Increasing global competition has enabled organizations to expand their businesses to international markets and make enormous profits. Continued professional development at the organization keeps the employees up-to-speed with the required skills and market knowledge. Companies are investing heavily in Learning Management System, a web-based one-stop shop for all online training needs of the employees.
It helps you maintain a kitty of relevant eLearning courses. It provides opportunities for skill development of employees at all levels and geographical locations.
If you have decided to introduce a Learning Management System (LMS) to your organization, you have already weighed its advantages and financial implications. It is time to get the processes started.
Here is a list of actions to help you get a head start.
Introducing change within an organization may not always be a smooth process. As you initiate the process of implementing a brand new LMS in your organization, you must prepare yourselves for the following, among many, comments:
To ensure that your employees warm up to the idea of a Learning Management System in your organization, you must carefully plan and strategize your course of action.
All successful eLearning projects have one thing in common – a robust team.
Identify suitable people who are keen and have the required skills to implement LMS in your organization.
They can be from sectors such as HR, Talent Acquisition, IT, L&D, Marketing, and Internal Communications. Find a Team Leader who would be responsible for all coordination and management activities.
Build a diverse team and use their expertise to implement LMS effectively. Define clear roles and responsibilities of each team member and maintain transparency to the maximum extent possible. Keep the communication channel open and strong. It will help in avoiding misunderstandings and enable you to achieve your milestones within dedicated timelines.
Any graphical user interface has up to three access levels – Full Access, Limited Access, and Basic Access. These define the user permissions. In simple words, you must have clarity on the target users for your LMS to help you determine the level of access they would have to various sections of your LMS.
The target users may include employees, administrators, and online instructors. The employees need access to online training courses only and not system data. On the other hand, instructors need access to only information relevant to their respective training modules. For an LMS, the only user group that will have access to all sections is the administrators. They will manage and direct all training activities and users and have full access.
Every organization has different requirements for an LMS. It may include offering professional and skill development to employees, onboarding new employees, generating reports on employee training, etc.
You must have specific goals and learning objectives as it will enable you to communicate your exact intent of introducing an LMS to your organization. It would also help you have a fruitful discussion with your LMS provider.
Interact with your LMS team for their advice while setting the goals and objectives.
For your LMS to be successful, you will be required to have a clear action plan and an implementation plan that may include the following:
Having a defined plan will help you monitor the progress of the implementation of the LMS in your organization. It will enable you to stay on track and resolve challenges timely and effectively.
LMS service providers will provide the necessary software, tools, dashboards, and implementation support. You would need to spend some time doing thorough research on the available LMS providers. It will help you understand how their services align with your vision and goals.
Additionally, you may read their customer reviews and interact with their existing customers to identify their pros and cons.
You may follow a standard bidding procedure to ensure the onboarding of suitable LMS vendors at the best price.
Once you are ready to launch your new LMS in your organization, you will be required to prepare a strategy to:
It will help you identify any technical issues beforehand and give you time to find appropriate solutions. It will also help you determine the most feasible method to integrate the new LMS with your L&D processes.
Once you have identified and resolved all glitches and issues with the LMS, it will be time for you to go live.
It will be the day that will determine the success or failure of your new LMS, and therefore, you must choose to go live only when you are completely ready.
Introducing an LMS in your organization will be a significant change and may face some resistance among your employees. Address all their concerns and ensure sensitization of the employees well in advance.
Take the assistance of your Internal Communications and Marketing experts to create a buzz and excitement about the new LMS.
Do the final checks thoroughly, and you will be ready to launch!
If you have a clear, well-defined plan of action, you need not worry about implementing a new LMS in your organization. From creating a buzz within the organization well in advance to the day of Go Live, these strategies will help you in launching the new Learning Management System to your organization.
However, you must also set up a system to ensure that the pieces of training offered by your LMS are effective and bring value to your organization. You may conduct reviews at regular intervals and keep updating the LMS as and when required.
