Is It Time To Split Up With Your Current LMS?

Nearly one third of all buyers divorce their Learning Management System (LMS). Why?

According to a recent user research study conducted by Capterra, the reasons 31% of buyers switch their LMS Solution have to do with:

• A lack of features needed or desired
• Poor customer support
• Usability
• The inability of the LMS provider to scale with organizational growth

Though these may be good enough reasons to give LMS buyers cold feet, there are other important determining factors that should be considered before an organization should pull the plug on their current LMS.

Here are a few key signs that it is time to switch to another LMS:

1. You have low user participation rates

Low adoption of an LMS usually stems from a confusing User Interface (UI). If the system is too difficult for users to navigate, they won’t complete their training curriculum. This poses a challenge for organizations to determine ROI for their investment in building and providing training.

However, I like to caution LMS buyers to make sure that this is truly an LMS issue before they think about switching. Reason being, the problem can also stem from a lack of relevant, engaging content. To discern whether or not this is indeed an LMS issue, I recommend for the organization to take inventory of their content and to make sure that it is current, informative and appealing.

If the low participation in training relates to the content and not the LMS, putting outdated, irrelevant content on a new LMS is not going to result in higher rates of adoption.

2. Your turnover rate has skyrocketed

Few things are more devastating to a business than a high turnover rate. In addition to hindering productivity, a revolving door of employees can damage your company’s reputation. Millennials are especially likely to leave employers prematurely, highlighting the need to devote increased attention to retaining them. The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to help retain employees. Here are a few:

• Train millennials in a way that makes the content meaningful to them
• Set clearly defined goals and reward goal attainment
• Personalize their learning experiences

A new Learning Management System (LMS) is a solution that allows you to achieve all three of these goals simultaneously. Whether you are still using traditional training methods or your old learning system is outdated, you can migrate to a new LMS with ease. Within a matter of hours, you can be well on your way to a more enjoyable learning process and a more engaged, loyal workforce.

3. Your onboarding process moves at a snail’s pace

A person’s first experience with a new employer should not be slow or unpleasant. Unfortunately, it often is. And few business owners realize just how detrimental a lackluster onboarding process can be. Results of a survey conducted by HR tech platform Hibob show that 64% of employees are less likely to stay at their new jobs if they have a poor onboarding experience.

Creating a more efficient onboarding process is vital to boosting retention and helping employees grasp your company’s mission. And it also helps control costs. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) notes that a sound learning system with an organized online portal is an effective way to jumpstart onboarding and help employees hit the ground running right away.

4. Sales for your newest products and services are sluggish

Launching an innovative new product or service should be exciting for your employees. And when properly marketed and promoted by sales representatives, your latest product offerings should give your bottom line and industry reputation a welcome boost.

Unfortunately, the opposite can occur when employees are unable to quickly grasp key features and benefits of a product. Without a keen understanding of these selling points, your staff will feel less comfortable promoting your latest and greatest products and services.

Preventing this pitfall is best achieved by integrating just in time training into your eLearning system. With just-in-time-training, employees have immediate and easy access to the information they need to become familiar with your latest innovations. The end result is improved engagement and healthier sales.

5. There have been “close calls” due to safety or compliance lapses

Few things are more frustrating than accidents or “close calls” that could have been prevented with proper training. The best way to reduce the number of close calls is to create an effective online compliance program for your employees. Online training platforms that feature quizzes and engaging material can help make dull compliance topics more relevant and interesting. Additionally, an LMS can help training managers spot employees who are struggling with compliance concepts.

6. Inadequate Reporting

No matter how relevant and informative the training is for your users, if you can not get meaningful data from your LMS’s reporting dashboard that can show the effectiveness of your training program to support high-level business planning, then it isn’t likely you’ll be able to determine ROI for the system.

And if you can’t show ROI by the numbers, then it is likely the training initiative will be cut by upper management—even if it is making a tangible difference in the workplace.