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“I Set Up My LMS, But There’s Nothing in It – It’s Like a Ghost Town”

Emma[1], the Director of Training & Development for a mid-sized technology company, thought she had finally made a breakthrough when her team implemented their brand-new Learning Management System (LMS). After months of researching vendors, justifying budget, and rallying her colleagues to get onboard, she finally had the sleek, intuitive LMS she had envisioned. It was supposed to be the answer to all their training needs—an efficient hub for upskilling, onboarding, and compliance that would engage employees across every department.

But when Emma logged in after the big launch, a wave of discomfort washed over her. There it was, her LMS, live and ready to go. Only, it was empty. Not just lacking—it felt like a ghost town. No courses to take, no paths to follow, no discussions happening. Just an empty framework with no content to entice learners or prove to her leadership team that this investment had been worthwhile. “It’s like setting up the fanciest restaurant in town, but not putting anything on the menu,” Emma thought with a growing sense of panic.

Emma had worked hard to get here, betting a chunk of the company’s learning budget—and her professional credibility—on this new platform. It wasn’t just an empty LMS that she saw; it was a reflection of her efforts and a risk to her career if things didn’t improve soon. After all, LMS adoption hinges on content, and without it, the platform was simply an expensive shell. “If people don’t log in, if they don’t use it, it’s on me,” she worried, feeling the weight of her role press heavily on her shoulders.

The good news? Emma’s LMS didn’t need to stay a ghost town. In this article, we’ll explore the practical steps Emma—and anyone in her position—can take to fill that empty LMS with engaging, effective content that turns it into the thriving learning hub it was always meant to be.

The High Cost of an Empty LMS

When Emma looked at the empty LMS, it wasn’t just her pride at stake—it was the very real threat of wasted investment, decreased employee morale, and, ultimately, her own reputation within the company. An empty LMS comes with a high cost—financially, operationally, and professionally.

Wasted Investment and Lack of ROI

Emma’s company had already spent a significant budget on this LMS. From the subscription fees to the costs of integrating it with their existing tech stack, the money had added up quickly. The average cost of implementing an LMS can range between $5,000 to $25,000 per year, not to mention the time and resources required to get it up and running (View Knowledge Anywhere’s LMS pricing here). All this investment was supposed to yield returns in the form of a more knowledgeable, productive workforce. But with nothing in the LMS to learn from, Emma’s ROI calculations were non-existent, and the budget was starting to feel like a sunk cost.

Leadership had high expectations when they approved the new LMS, expecting improvements in employee development, faster onboarding, and a streamlined approach to compliance training. Now, Emma felt the pressure of their gaze, waiting for her to demonstrate the promised value—something she simply couldn’t do if employees had no reason to use the platform.

Pressure from Leadership

“70% of L&D professionals said they felt pressure from their organizations to measure the business impact of learning. The researchers said that represented a 38% increase on last year. This survey also found a majority (96%) wanted to measure impact, but only 50% were evaluating learning based on return on investment, job performance or organizational impact. More than a quarter (28%) reported “not knowing how to get started” when it came to learning measurement.”

– A survey of 1,000 professionals, commissioned by learning technology providers LEO Learning and Watershed

Emma’s situation was no different, and the stakes were incredibly high.

The pressure from upper management was palpable. The leadership team wanted to see real, quantifiable progress – course completions, upskilled employees, a reduction in training gaps. But with an empty LMS, there were no metrics to show, no progress to celebrate. The burden was on Emma to prove that this wasn’t just another “flavor of the month” tool but a transformative part of the company’s training strategy.

Missed Opportunity for Employee Engagement

Employees had already received emails about this new LMS—many had logged in for the first time, only to find nothing there. That was more than just an empty experience; it was a missed opportunity to engage them. In today’s workplace, engagement is everything. Employees want to feel like their company is investing in their growth. Instead, logging in to an empty LMS left them frustrated and disillusioned. And this lack of content created a ripple effect—people were now less likely to log back in, even after the LMS eventually had training materials. A first impression can be hard to undo.

