How To Determine If An Extended Enterprise LMS Is Best For Your Organization
External partner training can be a pricey affair. As such, it’s not something you should jump into lightly. You need to make careful considerations to ensure you select an LMS that will suit all online training needs for both your in-house talent and external partners. There is an array of options available in the modern market, which makes the decision-making process even more time-consuming and stressful. Below is a list of 9 questions that will help you determine if an extended enterprise LMS is the best solution for your organization.
1. Will The Extended Enterprise LMS Build Strong Working Relationships With Employees?
To ensure productivity in your organization, there must be mutually beneficial working relationships among employees. Ideally, your new extended enterprise LMS should help foster remote collaboration and build teamwork skills. Employees are used to regular interactions through social websites that strengthen their relationship. Thus, the online training program must support social interactivity instead of serving as a barrier.
2. Will The Extended Enterprise LMS Meet Your Organizational Goals?
Every successful business has specific goals to achieve. All the daily activities are, therefore, geared towards realizing them. This includes ongoing online training initiatives that are facilitated by your new extended enterprise LMS. When you research systems, make sure you understand all the features and functions. Specifically, how they apply to your online training program and how they will help you achieve your desired outcomes. The tool may have all the bells and whistles, but do they align with your overall objectives? Or are they merely a waste of precious resources?
3. Can The Extended Enterprise LMS Integrate Other Software To Meet Business Needs?
Businesses today don't rely on a single software to achieve their goals. They depend on multiple software and need to work hand in hand to ensure the speedy realization of organizational needs. This question will help you determine whether the extended enterprise LMS you are about to acquire will work harmoniously with a host of other software, such as CRM software or third-party eLearning authoring tools.
4. Do You Need To Track The Progress Of Online Training?
Successful online training involves detailed monitoring of all stakeholders involved. With an extended enterprise LMS, all you need to do is log in to the LMS platform to view data visualizations and external partner reports. Tracking enables you to custom-tailor your online training for specific individuals or groups, as well as measure the success of the online training program. An effective extended enterprise LMS should have a broad range of built-in reports, in addition to customizable metrics that allow you to focus on specific objectives or outcomes.
5. What Are The Technical Limitations Of Your Target Audience?
It is essential to think about your audience's limitations when choosing the best LMS for your company. Is your entire audience tech savvy, or is the majority uncomfortable with using technology? Is the extended enterprise LMS mobile friendly, and on which mobile platforms does it perform best? If the audience is not tech savvy, will they require supplemental resources to bring them up to speed? Knowing the technical needs of your audience enables you to determine if an extended enterprise LMS will work for your organization.
6. What Are The Support Services Offered?
You need to know which support services you will get from the LMS vendor. Compare these services against the support needs of your audience and your L&D team. For example, you may need assistance setting up the tool or updating online training materials. Will the LMS vendor provide you with the one-on-one support you require? Or is there only an online FAQ to guide the way?
7. What Are The Current And Future Needs Of Your Organization?
An LMS may serve you well today, but what about in the future? Choose an LMS that will scale with your organization to avoid additional costs. To do this, you need to analyze the organization's current and future needs. Then see how the LMS features stack up. For example, you plan to provide multiplatform-friendly content to external partners within the next year. However, the LMS lacks responsive design capabilities.
8. What Is Your LMS Budget?
Before you consider the options, you need to think about the resources you have on hand, as well as how much you’re willing to spend on a new Learning Management System. Meet with stakeholders to gauge your price range and then narrow down your list of candidates. Don’t forget to account for hidden fees, such as ongoing maintenance and upgrades. In some cases, the price tag can be deceiving. For instance, the LMS has low up-front costs, but you need to pay for annual upgrades, while another platform involves higher initial fees but covers all associated updates.
9. Who Is Your Target Audience?
The answer to this question will allow you to determine if an extended enterprise LMS is the ideal option or you should opt for a more traditional LMS. For example, you wish to offer online training resources to remote sales teams or franchisees who need to know your brand inside and out. Thus, you should go with an extended enterprise LMS that allows for anytime, anywhere access both internally and externally.
To get the most out of your extended enterprise LMS, you have to know the long-term benefits that your organization will draw from it. Also, you should do an in-depth analysis to determine if it will address all your online training needs. The questions we have discussed above will help you decide if an extended enterprise LMS is suitable for your organization and its external partners.
Want to learn more about the possibilities of an Extended Enterprise LMS? Download our free eBook External Training 101: Everything You Need To Know BEFORE Buying Your Next Extended Enterprise LMS to learn more tips to choose the best extended enterprise LMS for your organization, including how to select the perfect pricing model and deployment option, as well as secrets to get external partners excited about your extended enterprise LMS launch.
