8 Steps for an LMS Transition Plan

LMS technology

Why transition to online employee training?

In today’s quickly-evolving economy, the most successful workplaces are the ones that have mastered the art of flexibility. LMS training helps organizations adapt to market challenges and innovations. As a result, the business and employees are more likely to succeed and grow. A sure-fire way to ensure organizational flexibility is to transition business operations into online employee training with an LMS.

Nowadays, thanks to the boom in corporate technology and information systems, most processes can be automated or completed remotely. By now, most companies have discovered the many benefits of conducting business and managing operations via online systems. But did you know that your corporate training process can be digitized?

Yes, even the complex, highly social process of training employees can be transferred to a digital platform. All you need is the right Learning Management System (LMS) technology for your company, and an air-tight plan to implement it.

The employee training benefits might sound too good to be true. After all, training is a collaborative, multi-layered, and multi-faceted process. Every business that excels at employee training understands that it is a careful science. However, with expert help, you can draft a fool-proof plan to implement LMS software that takes your employee training to the next level.

At RTG Solutions Group, we tailor our proven methodology to your company’s unique needs. We do more than just help you pick the best LMS system for your online employee training. We help you develop a comprehensive plan to implement it with a clear ROI.

What is a learning management system (LMS)?

A learning management system (LMS) is any piece of software that centralizes the delivery, administration, and documentation of online learning. Though LMS technology has been used by educational institutions for years now, corporations now recognize their utility in delivering online employee training.

How do you transition to online employee training with an LMS?

online employee training

Great training involves much more than just flipping through pages of bulleted policies. The sort of training that produces highly capable, energized, and loyal employees has to be engaging, informative, interactive, and easy to use.

Online training that fulfills these criteria also enhance the corporate culture, foster a sense of belonging, and shows a comittment by the organization in employee development. A solid employee training program gives employees the foundational tools they need to succeed in their role.

How can all of this be accomplished by a learning management system? That’s when expertise and proven implementation and training strategies come in handy.

In order to ensure that your training process is actually enhanced by LMS technology, a strategic approach is a must-have for sucess. A good consulting expert will help you identify the best LMS technology for your organization’s needs and guide your team through implementation, use of technology, training, and employee adoption.

So how does a business successfully transition to LMS training? The key is to have a solid plan. Lack of attention to the planning phase will result in frustration, unmet goals, inefficiencies through the process.

Our employee training and development consultants have the experience to help you smoothly transition to an online employee training system to meet your training needs and goals.

8 steps of a successful LMS training implementation plan

    1. Identify the Project Outcome
    2. Develop an ROI Model
    3. Identify the Scope of Work
    4. Develop Pre & Post Performance Measurements 
    5. Prioritize Workflow
    6. Identify SME Resources
    7. Develop Project Schedule
    8. Outline Allocation of the budget

Identify the project outcome

Start with identifying the problem with your current training process. This ensures the project team is pointed in the right direction. The team is not trying to solve for the “whys” or “hows” at this early juncture. Rather, it’s important to verbalize and capture what you’re going after by implementing LMS training and what you need to achieve.

What are the outcomes you plan to realize by adopting an online training approach?

Some potential outcomes to aim for when transferring to an online employee training system:

  • Revamp a lackluster employee training program
  • Improve accessibility for all employees
  • Allow remote training
  • Reduce length of training period
  • Relieve staff of face-to-face training
  • Increase information retention
  • Provide accessible training limited disruption to operations
  • Increase flexibility in event of internal or external crises

Develop an ROI model

Implementing a new training system will require resources. There is a financial commitment to adding any new technology to an organization, including a learning management system.

Some of the additional resources include the project team planning and management the process. As well, experts in employee training and instructional designers will develop new training and revise existing programs to incorporate with the new system.

To gain senior leadership support and funding of the project, the ROI must be quantifiable. In part, the success of the LMS is contingent on how the organization will measure the impact.

Everything is measurable. If you’re not measuring your results, there’s no definitive way to know if your training process has improved. With an established baseline, a quantifiable ROI model will provide a pathway and accountability for the LMS investment.

Identify the scope of work

The scope of work should succinctly outline details related to the LMS training implementation, including deliverables, milestones, timeline, and expected outcomes. The scope of work not only defines what will be done on the project but prevents scope creep. It’s very common for leaders and team members to be tempted to add deliverables to the finalized scope of work. This can expand the timeline and balloon the budget.

