August 2, 2017
Calculating The ROI Of A New SMB Learning Management System: 6 Points To Consider
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August 2, 2017
Calculating The ROI Of A New SMB Learning Management System: 6 Points To Consider
Christopher Pappas is the founder of The eLearning Industry’s Network, which is the largest online community of professionals involved in the eLearning field. Christopher holds an MBA, and an MEd (Learning Design) from BGSU.
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Getting an SMB Learning Management System in place is a significant investment. You will need to devote resources, time, and money toward choosing and deploying the SMB LMS platform. This upfront cost might seem intimidating, and you may question if it is really worth the expense. While it seems like a lot of money now, you have to consider the long-term cost. Here are 6 easy ways to calculate and project your return on investment of integrating a new SMB Learning Management System. Figure out if getting an SMB Learning Management System is a good path for your small to medium-sized business by answering the following questions:

1. How Much Were You Spending On Training Before Making The Switch?

You probably had some onboarding processes before you started using an SMB Learning Management System. This process, even if it was fairly informal, cost money. Not just in training materials, but also in content development and actual administration. Even if employees were trained in groups, those training hours came out of your payroll budget. Figure out how many man-hours and supply costs you typically spent on conducting any training initiatives in the past. Also, factor in the updates you likely had to do as your small to medium-sized business evolved. Many small businesses are surprised with how much they actually spend training employees when they factor in all of the unexpected fees and hidden costs.

2. How Much Would You Have To Pay If Your Employees’ Certifications Expired?

This is a huge risk to your corporate budget and reputation. A lot of industries require certain training certifications. More importantly, some government bodies also require that businesses give their employees specific training. If businesses do not comply with these requirements, they risk hefty penalties. Once you get fined, you will absolutely regret not having a better system in place. An SMB Learning Management System can help to ensure that your employees are all current on their online training and certifications.

3. What Are The Potential Benefits For Your Employees?

You might not know it, but training says a lot about your company. A sub-par employee training program can be an indicator of other weaknesses within a business. It shows new employees that you do not have a set business protocol. It can also make current employees feel that your business does not value their growth in the field. An SMB Learning Management System gives you the ability to develop your own online training for internal employee online training certifications. These certifications can go a long way toward employee satisfaction while also improving their performance in their roles. Showing that you are interested in employee career growth is essential for the success of your SMB system. An SMB Learning Management System can help create an easy path to cultivate an effective corporate eLearning culture that is worth of employees’ respect.

4. Will The New SMB Learning Management System Work With Your Other HR Systems?

This is a big potential benefit that a lot of business owners forget about. Certain SMB Learning Management Systems integrate with existing HR systems you might already use. This integration can cut down costs and take care of processes that were once manual. Onboarding new employees can be simplified, training can be tracked, and more. Figure out how much time your human resources staff will save by having all of these systems work together.

5. Is There Going To Be An Increase In The Efficiency Of Your Small To Medium-Sized Business?

Training isn’t just about meeting government requirements and checking boxes. You want your employees to get something concrete from it. An SMB Learning Management System creates a uniform and comprehensive learning opportunity for your employees. This can increase how well employees understand your business and their jobs. With that in mind, you should assess the amount of time that is typically spent on questions and mistakes. This updated training should greatly reduce those costly pitfalls. Your employees will also feel more confident in their understanding of their job duties and responsibilities. Once again, that may be hard to concretely calculate. Measure employee turnover or survey their satisfaction to get a sense of how the SMB Learning Management System impacts this factor.

6. How Much Are You Saving In IT Costs?

SMB Learning Management Systems are typically hosted in the cloud and supported by an LMS vendor. That means you will not be sinking money into IT support for your onboarding and training. These expenses can definitely add up. Housing and maintaining your own servers and hardware becomes costly. Combine that with the digital support that the IT team will need to provide if you keep the training in house. Calculate the cost of doing all of the tech aspects of an SMB Learning Management System internally. That will show you how beneficial having an outside LMS vendor can be for your small to medium-sized business from an IT perspective. In addition, meet with the LMS vendor to see if they offer additional tech support services that enhance the value of the SMB Learning Management System.

You need to look at the financial impacts, as well as the intangible returns the SMB Learning Management System will provide in order to calculate LMS ROI. You might have difficulty investing in a Learning Management System based on employee job satisfaction benefits, alone. However, when you combine intangible ROI factors with concrete budget impacts, you should be able to see the benefits. Once you have done your return on investment analysis, figure out the bottom line. Is the SMB Learning Management System really making a big impact? Almost without fail, your answer will be yes.

Are you ready to take the leap and invest in an LMS for your small to medium-sized business? Before you do, download our Free eBook: The Ultimate Guide To Find The Ideal LMS For Small And Medium Businesses (SMBs) to learn tips and tricks for choosing the right LMS platform and deploying a successful online training program.


Originally published at elearningindustry.com on July 21, 2017.

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