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.
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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 ‘niceto-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
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Framing the project
This Research is
Is Designed For:
This Research Will Help You:
 IT and application managers that are tasked
 Make the business case for assessing the
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.
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 Also
Assist:
Assist:
This Research Will Help You:
Them:
 Organizations looking to develop an LMS
 Create a common LMS understanding
strategy to achieve organizational goals
associated with learning and development.
between IT, HR, and business stakeholders.
 Offer guidance on how to translate learning
and development needs into LMS technology
requirements.
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Executive Summary
Situation
Info-Tech Insight
• Application managers and HR professionals are tasked with leveraging a
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Reference our frequently used acronyms
LMS
Learning Management
System
Learning & Content
LCMS 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
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Businesses must equip themselves with the tools necessary
to build their human capital potential
4 million baby boomers are
leaving the workforce each year.
Source: U.S Federal Government
Less than half of HR leaders
are confident in finding new talent
to fill positions at their
companies.
Source: 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.
Source: Deloitte Human Capital Report, 2015
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Increase the effectiveness of learning and development
functions by investing in HR operations and infrastructure
Most Effective Functions in
Driving Overall HR Effectiveness
Top HR Priorities by Area
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.
1
Leadership/Management
Development
1
HR Operations & Infrastructure
2
Employee Development
2
Total Compensation
3
Onboarding
3
Employee Engagement
4
Coaching
4
Talent Acquisition
5
Goal Setting
5
HR Strategy
6
Performance Appraisals
6
Learning & Development
7
Performance Management
8
Talent Management
7
8
Engagement Strategy &
Assessments
Engagement Action Plans
Source: Understand Top HR Trends and Priorities for 2016
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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
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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%
32%
of non-HR respondents thought
that their Learning & Development
function was effective.
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.
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The LMS technology market is growing as organizations, big and
small, see the urgent need to streamline employee development
4 Billion Dollar Market
The Learning & Development Market
From 2014 to 2015 the learning and development market has
grown by 14%.
14%
2010
2015
Learning Technology Market
LMS Isn’t Just for Large Organizations
From 2014 to 2015 the learning technology market grew by
27%.
80% of large organizations and 30.8% of small organizations
use LMS.
27%
Source: Deloitte Human Capital Report, 2015
80.0%
49.1%
Large
30.8%
Mid
Small
Source: BizLibrary
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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
1
Secure Executive Sponsorship
2
Define Clear Requirements
3
Secure a Sufficient Budget
4
Create a Communication Plan
5
Implement Governance Plan
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
Source: Capabiliti
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