One of the most common questions I’m asked as Emergn’s Head of Learning Services is what learning management system (LMS) their business should be using. The truth is, there’s no one correct answer. And quite frankly, until your learning strategy and goals are clear, it’s not the most important question to ask. Your LMS is simply a tool—a means of delivering content to your learners. If an LMS checks off all your boxes and does a sufficient job of providing your learners with a platform to engage in education, it’s likely a worthwhile investment.
But it is important to recognize that an LMS should only be one (minor) component of your learning strategy. An LMS is a tool, not a strategy in and of itself. Failing to realize that could cost your organization critical components of a successful learning program. Relying on an LMS without a clear plan and overarching learning strategy will not yield the results your business needs nor expects.
I often advise learning professionals to imagine this scenario: You’re hosting a dinner party and really want to make a good impression on your guests. So, you go to the grocery store with the freshest and highest quality produce. You walk the aisles and pick out the tastiest ingredients. When you arrive home and unpack the groceries, you realize that while the ingredients are great in isolation, you don’t have the right components to cook an entire meal.
The key mistake? You failed to go into the store with a plan. Rather than thinking about what you wanted to cook, finding a recipe, and creating a list with all the necessary ingredients, you got caught up in finding the individual components that looked the best in isolation and failed to deliver the result you wanted when combined.
Just like your misadventure at the grocery store, focusing on individual components of a learning program, like an LMS, without mapping how they can work together to achieve your learning goals will fail to deliver results.
So, if a learning management system is a component of your strategy, I advise you to consider these key questions:
Is the content I’m offering aligned with my business goals?
When it comes to content, sometimes less is more. While an LMS is great at delivering a lot of content at scale, providing employees with too many options for learning can often overwhelm and discourage them from participating. And with the lack of time that learners often cite as a barrier to participation, it’s important that learning programs help employees focus on the content that matters most. By mapping out an individualized learning path, customized to their role, personal goals, and business goals, leaders can help employees get the most out of their time and efforts.
Am I measuring the right things?
While at first glance metrics and reporting may seem like a breeze with an LMS, the built-in reporting capabilities cannot serve as a stand-alone measure of success. Often, an LMS only provides data on course completion, participation, and assessment scores. While these may be important to consider when assessing whether an LMS has been deployed effectively, it is not a true measure of the quality of learning. Instead, I advise leaders to identify the business goals and problems to be solved, and what the indicators of progress towards those goals are.
So, when you’re considering a learning management system to aid your learning programs, consider these two key questions. And never go into the grocery store without a plan.
Author
Steven Angelo-Eadie
Emergn is excited to meet the World of Learning community at the Summit on 28 February. Join our Head of Learning, Steven Angelo-Eadie for a discussion about our learning survey findings from 11:00 – 11:30 am or drop by our stand, D60!