The one question you have to ask yourself is: “what am I looking for in an LMS?” Here are some questions to help you decide what type of learning management system you need.
1. What Type of Course Will You Be Creating?
There are a few different types of courses you can create in an LMS. A lot of the time, it will depend on the type of work you do and what type of learning content your company produces. You can create a self-paced course, or an instructor-led course, or a blended course, which is a combination of both.
2. How Will You Be Creating Your Content?
A lot of LMSs are platform-based, meaning you’ll need to create your content in the same platform as your LMS. If you don’t want to create your content in the same place, you should consider an LMS that is non-platform based. This way, you can create your content in any platform and still have it uploaded into your LMS.
3. What Learning Management System Are Your Employees Using?
Some companies use multiple learning management systems for different training needs. You might be a large company with multiple departments that each have their own training requirements.
In this case, you’ll want to make sure that your learning management system can connect with other systems. This way, if an employee is taking a course on a different system, they can easily access it from within the system they’re already using.
4. How Do You Want to Handle User Management?
If you have a lot of employees, you’ll want to consider how you’re going to manage your users. A lot of LMSs offer self-service registration and the ability to manage your own courses.
If you don’t want to give your employees this level of control, or if you have multiple levels of users, then you should look for an LMS that offers role-based user management. This way, only certain people can see certain courses.
5. How Do You Want to Manage Your Content?
A lot of LMSs have a built-in content management system that allows you to create and update your content in one place. If this is important to you, make sure the LMS has it before you purchase it.
This will save a lot of time in the long run! You can also choose an LMS that offers integration with a CMS so that your content creators can use their preferred CMS without having to switch back and forth between systems.
6. What Kind of Reporting Are You Looking For?
LMSs come with many different types of reporting options that will help with all sorts of different business functions. For example, if you want to track how many users are logging in and taking courses, or if you want to track your sales pipeline and see how well your LMS is doing, then you’ll want to look for an LMS that offers these types of reports.
7. How Do You Want to Pay for Your Learning Management System?
Most LMSs offer a monthly subscription payment model. Some also offer a pay-as-you-go model where you only pay for the number of users that are actively using the system at any given time.
If you have an especially large team, or if you know that you’ll be using the system a lot, then it might be worth it to pay for a year upfront. You can also choose an LMS that has a per user pricing model so that each user only pays for the courses they take instead of paying for all their colleagues who aren’t taking any courses at all!
8. What’s Your Budget?
In Singapore, the average LMS costs about $4,000 per year. If you’re on a tight budget, then you should choose an LMS that has a lower price point. You can also choose an LMS that offers a free trial so that you can try it out before you buy it.
So there you have it! These are the things to consider when choosing your learning management system. Now you know what to look for and what questions to ask before purchasing your next LMS!
