So, it’s finally time to roll out your Learning Management System (LMS) training program!

You assembled a dream team for your LMS training transition. You searched far and wide for the best LMS system out there. Your team worked tirelessly to develop a standout curriculum and import it into the new software. Now all that’s left to do is launch your new training program!

This is a crucial time for your business. In order for your investment to pay off, you’ll want to make sure you have some key things in place before the big launch.

Much of the prep work before launching an LMS training program actually involves training. First, you have to train the people who will be training your employees. Second, you also have to train your employees on how to use the software that handles their training. That’s a lot of training!

With all the layers of training involved, the pre-rollout process may seem intimidating. But no need to worry! We’ve boiled down the most important things you need to do before deploying your new LMS platform.

1. 1. Validate training administrative rights and credentialing
   2. Assemble training rollout SME team
   3. Train SME’s to monitor training completion
   4. Train SME’s to measure training adoption
   5. Train SME’s to perform daily escalation protocol
   6. Solicit feedback and follow up with end users with solutions to problems
   7. Update project documentation to identify new “Current State” and continuously improve

Before you roll out your new training program, setting up administrative rights and credentialing for all users is a must. You don’t want to be scrambling on the first day to create log-ins for the entire staff–especially not for your training admins!

There should be clear roles for all of the LMS training program admins. And more importantly, everyone should know who is in charge of handling what. In the first few weeks following your rollout, there will be lots of technical support issues and general questions.

So, you’ll want to make sure everyone knows who they should direct their questions to. You’ll also want to make sure all admins have the administrative rights necessary to carry out their roles. This will ensure that any problems or questions that arise after the launch can be smoothed out quickly.

For credentialing, it’s best to use a uniform naming system for employee usernames. To enhance security, equip users with a one-time password that can be personalized after the first log-in.

Your LMS training rollout plan should absolutely include a dedicated team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Your SMEs will be tasked with executing the LMS training deployment. As with any team project, it’s always a good idea to have a team leader to guide and direct the rollout.

If you conducted your all-important needs assessment at the beginning of the LMS transition, then you may have already identified your SMEs. A strong rollout team should be composed of associates from different departments, each playing to their strengths.

Some questions to consider when picking your SMEs and carving out their roles in the LMS training deployment plan are:

• Who will handle IT issues?
• Who will create the training communications?
• Who will monitor training data and creating reports?
• Who will train employees on how to use the LMS system?
• Who will train admins on how to use the LMS system?
• Who will relay updates to senior leadership?

The great thing about LMS programs is that you can do just about anything with them. Use your LMS to its full capacity by monitoring training stats and completion rates within the system!

Of course, whoever is monitoring the data will need to be trained on how to do it. They (and other SMEs) may need to set up virtual training sessions with the LMS provider. Again, it’s crucial to have this step taken care of before the deployment. This way, your SMEs can be fully focused on their roles once the LMS training is launched.

Monitoring is very important in the early days of any new program, as it is an essential component of change management. Whether or not your business is accustomed to big changes, transitional periods can present lots of challenges.

Completion rates can be strong indicators of how well the LMS training rollout is being received. So, monitoring completion rates and other stats will help you ensure compliance and stay ahead of any problems that arise from the transition.

If you spent all this time and money on a fancy new LMS system, you’ll want to know if it’s working, right? The best way to do this is to measure the impact of training adoption. And, as you may have guessed by now, you’ll have to train a team member to do this too.

You can track training impact through several different indicators. A good place to start is by considering your motivations for transitioning to an LMS training platform.

For example, if you wanted to improve employee retention of company policies, you could measure changes in employee errors.

Other measurables that might indicate a successful LMS training program include:

• Decreased customer complaints
• Increased sales
• Decreased supply costs
• Decreased HR violations
• Increased output

If you train your SMEs on how to measure training adoption impact before launching your LMS system, you can begin to track changes on day 1!

At RTG Solutions Group, we are firm believers in daily escalation meetings. They are a crucial component of our game-changing management system. They are essential for monitoring progress toward goals and identifying solutions to problems.

Before you launch your LMS training program, try to train SMEs on how to perform daily tier 1 escalation meetings. This will help track the progress of your LMS deployment and keep your team trudging towards their goals.

Daily Tier 1 escalations should be short, sweet, and are solutions oriented. Oh, and everyone stands-up! Yep. Holding stand-up meetings increases employee engagement, fosters teamwork, and helps to keep meetings brief. And these are just a few of the benefits of daily stand-up meetings!

In light of the corona virus, many of us work remotely. This does change the dynamics for teams’ daily escalation meetings. However, as businesses and team navigate through this new way of work, teams should find the best way to continue to hold escalation meetings.

The point of Tier 1 Escalation meetings is to motivate employee engagement and accountability towards concrete goals. Tracking your LMS training deployment in a Tier 1 Escalation format will ensure your rollout is efficient, cohesive, and collaborative.

If you’re not soliciting feedback from your users, you are missing out on valuable insights! If something isn’t working in your LMS training program, your users will definitely let you know. And if something is working particularly well, users will also be eager to tell you.

Issuing old-fashioned surveys might seem like overkill, but it’s one of the best ways to identify growth opportunities. And if you log and track feedback, you can plan and implement improvements according to user feedback.

You can begin tracking feedback before your LMS training is even rolled out. If you put together a focus group, you can have employees test the system and recommend changes before the big launch.

A pre-launch focus group is a valuable way to gain performance insight. If you’re interested in learning more about LMS performance testing, check out our article on LMS test and audit strategies!

At its core, training is all about improvement. And here at RTG Solutions Group, we are firm believers that every company should be engaged in a process of continuous improvement.

Your LMS training rollout should be just the first step in an ongoing process of corporate enhancement. If you document all of your business processes before and after your LMS training launch, you establish a new procedural baseline.

This new baseline, or “current state,” can then be collectively examined and improved upon over time. Having proper documentation in place will give everyone on your team a common starting point from which to take off and grow indefinitely.

It doesn’t matter how much you shell out for LMS training software if you don’t have a solid rollout plan. Maximize the potential of your investment–and your employees–by following these 7 steps before launching your new LMS training.

If you are looking to implement LMS training at your organization, but you’re not quite sure where to start, contact us today to start your continuous improvement journey!