Impact on Professional Credibility

Beyond financials and engagement, the most significant risk Emma faced was to her professional credibility. Emma had championed this new system, putting her name behind the proposal to implement the LMS. The success of this platform was not just a win for the company—it was meant to be a step forward in her career. But if the LMS continued to sit empty, it wouldn’t just be seen as a tool that failed; it would be seen as Emma’s failure. Leadership counted on her as the training expert, and if she couldn’t turn this around, it would reflect on her abilities and judgment. The pressure was enormous, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

3 Strategies for Transforming Your LMS Through Content

Emma was determined to ensure that her LMS wouldn’t stay an empty, unused platform. The pressure was on, and it was time for action. But how could she breathe life into this barren learning space? By focusing on a range of content strategies and engagement initiatives, Emma was ready to turn her LMS from a ghost town into a bustling hub of learning and growth. Here are the specific strategies she employed:

1. Repurpose Existing Materials

Emma began by identifying existing training resources that could easily be converted into LMS content, including:

  • Pulling recorded webinars from the marketing and sales departments—sessions that were initially aimed at onboarding new clients could also serve as training for her team.
  • Converting onboarding documents that were used to get new hires up to speed into interactive e-learning modules. Employees could now actively engage with the content, answer questions, and learn through application rather than just passive reading.
  • Tapped into internal workshops that had been recorded in the past—valuable content that was often forgotten after the event but had immense training potential.

The beauty of repurposing was in its efficiency. Repurposing content is significantly faster than developing entirely new training materials from scratch and gives you full control of all the material. By reusing and repackaging existing resources, Emma was able to save a lot of time and effort—getting much-needed training content into the LMS while avoiding the steep production costs of custom development. She used the LMS to break these resources down into bite-sized modules, making them more digestible for learners. What was once a one-hour webinar became three or four shorter videos, each focusing on a key point.

If you would like to convert your PDFs, videos, files, and PowerPoints into interactive eLearning courses, try our SCORM conversion tool, Scormify for free! It is the easiest and cheapest way to get content into your LMS.

2. Leveraging Off-the-Shelf Third-Party Content

Emma knew she couldn’t fill the LMS with in-house content alone – it would take too long and stretch her team’s resources thin. So, she turned to third-party content providers. These platforms offered pre-made courses on essential topics like compliance, leadership development, diversity training, and technical skills, which are readily available and cover broad subjects that are relevant across industries.

This is table stakes when launching an LMS – having some content, even if it’s a bit more generic.

3. Custom Course Development

For specific industries, roles, or products, sometimes, generic or quick doesn’t cut it.

The benefit of custom courses was clear—they could speak directly to her company’s context, culture, and goals. However, the cost and time involved were a major consideration. Still, Emma decided that having a mix of off-the-shelf content for general learning and custom-developed courses for internal processes would provide a balanced approach to fill her LMS effectively.

She decided to start small, commissioning a few custom courses that focused on the company’s onboarding process and product training. This way, new hires would receive specialized learning paths that reflected their actual day-to-day roles. This personalized touch helped make the LMS a valuable part of their learning journey from day one.

Checklist: Steps to Populate Your LMS and Bring It to Life

Emma knew that the difference between an empty, lifeless LMS and a thriving, engaging training hub was all in the groundwork she put in. To ensure her LMS was ready to fulfill its promise, she tackled each foundational step systematically. Here’s the checklist she used to bring her LMS to life:

Create Assessments to test Learner knowledge

To ensure that the training wasn’t just consumed but actually understood, Emma implemented quizzing and assessments throughout the LMS. Quizzes were added at the end of each module to measure comprehension and retention of the material. These quizzes weren’t just about scoring—they were opportunities for immediate feedback. If an employee got a question wrong, the system provided an explanation, reinforcing the correct concept. In addition to regular quizzes, Emma also included comprehensive assessments at the end of each learning path to evaluate overall understanding.

