Take an Educated Approach to Developing an LMS Strategy
Promote a culture of continuous learning with corporate learning management systems.
- Organizations with departmentalized and siloed learning management systems have little visibility into the breadth and effectiveness of their training programs.
- Administering, tracking, and reporting training are often conducted manually, creating a cumbersome process for HR.
- In most cases, organizations treat their learning management systems as just another point solution in their HR landscape and fail to integrate learning into the talent lifecycle.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Right-size your LMS solution. Avoid under-investing or overbuying from the start. LMSs come in all shapes and sizes; don’t buy functions you don’t need. Identify your LMS use case from the start to focus your strategy and filter your needs.
- A disjointed and departmentalized approach to learning will inevitably fail. Ensure your LMS strategy is holistic through the necessary convergence of people, process, technology, and content.
Impact and Result
- Take a step back and create a business model that considers the learning needs of HR, IT, and the business. Strive for a holistic strategy and avoid compartmentalized efforts.
- Understand your use case. Identify your organization’s goals and L&D objectives to choose the LMS use case that is most aligned with your learning needs.
- Identify your solution alternatives across people, processes, technology, and content. Create a comprehensive roadmap, prioritizing initiatives and identifying dependencies.
- Devise a plan for implementation. Effectively communicate changes and put mechanisms in place to ensure effective LMS governance.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
8.8/10
Overall Impact
$25,880
Average $ Saved
7
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Eswatini Railway
Guided Implementation
9/10
$48,383
16
The Infotech SME presented the LMS strategy in a way that is clear to understand and also provided industry specific guidance on the implementatio... Read More
National Restaurant Association
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
N/A
Both Lisa and Mark were knowledgeable in the Academic space and offered their expertise and advice. Although this was originally positioned within... Read More
GSW Manufacturing
Guided Implementation
9/10
$7,559
4
Good information on what LMS is and how to process our needs.
Apex Companies LLC
Guided Implementation
9/10
$21,699
2
Propel Insurance
Guided Implementation
9/10
$100K
20
Best: Partnership with the InfoTech team and organization of priorities to keep us moving in the right direction. Worst: COVID impact on potentia... Read More
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety | Centre canadien d'hygiиne et de sйcuritй au travail
Guided Implementation
7/10
N/A
N/A
Maxim Healthcare Services
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
The project was put on hold and Carlos still sent us the information that he researched just as he said he would!
Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Workshop
10/10
N/A
N/A
Yolo County
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
32
The conversation really helped us reshape part of our thought process and identify the question 'what is our main goal?' It is giving us access to ... Read More
Export Development Canada
Workshop
8/10
N/A
1
Ansa McAl
Guided Implementation
8/10
$12,733
47
The information on determining which LMS features are most essential for our environment.
PSSI
Guided Implementation
10/10
$31,833
14
CNX
Guided Implementation
7/10
$12,733
10
Still not clear if we will pursue an RFP, but if we do your tools will really help.
Segal
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
10
The best part of the experience was the analyst's ability to connect the InfoTech blueprint with our business situation, which is nuanced both in t... Read More
Workshop: Take an Educated Approach to Developing an LMS Strategy
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Visualize the Project
The Purpose
- Understand the importance of creating an LMS strategy before selecting a software solution.
- Develop an LMS business model that identifies the drivers for LMS, as well as the project barriers and enablers.
- Complete a project charter to gain buy-in, build a project team, and track project success.
Key Benefits Achieved
- A go/no-go decision on the project appropriateness
- An understanding of the different project drivers
- Project stakeholders identified
- Project team created with defined roles and responsibilities
- Finalized project charter to gain buy-in
Activities
Outputs
Identify LMS needs, barriers, and enablers.
- Completed LMS business model
Align organizational goals and L&D goals with LMS objectives.
- Strategy alignment between HR and the business
Decide on your LMS use case.
- LMS use cases
Identify the right stakeholders for your project team.
