Build An Air-tight Business Case For A Learning Platform

• 4 min read

Get internal buy-in from your key decision makers with an air-tight business case.

As a learning and development (L&D) professional, the benefits of a Learning Platform or a Learning Management System (LMS) are obvious to you.

To carry out your tasks efficiently and align learning to wider business objectives, you understand how learning technology increases productivity and makes your learners’ experience with your L&D programs better.

A learning platform is, of course, a big investment for enterprises, so before making anything happen, you’re going to have to please your case to executives – and prove to them a next-generation learning platform is worth the coin that will be needed to be shelled out.

This means it takes time to build a learning platform business case for the enterprise. The first step is understanding your needs and how a learning platform addresses those.

The Difference Between an LMS and a Learning Platform

Most likely, your existing system (if you have one) is a learning management system (LMS) that manages, delivers and measures your enterprise learning programs.

The traditional LMS was designed to deliver a top-down approach to learning, where admins would push formal courses on learners. We know now that today’s workforce gathers knowledge mainly through on-the-job experiences and social learning, not in traditional classroom settings, a driving factor behind why learning technologies must now support the real-life learning experience.

The Learning Platform is the evolution of an LMS, designed to facilitate learning and blending formal, social and experiential learning to produce a holistic and learner-centric approach to learning. When powered by advanced technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the learning platform augments the learner experience by delivering personalization via content curation and aggregation tools, while streamlining time-consuming, menial tasks for L&D administrators.  

Here’s a quick comparison:

Want to outline the importance of learning and development to the organization? Show this blog to your decision makers to set the scene.

3 Keys To Building an Airtight Business Case For a Learning Platform

Today, an organization’s success depends on its ability to operate with agility, develop its people and retain them to mitigate the inevitable change and challenges the future will bring.

Understanding the many ways enterprise learning has changed, along with the expectations of your workforce and their appetite for professional development, emphasizes the importance of L&D and facilitating it with the right learning technology.

Here are 3 key actions to take to build a compelling business case for your learning project:

1. Connect Management Objectives To Learner Expectations To Express True Value

Understanding your executives’ collective and individual goals will help you present a case that meets their needs.

Sell value, not features – sure, learning platforms are equipped with a ton of high-tech features, but you need to focus on selling value to decision-makers. Don’t say “this solution has a great mobile app”, but instead “mobile learning gives our learners a way to engage with our programs at the point of need, online or offline, wherever they are, leading to higher platform adoption, more engagement and greater returns on learning.”

Doing so gives you a way to align their goals with the needs and expectations of your workforce. Take the time beforehand to understand how employees feel and/or see L&D in their daily lives and align those insights to overall operational goals.

2. Talk in Numbers: Create A Financial Case That Aligns with Their Objectives

Work backwards from the main objectives that your executive team holds dear. If revenue is the main objective, base your case on revenue.

Show how your new learning platform will speed up learning delivery and quality and make it more accessible to, for example, shorten time-to-market cycles.

Areas to reference for investment gains that express the connection between L&D and your bottom line, according to E-Learning Industry, include: revenue growth in customer and partner training, workforce productivity gains (faster production + better product quality = happier customers + larger sales) and salesforce productivity gains (better training = more loyalty and sales/revenue).

3. Use Real-Life Case Studies To Support Your Case

Doing so helps you answer the potential question, “This all sounds good in theory. How do you know it will work?” Be ready if they say “yes”. Have your high-level plan ready, as well as an overview of the next steps, timeframes, and required resources.

Get Started with The Learning Platform Toolkit

Convincing your executive team to move forward with an investment in a smart learning platform is no simple feat. It will involve lots of executive discussions, time, and research. You’re going to have to justify spending company money on your project, while appeasing the goals and objectives of each member of your executive team

Docebo’s Learning Platform toolkit will help you educate yourself, gather intel from reputable research firms, and share your new-found expertise across the organization in an effort to mobilize your learning project.

The toolkit includes:

  • How to build a learning platform business case
  • A digital learning ROI Checklist
  • A step-by-step learning platform business case presentation guide
  • How to handle IT objections
  • What you can expect during the implementation of your new learning platform

Are you ready to ‘Get the Yes’?