Choose a perfect LMS for your business needs

Choosing an LMS - Not for the faint-hearted

There are over 800 LMS on the market today and choosing the right one takes a lot of effort and collaboration from both the Human Resource and the IT department.

But when the right LMS is employed the outcome is amazing:

• Workforce gets the right skills for new achievements
• Training administration costs decreased
• Employee satisfaction and engagement are increased
• Compliance training is delivered and recorded
• Learning progress is easily tracked and reported
• Overall company performance grows

Once you decide on the right LMS for your business needs, you’ll reap the benefits for many years to come.

To be able to compare the options that you like, the easiest way is to use the checklist.

What to rely on when choosing the best LMS for 2021

To be sure of your choice and optimize costs, you need to follow the following steps.

Determine the needs of the company

Given numerous distance learning systems on the market (more than 700), you need to have a clear idea of ​​what exactly you need from an LMS and how this system will help you achieve the desired results. It is very important to understand who exactly you are going to teach (and, accordingly, what training programs you will need): the age of potential students, their level of qualifications, technical training, when and how it will be convenient for them to take courses, using what devices, what is the optimal number of students should be in the group.

Determine LMS System Requirements

The list of requirements for the system should be as detailed as possible, which will help to significantly narrow down the search range in the future. They can be divided into the following groups:

Functional requirements

This includes must-have features such as user and course management, choice of training model (pure online training, mixed online offline or instructor-led), support, and creation of training content, analytics, and reports.

Some LMS has several additional functions, including support for social learning with the ability to publish, discuss and distribute content on the principle of social networks, as well as mobile learning, support for e-commerce for the sale of training courses, gamification, integration with HR systems, the ability issuing a certificate at the end of the course and much more.

Technical requirements

Modern LMS systems are divided into two main groups: cloud-based and out-of-the-box. Cloud platforms allow you to quickly and easily start the process of distance learning after registration in the system. At the same time, all information is stored on external servers, and the process of downloading materials resembles working with Google Drive or other services for storing files.

"Boxed" LMSs are installed directly on the company's server, but their launch is a technically more difficult task since integration with existing systems is often required. It is also necessary to take into account the security of the software, the availability of technical documentation, the availability of technical support, the possibility of integration with other corporate systems.

Project economics

How much you are willing to spend and how much users are willing to spend. Will the LMS implementation pay off? The existing LMS has different payment models and tariff plans (pay only for active users, for example). At the same time, according to research, user costs for LMS are on average 59% higher than planned. Therefore, approach this issue carefully.

Is there an LMS that best meets your requirements? There are only two ways to find out. First: research developer websites, reviews, reports, user recommendations. Second, try it out. Many developers provide access to the demo version: thus, you can evaluate the functionality of the system without risking anything.

However, if you look wider than others, and your goals are too ambitious for existing systems, it is much more interesting and promising to create your own, well-thought-out system. Any idea what kind of distance learning system you need? 

The most important features of LMS

With all existing LMS on the market, it’s easy to get distracted by pricy “extra” features that often only confuse users. When choosing LMS we suggest focusing on universal LMS features that can guarantee material value, such as increased ROI and improved KPI.

Learning Catalog: Learning content is one of the key components that make training consistent and engaging. The Learning catalog allows users to create learning materials of all types, upload courses from LinkedIn Learning, manage training materials, and issue certifications.

Blended Learning and Training Administration: With automated LMS users can create an internal training management system, assign coaches to the events, manage scheduling, integrate training schedules with Outlook calendar, manage rooms and coaches availability, organize Learning groups, automate learning request approvals, and much more.

Learning Paths: Learning paths allow a learner to master a program step-by-step, with a sequence of courses. This approach works great when a learner needs to absorb more information on a certain topic.

Social Learning: Modern approach to the learning process is focused on learner's engagement, applying different training approaches to different audiences. With automated LMS customers can engage employees by using Virtual Classroom training with a Discussion board and manageable training structure. On the other hand, it keeps employees engaged through virtual discussion boards and announcements, that ensure the inter-activeness of the process. And finally, training feedback and quizzes ensure continuous change and improvements.

Testing and Assessment: Testing is one of the fundamental features of any modern LMS, as it helps trainers track how well information has been absorbed and keep learners engaged. The ability to design a quiz from scratch or using a template, then export grades to report or colorful dashboard, without all the tedious paperwork, is a must-have for any LMS in 2021.

Mobile Learning: Mobile learning or mLearning provides continuous access to learning courses. Statistics say that mobile learning also speeds up the education process by up to 45% and 70% of learners feel more motivated when they study using their phones or tablet. (Sources: LinkedIn Learning and LearnDash).

Certifications and Compliance: Compliance training in the workplace gets everyone, no matter their position, on the same page about critical and legal issues. This may minimize a company’s risk of litigation in the future. When certification is the end result of a compliance course, that course’s effectiveness is increased.

Learning Budget: Managing the training budget allows users to keep an eye on learning profitability and ROI, ensures the fairness and expediency of training expenses. Customers can plan and distribute training budgets for the overall company and then track actual spending for every employee.

Reporting: Extended reporting allows to keep control of different Learning process areas and ensures informed decisions for Learning & Development. With reporting, customers can control development plans and development needs for employees, they can analyze the training budget, learn catalog, manage training requests and required training courses, and much more.

“Most LMS systems are built in a standardized way that can address the needs of the majority of large companies, but not the needs of Chemonics. Lanteria provided us with an affordable, customizable, and scalable solution that we really needed to push our efforts forward.” – Ghanim Ghneim, Manager, Learning Technology, Chemonics

Lanteria LMS elearning

LMS is once and for all. If you want to successfully integrate LMS, improving the work of employees and the company as a whole, then you need to take this issue seriously.

Lanteria Microsoft LMS platform is one of the newest and most modern training platforms that provides clients with access to a user-friendly interface, track the success of employees, make calculations of the cost of training in general and individual courses, and much more.

Here, you can even calculate the potential return on investment in this platform.

In addition to this useful function, there are many more universal tools for employee training:

• Ability to create a repository with all information for training;
• An easy-to-learn admin panel with which you can manage all the processes in the courses;
• You can create tests that will show how successfully the material has been mastered;
• Obtaining full analytics with regards to both employee training and the development of the entire company as a whole;
• The ability to create timetables for the passage of courses for each employee individually or in groups using the LMS dashboard.

Lanteria’s Learning Management System includes all of these universal features (as well as cool “extras”) and can be customized by our consultants in accordance with customer requirements, all for a fraction of the price our competitors offer.

Lanteria LMS in facts and digits

OmniChem: Deployed customized Lanteria Learning Management System to substitute old unmodern systems. Lanteria HR became data storage for all learning data from 1992 till today. Automated processes reduced the overall workload of training managers and increased work efficiency by 75%

Milne: Deployed customized Lanteria Learning Management System. Automated processes increased training managers work efficiency by 75%

Bank: Deployed Lanteria HR as a customizable Learning Management solution to substitute 3 other systems: Training approval timeline reduced by 50%

Lanteria LMS is an award-winning, learning software system built on SharePoint. People behind the Lanteria LMS have over 13 years of combined eLearning and SharePoint experience. A Microsoft® Partner with Gold Application Development Competency, Lanteria LMS is considered the industry’s most valuable SharePoint-based software — providing a powerful learning solution that will transform your organization and raise business productivity.