- Defined project roles and responsibilities
Module 2: Right-Size the Solution
The Purpose
- Understand your current learning environment.
- Elicit requirements from HR, IT, and the business.
- Effectively assess solution alternatives to create a right-sized solution.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Requirements to strengthen the business case and inform the LMS strategy
- A right-sized solution
Activities
Outputs
Take inventory of learning applications and their purpose.
- Learning application inventory
Map the current LMS process.
- Current-state process map
Conduct a learning content inventory audit.
- Learning content inventory
Elicit requirements from learners, administrators, the L&D team, and management.
- High-level LMS requirements
Create an LMS content strategy.
- A content strategy
Analyze the results from the LMS Learner Survey.
- Specific end-user needs and requirements
Determine KPIs and guiding principles for your LMS solution.
- LMS KPIs and guiding principles
Determine LMS integration points.
- LMS integration map
Module 3: Finalize the Strategy
The Purpose
- Brainstorm and prioritize short-term and long-term LMS tasks.
- Apply the appropriate amount of governance to the LMS strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
- LMS next steps
- LMS governance considerations
Activities
Outputs
Brainstorm solution initiatives, prioritize initiatives, and identify dependencies.
- Completed LMS roadmap
Create a communication plan to promote transparency.
- Completed communication plan
Build a governance plan to ensure the necessary controls are in place prior to strategy execution.
- Governance plan
Take an Educated Approach to Developing an LMS Strategy
Build an LMS strategy based on corporate objectives and L&D goals by considering the four pillars: content, people, process, and technology.
ANALYST PERSPECTIVE
Not sure where to start? Take a multidisciplinary approach to LMS.
"We are seeing a fundamental shift in learning and development. Organizations are recognizing the value of L&D, and now more than ever are focusing on employee learning and engagement. This is transforming learning from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have.’ As a result, organizations are embracing technology as a way to achieve corporate and L&D objectives.
The use cases for LMS are evolving. No longer is LMS just a replacement for manual training tracking, but it is a key element of engaging employees in learning. Organizations that are seeing success with LMS are embracing a more unified approach to learn as an organization as well as individually. Integrate LMS with other technology to drive valuable insights and get ahead of the talent war.
A multidisciplinary approach is the answer. Jumpstart your LMS project now by creating a sound strategy infused with best practices."
Jenna Schroeder,
Research Manager, Enterprise Applications
Info-Tech Research Group
Framing the project
This Research Is Designed For:
- IT and application managers that are tasked with supporting the business through the creation of an LMS strategy.
- Human resources professionals, training and development specialists, and organizational development specialists responsible for learning mechanism design and delivery.
This Research Will Also Assist:
- Organizations looking to develop an LMS strategy to achieve organizational goals associated with learning and development.
This Research Will Help You:
- Make the business case for assessing the appropriateness of an LMS solution.
- Audit the inventory of learning and estimate the current learning costs.
- Create a business model to identify project barriers and enablers, as well as HR and IT objectives.
- Evaluate solution alternatives in regards to people, process, technology, and content.
This Research Will Help Them:
- Create a common LMS understanding between IT, HR, and business stakeholders.
- Offer guidance on how to translate learning and development needs into LMS technology requirements.
Executive Summary
Situation
- Application managers and HR professionals are tasked with leveraging a learning management solution to foster a learning culture at their organization. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, the need for more effective and flexible learning and development has become more significant. In the 2015 Mclean & Company Trends Survey, organizations ranked learning and development their number one priority.
Complication
- Organizations often have difficulty with increasing internal course participation, measuring training effectiveness, and increasing training accessibility. Processes are often manual, resulting in wasted time, resources, and a lack of traceability and visibility between departments.
Resolution
- A strong learning and development strategy that leverages a learning management solution will increase L&D efficiencies, develop in-house talent, thus providing a competitive advantage to organizations in today’s talent war.
