Background
Rimsys, a small SaaS startup with limited resources, faced a significant challenge when it came to providing training for its customers. The company had both existing customers who were on an outdated version and new customers with no prior training. The company needed to act fast, and they did. Within six weeks, they had set up a working LMS site and provided targeted training to their customers.
Key Takeaways
Have a clear plan and measure twice before taking action.
Rimsys had a clear plan in place when they started their LMS project. They made sure to measure twice, cut once, and had a clear understanding of what they wanted to accomplish.
Content is king.
Quality instructional design is essential. Rimsys understood that providing quality content was crucial to the success of their LMS. They made sure to engage their customers with micro and flow of work courses.
“The number one thing is you need a plan, a very clear plan on what you want to do, and you measure twice, kind of cut once, and then your content is still very much king. And that is what I mean is that not just getting the content out there, but content customers are going to engage with. We’ve seen some success in micro courses and flow of work courses. So don’t underestimate quality instructional design. Don’t throw up content for the sake of content. And I’ve learned in my 30 years of work that that’s what makes the difference.”
Bill Magagna, Head of Customer Training at Rimsys
Seek help from experts.
Rimsys relied heavily on their training provider, Knowledge Anywhere, to provide initial templates, branding, and content. It was a strategic decision to ramp up their team and have a quick win that would gain momentum.
“Your team is going to need help. In the beginning, we relied heavily on eLearning experts in terms of templates, branding, and spinning up initial content. It really was an opportunity to ramp our people up, but also a very quick win that makes all the difference in the world for momentum.”
Bill Magagna, Head of Customer Training at Rimsys
Communicate effectively.
It’s essential to communicate from the CEO down to keep everyone informed and on the same page. Rimsys communicated with their customers about their training strategy and kept them engaged throughout the process.
Stay accountable.
Rimsys did not proxy out customer implementation because they knew they were accountable and responsible for their training. They knew that having a direct line to their customers made all the difference.
Results
To date, we are somewhere in the 6,000 micro courses completions that we’ve been able to knock out. And we have about 30,000 minutes of very targeted training to those customers. Where they go, they ask a question to get an answer throughout implementation and post coli. And we’ve gone the digital badge route and we have big plans for that in our new peer-to-peer community once we continue to build that.
And finally, most recently we have bifurcated the launch of our academy. And we did the connection into what our LMS support had showed the open sesame so far we’re very pleased. And then we’re going to get two for the price of one by using this LMS for employees.
Rimsys’ successful implementation of their LMS within six weeks is a testament to their careful planning, focus on quality content, seeking expert help, effective communication, and taking accountability for customer implementation. As a small startup, Rimsys had limited resources, but they proved that with the right plan and execution, even the improbable can be achieved.