Bulk import Learners

The first step was to ensure that every employee had access to the LMS. Emma used the bulk import feature to add learners into the system all at once—saving herself countless hours of manual input. This way, every employee was set up for access from day one, removing barriers to participation. It also made it easier for managers to track team training and ensured there were no gaps in enrollment.

Add content

With her learners imported, the next priority was to add content. Emma uploaded existing training materials like onboarding documents, recorded webinars, and workshops to start building the LMS library. She also included off-the-shelf content covering industry essentials such as compliance, leadership, and professional development. This ensured there was something for everyone in the LMS—catering to different departments and addressing both mandatory topics and areas of personal growth. Content variety was the key to keeping the LMS relevant across roles.

Create Learning Paths

Emma then created structured learning paths to give direction and purpose to training efforts. Learning paths were critical because they ensured that learners had a clear, guided route through their training journey. Rather than leaving employees to sift through a sea of content, each role-specific learning path guided them through modules that aligned with their responsibilities and career progression. A new hire could start with company orientation, then follow the path into department-specific training, ensuring they got the exact information they needed in a logical, sequenced manner.

Introduce Certificates

To boost motivation, Emma added custom certificates that employees would receive upon completing courses and learning paths. These certificates not only provided a tangible sense of accomplishment but also served as official recognition of employees’ achievements. They could be added to resumes, shared on LinkedIn, or printed out to celebrate milestones. Certificates helped make the completion of training more rewarding, turning it into something employees could take pride in.

Ebook Cover

Invisible Issues: Identifying and Addressing the Hidden Hurdles of Your Current LMS

Do you currently utilize a Learning Management System (LMS) but feel like something’s amiss? Perhaps everything seems to be running smoothly on the surface, but you have a nagging feeling that there might be underlying issues you’re not aware of. This guide is tailored for professionals, educators, and administrators who are well-versed with their LMS but might be overlooking subtle challenges that can impact efficiency and user experience.

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Make it more fun with Badges and Leaderboards

Emma knew that learning shouldn’t feel like a chore—it should be engaging. To inject a bit of fun and friendly competition, she introduced gamification elements such as badges and leaderboards. Badges were awarded for accomplishments like completing a course, scoring well on a quiz, or engaging consistently with the LMS. Meanwhile, leaderboards created a buzz of competition by displaying the top learners in the company. These features made the LMS more interactive and gave employees a reason to keep returning. It wasn’t just about finishing a course—it was about earning recognition, seeing their names on the leaderboard, and getting that extra motivation to learn more.

Add your company logo and custom visuals

Finally, Emma personalized the LMS to reflect her company’s unique identity. She uploaded the company logo, added images that represented the organization’s culture, and included industry-relevant visuals throughout the platform. This customization made the LMS feel like an extension of the company rather than a generic third-party tool. Visual familiarity helped employees feel more connected to the platform and more comfortable engaging with the training content. It was a small detail, but it made a big difference in fostering a sense of belonging and connection with the LMS.

Proving ROI and Showing Value to Leadership

After Emma successfully populated her LMS and seen improvements in engagement, it was time to demonstrate that this investment was worth it. For a lot of Learning and Development professionals, including Emma, proving the ROI of a training platform isn’t just about justifying the initial budget—it’s about showing leadership that the LMS is an essential component of business success, impacting efficiency, performance, and employee satisfaction.

Track Key Metrics That Align with Business Goals

Emma knew that to show real value, she had to move beyond basic usage stats and focus on metrics that matter to leadership. She started tracking metrics like course completion rates, average time to complete onboarding, and the effectiveness of training on job performance. Metrics like reduced onboarding time directly aligned with one of the company’s main goals: reducing time-to-productivity for new hires. By demonstrating that new employees were ramping up faster due to the structured learning paths and easy access to resources, Emma was able to quantify the financial savings in labor costs.