- Take a step back and create a business model that considers the learning needs of HR, IT, and the business. Strive for a holistic strategy and avoid compartmentalized efforts.
- Understand your use case. Identify your organization’s goals and L&D objectives to choose the LMS use case that is most aligned with your learning needs.
- Identify your solution alternatives across people, processes, technology, and content. Create a comprehensive roadmap, prioritizing initiatives and identifying dependencies.
- Devise a plan for implementation. Effectively communicate changes to and put mechanisms in place to ensure effective LMS governance.
Info-Tech Insight
1. Right-size your LMS solution. Avoid underinvesting or overbuying from the start. LMSs come in all shapes and sizes: don’t buy functions you don’t need.
2. Identify your LMS use case from the start to focus your strategy and filter your needs.
3. A disjointed and departmentalized approach to learning will inevitably fail. Ensure you have a holistic LMS strategy through the necessary convergence of people, process, technology, and content.
Reference our frequently used acronyms
LMS Learning Management System
LCMS Learning & Content Management System
LRS Learning Record Store
L&D Learning and Development
RFP Request for Proposal
SaaS Software as a Service
HRIS Human Resource Information System
Businesses must equip themselves with the tools necessary to build their human capital potential
4 million baby boomers are leaving the workforce each year. (U.S. Federal Government)
Less than half of HR leaders are confident in finding new talent to fill positions at their companies. (Financial Post)
Organizations need new strategies and better ways to develop their existing employees.
The number of organizations that see corporate training as highly important is rapidly increasing.
However...
The number of organizations that are ready to address this pertinent problem are decreasing.
Increase the effectiveness of learning and development functions by investing in HR operations and infrastructure
Learning and development functions, leadership, management, and employee development, and onboarding, comprise the top three HR priorities by area. HR operations and infrastructure rank the most effective function in contributing to overall HR effectiveness.
Organizations can increase learning and development effectiveness and respond to HR priorities by implementing supporting HR systems and processes.
Top HR Priorities by Area
- Leadership/Management Development
- Employee Development
- Onboarding
- Coaching
- Goal Setting
- Performance Appraisals
- Engagement Strategy & Assessments
- Engagement Action Plans
Most Effective Functions in Driving Overall HR Effectiveness
- HR Operations & Infrastructure
- Total Compensation
- Employee Engagement
- Talent Acquisition
- HR Strategy
- Learning & Development
- Performance Management
- Talent Management
Source: Understand Top HR Trends and Priorities for 2016.
Respond to trends in learning and development to keep at pace with your competition
Organizations are recognizing the need to engage their talent and develop their next generation of leaders. Don’t fall behind. Leverage LMS to optimize your performance support and competency development functions.
#1 emerging HR trend for 2014 and 2015 was reported to be developing the next generation of leaders.
On the list of most frequently implemented HR trends of 2014 and 2015, the incorporation of e-learning into organizational learning and development ranked #1
"Management often hesitates to invest in learning because they’re worried that after employees are trained, they’ll leave. But what they don’t think of is, even worse, what if they don’t, and they stay? Today’s best CEOs are saying, ‘I’m afraid of losing talent, so I’m going to invest in them.’" – John Roberts, Learning & Development Architect, Info-Tech Research Group
Leverage L&D as a strategic HR function to deliver on organizational priorities
Even though L&D has been at the top of projected HR priorities and spending, according to McLean & Company’s HR Trends and Priorities for 2016 survey, L&D programs often fail to deliver on their intended objectives.
28% of non-HR respondents thought that their Learning & Development function was effective.
32% of HR respondents thought that their Learning & Development function was effective.
97% of organizations reported the increased efficiency of training content and increased employee performance due to LMS.
Learning & Development programs are often piecemeal and are not created in alignment with the needs of the organization. Leverage LMS to simplify workflows, increase learning accessibility, and contribute to L&D becoming a strategic function of HR.
The LMS technology market is growing as organizations, big and small, see the urgent need to streamline employee development
The Learning & Development Market
From 2014 to 2015 the learning and development market has grown by 14%.
