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Stephanie Neusser
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With this guide on LMS, we want to show you the advantages of using an LMS, what you should pay attention to when choosing and what steps you should take to be able to use the LMS successfully. The basis of every successful development measure in your company: the Learning Management System, LMS for short. Organizations use modern learning management systems to optimize their learning processes, increase employee satisfaction during training and increase the effectiveness of continuing education measures through a better learning experience. A well-designed LMS helps companies make the learning process efficient and time-saving through easy handling and delivery of content. But what is hidden behind the term “LMS”? What should companies consider when choosing and implementing an LMS and what are the differences between different LMS providers?
Definition of LMS: LMS stands for Learning Management System. An LMS is a software application that is used to manage, organize, and deliver learning content and courses. It serves as a central platform for organizing, managing and carrying out training and educational activities.
An LMS enables efficient management and provision of digital learning offerings, which makes confusing administration using numerous Excel files unnecessary. With a modern LMS, companies always have an overview of learning success in their company, as it offers extensive options for tracking and analyzing all learning activities. An LMS therefore provides the basis for further development in companies and promotes the flexibility of learning.
The market for learning technology solutions is constantly growing. In addition to classic LMS, Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) are also often offered today. Although LMS and LXP are often equated or confused in their functions, both represent different platforms.
This means that an LMS traditionally focuses on administrators or L&D managers, while the focus of an LXP is on the learner and the learning experience.
Read more about the topic at Differences between LMS & LXP
Traditionally, LMS systems were primarily designed for administrators and managers, while LXP systems were aimed more at learners' needs. However, this separation posed some challenges for administrators and learners. In contrast to classic LMS, which aims to simply manage learning content, modern LMS today also often integrate elements of an LXP to improve the learning experience and increase engagement. They offer a comprehensive solution by combining LMS and LXP features on one platform.
Modern LMS systems Today, combine classic LMS with LXP to meet the requirements of both administrators and learners. As a result, administrators, managers and learners can benefit equally from the benefits. Companies are thus able to offer a uniform environment for online continuing education and ensure a seamless learning experience.
A modern LMS offers companies a variety of benefits that are of great benefit to both learners and organizations. An appealing learning experience through the LMS can increase learning activity in the company and make learning in the organization more attractive. Administrators benefit from reduced effort and the use of AI to create learning content when managing learning activity.
Other benefits of a modern LMS:
However, the specific features and benefits of an LMS depend heavily on the platform you choose. When choosing an LMS, it's therefore a good idea to consider your organization's specific needs and compare different options.
Selecting the right LMS is an essential step to optimally meet your organization's learning needs. A suitable LMS, which flexibly adapts to your needs over time, offers you great opportunities to optimize the learning experience and administration in your organization.
Here are the steps to consider when choosing an LMS:
Start by analyzing your organization's specific needs.
Include objective facts such as the size of the company and number of users. Continue to ask yourself questions about the type of content provided and the desired features and functionalities. What type of learning content would you like to provide? Do you need features such as mandatory training, seminar management, personalized learning paths, etc.? What specific tools and features are required for your learning goals? Would you like to integrate your company's existing tools with the LMS? Involve learners and other stakeholders within the organization to answer these questions. Finally, define clear requirements so that you can make an informed decision.
Compare different LMS options with regard to the functionalities and features offered. Verify that the LMS provides the features you want, such as course management, learning success tracking, reporting, and collaboration. Make sure the LMS meets your needs and offers options for expansion and customization. Tests on the functionality and usability of the LMS should also be carried out here to ensure that all functions of the LMS work properly and that usability is ensured.
We have for you the most important functionalities and features In summary, which in our opinion every modern LMS should include:
Download the detailed RFP template for LMS download for free.
By taking into account the expertise and experience of the LMS provider, you ensure that you get a reliable, high-quality, and supportive LMS. Criteria to be considered include the provider's customer portfolio, awards, but also success stories from existing customers in order to assess the provider's reputation. A careful evaluation of these aspects will help you choose a trustworthy provider who can meet your specific needs.
Our tip: Rely on the experience of other companies. In addition to your thorough market research, it is a good idea to talk to other organizations and obtain references. This ensures that you also consider cases that are not covered in demos or would not be noticed in the selection decision.
Before you choose an LMS, you should test the usability of the LMS. A user-friendly LMS is critical to ensure seamless use and acceptance by learners. Look for an intuitive user interface, user-friendly navigation, and an attractive design. Test demo versions or run pilot projects to evaluate user experience and ensure that the LMS is easy to use.
If you decide to integrate your LMS with existing systems, you should check in advance whether the LMS can be seamlessly connected to your tools. This can include HRM systems, content partners, or single sign-on options, but integrations aren't always necessary. If so, seamless integration enables efficient exchange of data and information between different platforms and makes it easier to manage user accounts. It can also improve the user experience and learning experience of your employees.
In order to guarantee a smooth implementation, it is worthwhile to estimate the time and effort required to implement the LMS in the company in advance. Also consider which stakeholders in the organization should be involved at what point in time and create a detailed project plan.
