When it comes to choosing a training platform, or Learning Management System (LMS), there are a lot of companies, options, and choices. At times, it can seem like there are new solutions available monthly. The possibilities can be intimidating.

The question is no longer, “Which solution are we going to choose?” but, “How do we even get started with the evaluation process?” In this piece, you will discover an innovative approach to assessing a potential training platform.

Start With the End in Mind

The goal in every training environment must be to ensure that employees receive the training necessary to accomplish the goals of the company and, often, their own professional development. This training is critical to the success of the organization. So, a crucial question to ask when looking at a training platform or LMS is will this system give us the tools and resources to ensure effective training?

Here are some crucial factors to remember when initiating this process:

• A platform/LMS should go beyond course management and provide a full learning environment.
• Employees, the learners, must be at the center of the platform/LMS.
• It must be easy and intuitive to update content and programs.
• The company behind the platform/LMS should have a proven track record of training success and must be dedicated to the training goals of the organization.

Ten years ago, an LMS was basic, providing a simple platform for training content. Today, the LMS is completely different. An effective platform, or LMS, offers a wide range of features that help the training team provide successful training outcomes.

Key features include:

• Fully mobile-friendly — employees will happily “digest” training on their phones or tablet
• Blended learning options
• Training materials available online and offline
• An up-to-date look and feel with easy navigation for trainers and employees
• Full testing, feedback, and assessment capabilities
• Training available in multiple languages and fully accessible to those with impairments — the latter is now federal law
• A reliable and robust technology backbone — the training platform is always on and available around the world

These and other features are not simply “bells and whistles” that look good on a company’s sales page. They must be carefully chosen and organized around the needs of the employees who are being trained. The top LMS companies understand this crucial approach to LMS features.

Six Golden Rules for Training Success

The online guide, The Six Golden Rules to Making Employee Training a Consistent Success, provides further details and direction for companies to maximize the impact and effectiveness of their training. When a company takes a correct and proven approach to training, it is more likely to be adopted and positively impact employees and the company. A summary of the six golden rules for training success is as follows:

Golden Rule 1: Make Training Real and Applicable. The employee must fully understand why the organization requires them to complete the training.

Golden Rule 2: Make Training Easy and Flexible. This means removing the barriers that will stop employees from completing the course.

Golden Rule 3: Make Training Collaborative and Engaging. Adopting learning technology that makes discussions between employees simple, even if it’s not in real time, has a lasting impact.

Golden Rule 4: Carefully Consider Test Questions and Track Performance. Employees will be more engaged, not less engaged, when the test questions are sensible and not exceptionally easy.

Golden Rule 5: Make Training Rewarding. Meaningful training that is tied to job satisfaction, professional development, and growth opportunities within the company is much more likely to be successful.

Golden Rule 6: Test Courses and Assumptions. Take all the data and change the course accordingly — testing and improvement need to be constant.

If there were a seventh golden rule, it would be to partner with a company that specializes in training and has a track record of successfully helping companies with impactful training.

A Track Record of Success

Finally, when evaluating an LMS, it’s important to look at the background and track record of the company and organization behind the LMS.

There are lots of start-up companies that provide an LMS but have no experience in training. Also, none of these companies provide training expertise from professionals with success in a variety of training environments. An LMS company should provide expertise from professionals with a background in academia and academic technology. This collaboration, when added to the actual LMS platform, can provide powerful results, consistently.

Here is another part of the evaluation, “Has the company behind the LMS platform worked in a wide variety of industries, in the private and public sectors?”

Increasingly, Companies Are Choosing Anthology for Their LMS

Companies that are serious about finding the optimal LMS are willing to take a significant amount of time to evaluate the platforms currently on the market.

Many of these companies look to Anthology, its Blackboard^® Learn LMS, and its wide range of training solutions.

Anthology provides one of the top Learning Management Systems and has the learning and technology expertise to ensure that training is successful — at all levels of the company and in a wide variety of learning environments.

It is generally a mistake to look at an LMS as just technology. Full training success comes from three areas:

• The training goals of the organization
• The flexibility and performance of the LMS platform
• The people and expertise behind the LMS

Discover a full range of capabilities from Anthology for Business or reach out to Anthology if you are ready to talk with a training expert. An expert from Anthology can help you make the challenging task of finding a training platform significantly easier.