Learning Technology Market
From 2014 to 2015 the learning technology market grew by 27%.
Source: Deloitte Human Capital Report, 2015
4 Billion Dollar Market
LMS Isn’t Just for Large Organizations
80% of large organizations and 30.8% of small organizations use LMS.
Large - 80.0%
Mid - 49.1%
Small - 30.8%
Source: BizLibrary
Don’t make the common mistake of procuring an LMS before creating a strategy
When embarking on an LMS project, use Info-Tech’s approach to creating an LMS strategy to address the five critical success factors below. Gain management buy-in to secure funding, define your requirements to right-size the solution, and implement control mechanisms and a governance plan.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
- Secure Executive Sponsorship
- Define Clear Requirements
- Secure a Sufficient Budget
- Create a Communication Plan
- Implement Governance Plan
Source: Capabiliti
"A lot of organizations get an LMS and think a strategy will emerge from the tool. When they do this, the LMS strategy is delinked from the broader organization’s strategy. Organizations who are using LMS really well ask, ‘how do I link the LMS strategy to the broader objectives of the organization?’ Think about your people. Think about the learning value of the content. Think about your analytics strategy."
– John Roberts,
Learning & Development Architect,
Info-Tech Research Group
Act now to realize the benefits of a learning management system
SAVINGS
Eliminate the unnecessary training costs due to traveling.
Reduce in-class training hours and limit productivity loss.
Manage the cost of training by centralizing training efforts.
EFFICIENCY
Train multiple people at once.
Ensure consistent training throughout the organization.
Reduce manual work by automating the registration, deployment, and tracking of training.
INSIGHT
Pull reports on who has and who hasn’t completed training.
Track learning progress.
Tie training to performance and measure the impact.
FLEXIBILITY
Empower employees to learn when they want.
Empower employees to learn where they want.
Empower employees to learn what they want.
Create an LMS strategy that aligns with the business goals and objectives
Successful strategy creation is determined by the ability to support the business and drive tactical business objectives. Step one is to understand corporate and L&D objectives. Most organizations use LMS for one or a combination of the use cases below. Understand your learning vision to align your LMS strategy appropriately.
LMS Use Case
- Performance
- Knowledge
- Compliance
Compliance Training
Regulatory, legal, or industry-standard compliance training, or certification renewal mandated by the government or organization.
Performance Support
Job-specific training intended to develop soft or hard skills, including management and leadership skills. Performance support training is intended to enhance existing competencies and develop new skills.
Knowledge Management
The sharing, distribution, and curation of knowledge throughout the organization. Centralizing organizational knowledge provides information and insight to help an organization learn as an organization rather than individually.
Take an educated approach to learning: consider content, people, process, and technology
| Content | People | Process | Technology |
Why this approach?
- Achievable & Realistic A strategy is critical for the creation of an achievable learning vision through technology. Info-Tech’s strategy will assist you in taking a holistic and educated approach to LMS.
- Right-Sized Solution Often organizations buy an LMS that is siloed and disconnected. Organizations fail to consider their long-term objectives, limiting the benefits of an LMS solution.
- Organizational Alignment For a successful LMS implementation, it is necessary to align LMS objectives with corporate and L&D goals. Achieve buy-in and ensure user adoption by aligning your LMS strategy with the business.
An organization built an LMS strategy on the pillars of content, people, process, and technology to save $5 million
CASE STUDY
Industry Air Transport
Source Info-Tech External Research Interview
Situation
Greater Toronto Airport Association (GTAA) manages and operates several organizations, including Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Fire & Emergency Services Training Institute (FESTI). A large driver for the LMS project was cost reduction. The organization was experiencing pains with the current decentralized approach to learning. Accessibility and flexibility were two pertinent issues that created the need for LMS.