Another critical metric Emma tracked was employee performance improvement. She compared assessment scores before and after implementing the LMS. Seeing an uptick in knowledge retention and applying it on the job helped prove that the LMS wasn’t just providing content—it was enabling real learning that made an impact.

Connect Training Outcomes to Business Outcomes

Emma also drew clear connections between LMS usage and business outcomes, which helped the leadership see the LMS as an asset rather than just a tool for compliance. For example, she showed how customer service training completion correlated with higher customer satisfaction scores, and how safety training courses helped to reduce workplace incidents, resulting in fewer claims and lower insurance costs. Connecting training outcomes with tangible business impacts allowed Emma to present the LMS as a tool that drives company objectives forward, making it a strategic advantage rather than just a learning platform.

Visual Reporting for Quick Wins

Emma knew that while the data mattered, how she presented that data was equally important. She generated reports through the LMS, transforming raw data into visually compelling charts and graphs that made it easier for leadership to understand the LMS’s impact at a glance. For instance, she provided quarterly LMS performance snapshots highlighting key improvements like increased course completion rates, employee feedback scores, and performance metrics. One of the standout visualizations was a simple chart showing how onboarding completion time had dropped by 20%, saving the company thousands of dollars in training hours. These visual representations helped busy executives grasp the value of the LMS quickly and effectively.

Employee Feedback as Proof of Engagement

Beyond numbers, Emma knew the value of qualitative data. She collected employee feedback on their learning experience using the LMS’s built-in survey feature. The feedback highlighted how the personalized learning paths made training easier, how gamification elements kept employees engaged, and how mobile accessibility allowed them to fit learning into their schedules seamlessly. She then shared these positive testimonials with leadership, offering insight into how the LMS was improving employees’ daily work lives. Hearing directly from employees about how much they valued the training programs helped leadership see that the investment in the LMS was enhancing not just job skills but also employee morale and company culture.

Cost Savings by Repurposing Content and Streamlining Processes

Emma also emphasized how the LMS was saving money. By repurposing existing content instead of developing new training from scratch, she demonstrated a significant reduction in content development costs. Additionally, using automated features—such as automated reminders and bulk import—meant a lot of administrative processes that previously took hours were now being handled by the LMS. These efficiencies translated into real savings that helped offset the initial investment.

Building a Case for Future Investments

Lastly, Emma used her success story with the LMS to build a case for future L&D investments. She demonstrated to leadership how every dollar invested in learning and development through the LMS was producing tangible returns—better employee performance, reduced onboarding times, higher retention, and ultimately a stronger, more capable workforce. Her data-driven approach to proving the LMS’s ROI not only justified its cost but also opened doors for further expanding the company’s learning programs, whether through more in-depth content or additional LMS features.

By meticulously tracking, analyzing, and presenting her findings, Emma proved that the LMS wasn’t just another software—it was a strategic investment in the company’s growth. The leadership team, once skeptical, was now eager to hear her plans for expanding and enhancing the training programs.

Conclusion

Emma’s story is one that many Training Managers and Directors of Learning and Development can relate to. It’s a daunting feeling—setting up a new LMS, only to realize it’s empty and lacks the engagement you’d envisioned. But Emma’s journey shows that with a strategic approach, leveraging both the right content and smart LMS features, it’s entirely possible to turn a ghost town into a thriving, active learning community. By prioritizing a diverse content mix, engaging employees through gamification, and proving the value of the LMS to leadership, Emma not only revived her platform but also solidified her position as an L&D leader within her company.

Relate to Emma’s story?

If you’re worried about your own training program and are interested in upgrading or optimizing, why not try an LMS now or talk with a training expert for free? With over 25 years of experience in eLearning, Knowledge Anywhere is here to help transform your program and provide you with peace of mind as you reach your L&D goals.


[1] Please note that “Emma” is a stand-in name, and is a persona that reflects the experiences and challenges faced by numerous Training and Development professional we’ve engaged with at Knowledge Anywhere.