It’s a common approach that once you have decided to implement an LMS in your company, the next step is to compile one or more checklists about your requirements.
While there’s nothing wrong with checklists, and there are certainly some good sources of information out there, it’s also true that your organization’s needs are not always the same as the templates that you are using. So let’s backtrack a little bit and see what’s the best way to compile your ultimate checklist for choosing the best LMS for your company. After all, what you want is a system that will enable you to deliver the right type of learning to your employees, according to your needs, within budget and of course, will set the best environment for achieving your training objectives.
First things first, do your homework or in other words a detailed internal analysis answering these questions:
- What are your eLearning objectives - make sure to be clear and list all of them in order of priority?
- What type of trainings will you use the LMS for?
- Who are your learners and what are their needs? It’s useful to spend time here analysing and developing your learners’ profiles. Depending on the department, job role, time in the company or any other factors that you might consider important, you’ll see that there are distinct learner types with their own needs and requirements.
- What are the talents of your eLearning/Training team? If you know your people and what their skills and motivation are, this will help you considerably when choosing an LMS.
- How will your learners access the system and on what device? Whether it is remotely or from an office location, this will influence your choice of LMS.
- What do you expect out of the system in terms of processes such as reporting, live feeds, etc.?
- What type of data would you like to store and use?
- What do you expect from your LMS provider? This will include doing some research in terms of background, expected levels of support, reputation, etc. It’s like choosing any other partner, so don’t rely just on the assessment that your Procurement department will make. Use all available resources, talk to other customers of your potential LMS provider, check online reviews and testimonials to find out if they are a good fit for your company and needs.
- And last but not least, a very important one, which out of all these features and functionalities will you use? Be realistic here, as you will only gain if you make your checklist as streamlined and simple as possible. We already discussed the 80/20 rule when making a list of the features and functionalities you need in an LMS, so don’t forget to check it out.
Below you will find examples of some useful checklists that we have come across online. Of course, there are many sources of information and when you compile your own list, you should first and foremost have your business needs in mind. Depending on where the eLearning initiative lies in your company, you should also employ the help of the HR, IT and Procurement departments as long as you bear in mind that you should be clear about your priorities first.
Checklist examples:
https://elearningindustry.com/learning-management-systems-comparison-checklist-of-features
https://blog.capterra.com/the-must-have-lms-checklist-for-new-buyers/