Solution
GTAA took a holistic approach to creating an LMS strategy by considering content, people, process, and technology. By assessing their current learning environment, GTAA identified the need to provide 24/7 self-service learning. GTAA delegated content development by department, and centralized process ownership and e-Learning design in HR. GTAA deployed an on-premise LMS that is housed and maintained within IT. To avoid duplication in record-keeping, GTAA strategically integrated the LMS with the HRIS.
Results
It is estimated that the LMS resulted in $5 million in savings, contributed to by reduced costs related to facilitator pay, travel time and cost, reduction of overtime employee pay, and productivity gained.
The Enterprise Information Management Initiative included the following components
| Content | People | Process | Technology |
Follow Info-Tech’s approach to develop your LMS strategy
| Create the Project Vision | Structure the Project | Conduct a Current State Assessment | Evaluate Solution Alternatives | Design the LMS Roadmap | Build an LMS Implementation Plan |
Outputs LMS Strategy Vision |
Outputs LMS Strategic Alignment |
Outputs LMS High-Level Requirements |
Outputs LMS Technology Strategy |
Outputs LMS Initiatives Roadmap |
Outputs LMS Implementation Plan |
Outputs Strategic Direction |
Outputs Stakeholder Presentation |
Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs
DIY Toolkit
“Our team has already made this critical project a priority, and we have the time and capability, but some guidance along the way would be helpful.”
Guided Implementation
“Our team knows that we need to fix a process, but we need assistance to determine where to focus. Some check-ins along the way would help keep us on track.”
Workshop
“We need to hit the ground running and get this project kicked off immediately. Our team has the ability to take this over once we get a framework and strategy in place.”
Consulting
“Our team does not have the time or the knowledge to take this project on. We need assistance through the entirety of this project.”
Diagnostics and consistent frameworks used throughout all four options
LMS strategy project overview
| 1. Visualize the Project | 2. Right-Size the Solution | 3. Finalize the Strategy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best-Practice Toolkit | 1.1 Create the Project Vision 1.2 Structure the Project |
2.1 Conduct a Current State Assessment 2.2 Evaluate Solution Alternatives |
3.1 Design the LMS Roadmap 3.2 Build an Implementation Plan |
| Guided Implementations |
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| Onsite Workshop | Module 1: Visualize the Project | Module 2: Right-size the Solution | Module 3: Finalize the Strategy |
Phase 1 Outcome:
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Phase 2 Outcome:
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Phase 3 Outcome:
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LMS strategy workshop overview
Contact your account representative or email Workshops@InfoTech.com for more information.
| Workshop Day 1 | Workshop Day 2 | Workshop Day 3 | Workshop Day 4 | Workshop Day 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activities | Pre-work
|
Create the Project Vision
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Gather Requirements
|
Solution Evaluation
|
Create a Roadmap and Implementation Plan
|
| Deliverables |
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Phase 1
Visualize the Project
Take an Educated Approach to Developing an LMS Strategy
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 6 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Visualize the project
- Call 1: Establish a vision for your LMS strategy project.
- Call 2: Structure the project. Identify your project team and create a project charter.
Guided Implementation 2: Right-size the solution
- Call 1: Solicit LMS requirements from the right people in your organization.
- Call 2: Use your findings to provide insight into your solution.
Guided Implementation 3: Finalize the strategy
- Call 1: Prioritize roadmap initiatives. Identify dependencies between people, process, technology, and content tasks.
- Call 2: Create a governance plan and consider strategies for communicating changes and selling the strategy to the business.
Contributors
- Alec Ballantyne, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA)
- Leah Craig, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA)
- Jim Tom, Cathy Chae, Public Health Ontario (PHO)
- Matt Whitehead, Online Learning Enterprises
- Lyndsay Massey-Groe, Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games
- Lynn DiBonaventura, Teleflex Medical Canada
- Nigel Fortlage, GHY International, CIO Association of Canada (Manitoba Chapter)
- Vivian Yap, Ontario College of Teachers
- Four additional contributors who wished to remain anonymous
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