To select the LMS, it can be very helpful to use a Request for Proposal (RFP). An RFP allows you to take a structured and transparent approach to choosing an LMS and ensure that you get a system that meets your needs.
With consistent questions and clear requirements, you can request answers from providers and compare them directly. An RFP makes it easier for you to make informed decisions in a time-saving way by allowing you to easily compare the features, pricing, implementation details, and support of each offering. This allows you to ensure that you have your requirements clearly in mind and can therefore objectively compare different providers to ultimately find the best provider that meets your needs.
Download the RFP template download for free.
You've opted for an LMS — great! You now have an essential step ahead of you that will have a significant impact on the success of the LMS in your company: Implementing the LMS in your organization. This can be complex, so it is important to create a clear plan so that you can proceed in a prepared manner. It is just as important to be aware of potential challenges in order to prepare for them and develop strategies to counteract them.
Since an LMS often has many areas of application, you should once again remember the clear goals that you want to achieve by using the LMS in your company. Would you like to improve employee development, streamline compliance training management, or simplify access to learning content? Defining your specific goals helps you structure the implementation process.
Important: Take time to conduct a thorough needs assessment and ensure that everyone's goals, requirements, and expectations are clearly defined.
Develop a detailed timeline that covers all phases of implementation, including preparation, training, and go-live date. Involve all stakeholders who are involved in the LMS implementation with project management. This includes, for example, L&D managers, later main users of the LMS such as administrators, and IT managers for any approvals and integrations.
important: Invest enough time in preparation to identify and address potential hurdles at an early stage.
A learning strategy including a defined learning offer is crucial for the success of the LMS. When creating a learning strategy, clear goals should be defined to be achieved with the LMS, for example:
Integrating high-quality learning content in various formats, such as text, images, videos, and interactive elements, into your learning offering stimulates learners and improves the learning experience.
The learning content defined in the learning strategy and course concept should now be structured into clear modules. This makes it easier to integrate content into the LMS in a structured manner, making it easier for learners to navigate. Existing training materials and resources from your company can be used to speed up the implementation process. In addition, external resources such as e-learning courses, webinars or online libraries can also be integrated to expand the range of learning content available. Many LMS provide external materials here in cooperation with e-learning content providers.
Important: It takes time, resources, and expertise to develop content that meets learners' needs. A lack of engaging and relevant content can affect learner acceptance and engagement. Invest in developing high-quality learning content and, for a quick, easy start, look for an LMS solution that already includes learning content out-of-the-box.
To ensure a smooth onboarding process, the LMS should be adapted to the specific requirements of your company. On the admin side, the focus here is primarily on defining user roles and access rights to ensure the security and effective use of the system. In addition, adjustments to the design can often be made to adapt the appearance of the LMS to the company. Smooth integration into existing systems should also be ensured.
Important: Make sure the LMS can be integrated with existing systems early on and work closely with your IT team to ensure seamless integration. Perform extensive testing to ensure that data is transferred and synchronized correctly.
A lack of training and support for administrators and trainers can make it difficult to effectively manage the LMS and support learners. This can have a negative impact on the learning experience and use of the LMS. During training, it is important to provide comprehensive documentation that includes instructions, tutorials, and best practices. Administrators are thus empowered to fully utilize the potential of the LMS and to optimally support learning and development initiatives in their organization.
Important: The right LMS provider will help you train your employees.
Before the LMS is released to all users, tests and reviews should be carried out again. A pilot test with a small group of users offers the opportunity to collect feedback and identify potential problems early on before the LMS is available to all users in the company.
A lack of awareness of the benefits of LMS and low student engagement are often barriers to using LMS. The reasons for this may lie in learners' ignorance of the learning offer, but also because the learning experience is not appealing. In addition, a non-existent learning culture in the company can weaken learners' motivation and commitment.
Prepare employees for the introduction of the LMS by providing detailed information about the new learning offer and explaining the benefits. A sample email that you can send to your staff to implement the LMS can be found here:
Dear employees,
Continuous development is of great importance to us as a company, but also to you personally.
With our new learning platform edyoucated Get access to individual learning paths that are tailored exactly to your previous abilities. Through a self-assessment on the platform, you have the opportunity to assess your skills and keep an overview of your skill levels. This allows you to continue your training in a targeted manner.
The platform offers you the following benefits:
You can access the platform via the following link. You will receive a detailed description of the first steps in the attached video/ from your manager. Once you have a profile, please independently assess your current skill levels and schedule a first meeting with your manager. The results of the skill assessment are only used for continuing education. Your results are only visible to yourself and your manager.
We would like to explicitly encourage you to use your working time for personal development! With every new skill that you learn, our company gains new skills.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Until then, have fun and good luck learning!
Take employee needs and interests into account and thus create relevant learning content and an appealing learning experience. A motivating learning environment can be created by encouraging leaders to encourage their teams to use the LMS and set a good example themselves. Also offer incentives such as learning competitions or company lectures to motivate learners.
To get the most out of an LMS, there are a few best practices to follow.