It’s important to outline a clear timeline for the project, including project milestones. The schedule keeps the project on track, increases the ability to measure progress, and highlights obstacles.

Who are the team members involved in the project? The scope of work should identify leaders, individual contributors, and subject matter experts, along with designed tasks.

The scope of work should highlight the deliverables and milestones for the project. Some examples include: select the LMS software, create training materials, and launch the LMS training system across the organization.

Develop pre & post performance measurements

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a metric to quantify progress towards the goals outlined in the scope of work. KPIs are outcome-based statements to measure key details in the project that track goals and objectives and highlight what you want to achieve, and by when. KPIs are the compass to ensure goals are targeted and met.

KPIs should be established along the continuum of the LMS training implementation timeline and evaluate the level of performance over time. KPIs can be established to measure efficiency, time, quality, compliance, employee performance, cost, customer satisfaction, and utilization of resources, among others.

KPIs include a balance of quantifiable and qualifiable metrics, along with both leading and lagging indicators. Collectively, KPIs are a necessary tool to monitor objectives throughout the duration of the project and adjust as needed to ensure project-wide success.

Some examples of KPIs to measure the effectiveness of an online employee training program include:

  • Training process takes less time
  • More employees can be trained at a time
  • Fewer errors are made by employees
  • Reduction in customer complaints
  • Per-employee sales volume increased
  • Improved efficiency in employees’ job

Prioritize workflow

In review of the organization’s current state of employee training, how does the project team prioritize the vast amount of work ahead of them?

Our consultants help organizations prioritize the workflow with a detailed methodology and grading system for each item on the list.

Workflow prioritization is calculated by ranking each priority against the ease of execution, likelihood of success, implementation cost, urgency and importance, ROI, and impact on the business. These six categories are then weighted based on high, medium, or low favorability of success.

Decisions in how to prioritize the workflow of the project are not always clear-cut. Leaders, and those with knowledge of the priorities, can provide an added level of insight to rank priorities. In assessing priorities, it’s important to apply thoughtful logic based on data and insight by those knowledgeable with the work ahead.

Identify SME resources

Subject matter experts (SME) provide a high level of knowledge and proficiency on an area of the business that has connectivity to employee training processes. They may not be intimately involved in the scope of work, but their insight and experience can assist the project managers in heading off problems.

While outlining the scope of work for your LMS training implementation, identify internal and external individuals who can assist the team at key junctures in the project timeline.

Identify individuals with expertise in employee training and development, instructional designers and curriculum developers, HR, in-person trainers, IT, corporate communications, and continuous improvement specialists.

SMEs provide efficiency, fill knowledge gaps, and ensure success of the project. Ensuring a constant flow of communication between key SMEs and the team members leading the transition to an online employee learning system will help you anticipate issues and solve problems as they arise.

Develop project schedule

The project schedule is essential for project leaders, teams, and stakeholders to have a clear roadmap for the transition to an LMS for employee training. It should outline what will be accomplished, who is responsible for each task, and those with connectivity to the task.

The project schedule for your employee training program delineates each deliverable with start and end dates. The schedule can track and identify if timelines are being met and the percentage complete of each task as well as the total project.

The project schedule provides clarity and helps teams to effectively communicate and collaborate with those involved. Additionally, it provides project managers a tool to update senior leaders and the executive sponsor on the status of the project.

Specifically, a project schedule includes:

  • Project actions / deliverables
  • Description of each task
  • Name of who is responsible
  • Start and end date
  • Estimated duration
  • Connectivity between tasks
  • Required resources
  • Milestones associated with tasks
  • Budget allocation

A comprehensive project schedule will keep your team accountable and on schedule as you transition to the new online training approach.

Outline allocation of budget

There are many benefits to transitioning your employee training to an online learning environment. Learning management systems provide the vehicle elevate your employee training. Transitioning to LMS training should involve a strategic approach, as outlined in the 8 steps above.

At RTG Solutions Group, our consultants can help take your employee training to the next level. Contact us today to discuss your employee training goals.

Conclusion

It always comes down to dollars and cents, doesn’t it?

Refrain from launching the project, assigning tasks, or purchasing a new LMS system until a comprehensive budget is outlined.

It’s important to identify all cost estimates associated with the project. Based on budget availability, prioritization of some tasks may need to be adjusted. Following the budget submission to the executive sponsor and approval by executive leaders, the process of transitioning to your new employee training system can begin!

“A vision cannot be realized without the ability to execute.”

Khris K. Bhattan
President, RTG Solutions Group
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