T H E C H E A T S H E E T S E R I E S

How to Choose your LMS.

Choosing the right LMS for your business clients and partners. If for instance you need to
is understandably not an easy thing to train employees then mass actions, automations,
do, especially if you start from scratch as detailed tracking and reporting are some must-
have features that will eventually save you a large
there are numerous things to consider. For
amount of time over your daily administrative
that reason, we’ve added this checklist
tasks.
to our Cheat Sheet Series with the aim to
On the other hand, if selling courses to clients is
provide a simple to go through guide that
your ultimate goal then you may need to integrate
will give adequate insight to better inform your LMS with a compliant e-commerce platform,
and support your decision. as well as ensure coupons and discounts are
available.

Another parameter here will be the size of your

1. NEEDS & OBJECTIVES
audience. Different LMS packages will serve
Why do you need an LMS and different business sizes, varying from small
what do you hope to achieve with it?
businesses to large enterprises.
There are plenty of reasons for choosing an LMS
on an organizational level. Some of the most
common ones can be summed up as follows:
• Managing your company’s administrative 3. LMS TYPES
learning activities and processes effectively. What type of LMS system
• Taking your corporate training online by is a better fit for your needs?
building custom courses and ensuring There are two types here you can choose from:
a consistent output. CLOUD, SAAS OR HOSTED LMS
• Giving a 24/7 access to eLearning materials These are web based LMSs. All your data is
company-wide instead of limiting it to a spe securely stored in the cloud and the platform
cific time and location e.g. the training gets frequently upgraded with no extra cost
department. for the user. In general, it is the best option if
• Creating an eLearning business by selling you don’t want to worry about maintenance
courses, educating clients and partners. and technical issues, as it is all taken care by
the provider. It is also easier to set up in terms
of instructional designing.
2. AUDIENCE DEPLOYED OR INSTALLED LMS
Who do you intend to train? These LMSs are hosted internally on your
Your audience may vary between employees, company’s servers. They can be highly custo-
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mizable but at the same time the responsibility that support services will be required more
of setup, security and maintenance falls at the frequently. Types of support include:
IT team’s hands.
PHONE SUPPORT
The deployed LMS can be (depending on the A representative will discuss with you any
provider) open source, meaning that the user issues you might have with your LMS on the
has the ability to edit the program and make phone. Support hours can vary from 24/7 to
improvements or use add-ons, based on their business hours depending on the provider.
needs.
ONLINE SUPPORT
While that might seem like a great option at Either by providing email address or through a
first, it needs to be considered that the user dedicated support form, you can communicate
might not get any official support after editing any inquiry you may have concerning your
an open source. LMS. This is the most time-saving solution since
your request will be directly designated to the
person who can handle it best, avoiding a fair
4. FEATURES amount of back and forth communication that
What key features are you looking is often needed mostly on technical support
for in your LMS? issues.
Some of the most common ones you need to
KNOWLEDGE BASE
be aware of are: Customization and Branding,
A knowledge base from your provider is a
Integrations, Security, Native Mobile Apps,
very useful tool to have at your disposal.
Reporting, Assessments and Surveys, Certifi-
It is basically an archive of in-depth and
cations, Gamification, Communication tools,
well-documented information, descriptions
SCORM and Tin Can Compliance, E-commerce
and how-to methods of several functions
and many more.
regarding the platform.
If all these sound completely unfamiliar then
VIDEO TUTORIALS
utilizing your people’s expertise can be a
Video tutorials can provide abundant assi-
lifesaver. If this is not an option though,
stance, especially for demonstrating the basic
using directories can help you get to know
features of an LMS platform to a new user
more and compare solutions based on their
as well as guiding the initial setup. They are
features and characteristics. Some of the
usually found on-site or on the vendor’s video
most distinguished directories that specialize
channel.
on LMSs are Capterra, GetApp and eLearning
Industry.

6. BUDGET
5. SUPPORT What is the budget allocation
How important are the vendor’s for your organizational training?
Support Services to your business and at what It is important that your budget includes the
frequency will they be needed? overall cost of the LMS for the whole time
In some circumstances, support services you intend to use the service, alongside
are more often required by businesses. For any implementation fees e.g. the cost of an
instance, if your organization is completely instructional designer or LMS consultant in
new to the concept of an LMS, then it is likely case you need extra assistance to set it up.
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FREE 8. TEST DRIVE

A free tool usually refers to trial versions, but How would you prefer to test-drive your LMS?
there are also a few platforms that are forever An LMS can be a significant investment.
free. Still, the capabilities they have to offer Therefore, it is important to understand how
are limited and usually serve the purpose of it works beforehand. There are three common
getting familiar with the platform. However, in methods for you to choose from depending
some cases, where the audience is too small, on your preferences.
for example, they can fulfill the user’s needs in
the long term. DEMO: Arranging a demo presentation with an
LMS provider will give you a basic overview of
COMMERCIAL
the platform. Demos can take place either in
Commercial tools are advanced solutions
person (depending on location) or, and most
where their features, support and capabilities
often, online, through a web conference tool.
can expand depending on the vendor and the
It is a great first encounter with the service,
plan that you have with them.
especially for those who won’t be particularly
Another factor to keep in mind is that usually involved in the implementation process.
a deployed system is more expensive than a
cloud one. However, in some unusual cases, FREE TRIAL: The free trial will work best for
it can cost less in the long run. The most those who are more practical or a step further
affordable rates for commercial Cloud LMSs towards deciding, and want to get their hands
start at 29$/month, whereas for a deployed on the actual service. Free trials usually last
option a custom quote is usually required. For from 7 to 15 days, so you better be quick to
starting plans and further pricing options you get the most out of it.
can consult TalentLMS Pricing.
FOREVER FREE / FREEMIUM ACCOUNT:
A forever free account would be ideal for
instructional designers, instructors, trainers,
7. TIMEFRAME
and people who will be actively involved in the
Are there any specific
implementation process. This still depends on
constraints in terms of time? the timeframe as the user benefits from having
More specifically, how much time is there the ability to test the platform as thoroughly
available until you have to reach a decision? Is as needed before reaching a decision.
it enough for you to compare several vendors/
demos/trials or is time a pressuring factor? If still in doubt, we would be happy to jump in a
In this case, choosing a Cloud LMS over a quick chat with you and take you through this
Deployed one is more likely to help you start your list, unless you want to try the TalentLMS plat-
training program sooner. This is due to having form on your own, in which case all you need
less setup and implementation requirements. to do is start by creating your free account.

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