A successful start is the key to the success of an LMS. It is helpful to set up the launch of the LMS like a marketing campaign for a new product. This helps to arouse employee interest and increase their motivation to participate. With the launch, you should have 3 goals in mind:
Only when the 3 goals are met can your company become a self-learning organization with the help of your LMS.
An LMS should not only provide information, but also offer employees a great learning experience tailored to them in order to motivate them to learn.
Make sure the learning content in the LMS is engaging and interactive. Use various media such as videos, interactive exercises, case studies, and quizzes to make learning with the LMS interesting and effective. Take into account your learners' different learning styles, needs, and previous learning experiences to provide a diverse and personalized learning experience. A modern LMS should be able to adapt learning paths based on previous knowledge in order to be able to play out learning content adapted to the level of knowledge. Learning content anchored in the LMS should therefore be able to cover different levels of knowledge and match the previous experiences of your learners.
An LMS shouldn't work in isolation. By promoting learning communities and collaboration, the social aspect of learning can be increased. Use collaborative tools such as MS Teams, Slack, or other social platforms to make it easier for learners to share knowledge and collaborate. Create chat groups or channels and encourage learners to ask questions, share ideas, and learn from each other. This not only promotes learning but also creates a sense of community and motivation for the LMS. Be creative and use gamification elements of your LMS, such as learning points or leaderboards. Through these measures, you can also implement social and environmentally friendly initiatives (CSR) in your company, similar to one of our customers who planted trees for every learning point collected. Take advantage of the wide range of options offered by gamification in the LMS to make positive change.
A good LMS allows administrators and managers to monitor learners' learning progress and performance. Use these features to provide feedback to your employees and offer support if necessary. Monitoring progress also helps to evaluate the effectiveness of learning content and make adjustments if necessary.
Make sure that the LMS is incorporated into existing structures and processes, such as employee interviews and development plans. Your LMS should be accessible and known to all managers so that they can use it in development discussions with their employees. Once managers have identified a development opportunity, the LMS should be able to provide an overview of which learning opportunities exist for the respective learning goal. It helps here in particular if skills are anchored in your modern LMS.
Learning needs and goals are dynamic and constantly changing. It is therefore important to continuously review, improve and update learning content.
You should ask yourself the following questions regularly:
The possible uses of an LMS are extremely diverse. A useful way to get started with an LMS is to identify a specific need for action, which you can achieve with the help of your LMS. When tackling the following challenges in companies, an LMS can help to achieve a positive impact very quickly.
Compliance training and certification are crucial for companies in many industries and are mandatory for employees. An LMS offers the opportunity to digitize these mandatory training courses, for example on legal regulations, data protection and occupational safety, and to offer all employees easy access to the learning content via the online platform. By providing training via the LMS, companies can save time and resources by being able to centrally and flexibly manage training and related materials, whether delivered online, on-site, or in a hybrid way. The integration of compulsory training also means additional flexibility for employees, as they can choose whether they want to attend it online or physically. Companies can also track the progress and results of mandatory training and ensure that all employees meet the required requirements.
Organizing and managing seminars and training courses can be time-consuming and complex. An LMS can digitize the entire seminar management process. Through the LMS, you can announce seminars, register participants, provide course materials and even monitor learning success. This makes it much easier to plan, organize and deliver training courses.
An LMS offers companies the opportunity to continuously train their employees. You can create interactive learning content and allow your employees to access that content anytime, anywhere. Small “learning nuggets” also make it possible to learn short learning units while working (“learning in the flow of work”). As a self-learning organization, you enable learning employees to constantly expand their knowledge and skills and stay up to date.
Onboarding new employees is a crucial process to ensure that they can quickly and effectively integrate into the company. An LMS can help improve the onboarding process by providing new employees with access to training materials and resources. Companies can easily provide training on corporate values, policies, workflows, and other relevant topics via the LMS to make it easier for new employees to get started. Digitalizing the onboarding of new employees is particularly important right now and in the future, especially for remote or hybrid ways of working. An LMS is a great solution here to provide digital onboarding learning paths.
For companies that have sales representatives or customer service personnel, training in sales and customer service skills is of great importance. An LMS allows you to create customized training programs. By accessing interactive exercises and other training materials, employees can continuously improve their knowledge and sales and customer service skills.
By digitizing and processing knowledge in an LMS, you can ensure that knowledge is not lost in the company and is easily accessible to everyone. Especially with complex products or processes in your company, the transfer of specialist and expert knowledge can be significantly simplified. Knowledge can be translated into structured learning paths that transport the collected and documented knowledge throughout the company. This increases the professional competence of employees and contributes to increasing efficiency in the company. You can also create training materials, manuals, best practices, video tutorials, and other learning content and integrate them with the LMS via learning paths. In addition, you can increase efficiency by centrally storing knowledge in the LMS. Employees can find information quickly without having to carry out time-consuming research. This helps to increase productivity and avoid knowledge gaps in the company.
Now you should feel ready to find an LMS that's right for your business. We at edyoucated are happy to help you find the first use case for an LMS in your company and act as your partner from the initial conversation to rollout and beyond.
Please feel free to contact us!
edyoucated is funded by leading research institutions such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
