the employees, try sending out an online survey to all staff members. Include questions to evaluate each of the following areas:
- Are personal learning plans clear and easy to follow? How much input did you have in creating it?
- Do you find the performance evaluation system outdated and uninformative?
- Do you have a clear career development path? Are the advancement steps attainable? If not, what are your goals for advancement?
- Do you see the benefit to learning and developing soft skills? Why or why not?
Answering these 7 questions gives you the opportunity to identify whether individual employees may need more than your current online training program can provide. By addressing the needs within the training department, you will also address one of the biggest obstacles: budget. Your current LMS may not be consistent for various reasons. It’s important to evaluate your online training strategy, identify what’s lacking, and then find an LMS solution that bridges these gaps.
Do you need a guide that has all the information you need to find the right LMS for your requirements and budget? Download our free eBook How To Buy The Right LMS: The Complete Guide to learn how to create an accurate budget for your next Learning Management System. We’ll also uncover the most common hidden fees you should consider, as well as top tips to implement your new LMS.
