As the world becomes increasingly digital, more aspects of your personal and professional lives find their way into the online space. One such aspect is e-learning; many businesses today rely on this for employee training. The right learning management system can be transformative for a business; however, success lies in its implementation—keep reading to learn more.

What Does LMS Mean?

An LMS, or learning management system, is software designed to facilitate people’s development academically or professionally. It is an amalgamation of training programmes designed to educate and other software elements that track a person’s progression. An LMS can form an essential part of an employee training plan.

How do They Work?

LMS is an umbrella term for the systems behind e-learning. They work as expected; training programmes are developed and delivered digitally. There are typically three different levels of access for an LMS. The highest level is reserved for admins who create and manage the content. The next level is for supervisors and managers who can access the training programmes and track their staff’s progress. The last level of access is for the students or employees whose only access is to the training programmes.

Things to Avoid

There are many reasons why LMS implementations fail, and in truth, some are harder to prepare for than others, as detailed in the blog post by Wahoo Learning. That being said, there are several common mistakes to avoid that can help ensure your LMS is implemented successfully. Firstly, many businesses rely on reviews when choosing an LMS developer, and while this is important, you should take reviews with a pinch of salt. Some companies produce false or phoney reviews to increase their sales. So if something seems too good to be true, they probably are; bear that in mind. Some reviews will be entirely genuine, but having a healthy level of scepticism is always better.

Before implementing an LMS properly, you must have a strategy; otherwise, you risk underutilising it and wasting money. So, before investing, you need to think more deeply about why you want an LMS and what you want to get out of it. Keep this in mind when choosing an LMS structure, too. Some businesses choose an overly complex system because they don’t have a clear plan in mind and think complexity equals better, but this is not always the case.

Finally, you do not have to rush into implementing the LMS once chosen. Businesses that do this regret it, and they are the same businesses that don’t seek out a demo before committing. It would help if you asked for a trial before purchasing to ensure that your chosen system will meet your needs.

Things to Remember

There are also mistakes to avoid, but there are a few things that you need to remember when implementing your LMS. First, you need to work out your goals. Doing so helps to give you a better sense of direction. In addition, it gives you a better idea of the content you need it to contain and its uses.

You also need to know whose responsibility it falls under – is it yours or someone else’s? It would be best if you had someone to hold accountable, someone whose job is to deploy your implementation strategy. Assign a management role to someone. They need to supervise the technical and administrative aspects and manage the content. It would be best to have a timescale to work to as part of this. How long is the implementation meant to take?

Next, you need to consider the different levels of access and the training it correlates to. Of course, everyone will need to be trained on how the LMS works and how to use it, but those with more responsibility will inevitably need more training, so you need to consider this. During the training phase, you should also better understand whether the LMS meets your requirements and allows you to test it out.

In The End

The truth is that implementing a learning management system within an established business is not always easy. However, if approached correctly, you can reduce the time and money you might waste following the wrong advice. It comes down to how well you understand your business’s needs in terms of employee training. If the suitable LMS is chosen and implemented well, it can transform your employee training procedures, saving time and manpower.

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

As an experienced business and finance writer I understand the corporate landscape and the driving forces behind it. Over the years I’ve shared my insight and knowledge with key industry publications and dedicated my time to showing how business leaders can make their organisations more effective.