How to Evaluate Learning Management Software for Your Business

Employees are an investment. The more development you give them, the more they can bring to the table. That’s why learning management has become such a huge priority for businesses. There’s no shortage of platforms and services offering to revolutionize your learning and development strategies. The tricky part is picking out the diamonds in the rough. That’s why you need to know how to evaluate learning management software (LMS) effectively.

The role of an LMS

As the name suggests, an LMS is a platform designed to facilitate learning management for your business. It allows training administrators to design and manage courses, and learners to browse available course options and access training materials.

Learning management systems provide vital infrastructure that makes training and education accessible for learners, while allowing administrators to scale their efforts company-wide.

Why choosing the right LMS is essential

While they all do their jobs to some degree, LMS platforms vary widely in quality and available features. To improve learning management in your business, you need an LMS that’s efficient, engaging and user-friendly.

Training and skill level play a key role in employee performance. Despite this, however, the 2024 Skills Research Report from Betterworks found that 78% of organizations had adjusted job requirements due to the lack of sufficiently skilled candidates.

For one thing, this shows that skills gaps are a vital consideration for employers. For another, it’s a reminder that new talent doesn’t usually pop up fully developed. You need to take promising candidates and give them the skills to succeed.

7 things to look for when you evaluate an LMS

Since choosing the right LMS is so important, you should know how to evaluate learning management software properly. Here are seven criteria for evaluating LMS suitability.

1. Ease of use

User-friendliness and accessibility are essential if you want employees to engage with your LMS. Off-putting or outdated UIs aren’t just disengaging, they can disrupt training by being unnecessarily complex.

Modern LMS platforms provide ease-of-use features like centralized dashboards or Microsoft Teams functionality to streamline LMS use. People are more likely to be enthusiastic about training if they aren’t getting frustrated just trying to access it.

2. Scalability is critical when you evaluate learning management software

What works for an SMB or individual team may not work for an enterprise with thousands of staff. For instance, it’s not practical for a small team of training admins to manually manage courses on such a large scale. As a result, modern learning management systems have evolved to include automation features that significantly enhance L&D scalability. These automation tools allow for more efficient management, saving time and resources while supporting the needs of larger organizations.

3. Branding and customization

Appreciating small but experience-improving features is an important part of how to evaluate learning management software.

Some LMS platforms include features for branding-based customization for a more cohesive workplace experience. For instance, Zensai in Microsoft Teams allows administrators to customize Learn365 with logos, color schemes, page layouts and web features.

4. Content compatibility

The more diverse an array of content you can bring to your courses, the better your training. Good learning management systems allow you to import content from other sources. However, the best ones also include access to their own libraries and those of partnered creators.

5. Integration capabilities are key for comparing learning management software

In terms of how to evaluate learning management software, assessing a platform’s integration capabilities is vital. The less an LMS integrates with your existing apps and tools, the more disruptive it can be to use. Plus you miss out on key analytics opportunities.

Case in point, Microsoft HR integrations help people learn in the same environment as their actual workflow, while increased data collection improves engagement monitoring and provides actionable insights.

6. Mobile access

Learning and development are only worth so much if they’re only accessible to your office-based staff. Frontline and deskless workers stand to benefit just as much from education and upskilling.

Luckily, the phones we all carry are more than just glorified selfie-machines. LMS mobile apps help employees to quite literally take learning into their own hands.

7. Data security and compliance is key when you compare LMS’

Compliance is an essential part of how to evaluate learning management software. A typical LMS processes large quantities of learner and business data, which is why they tend to come with at least basic security and access restrictions. The best offer single sign-on (SSO) functionality, as well as more advanced data recovery and security options.

Important features to look for when you evaluate learning management software

Besides the basic criteria, part of how to evaluate learning management software is knowing which features to prioritize. Although this will depend on the nature of your organization, here are four key features to look out for.

1. Reporting and analytics

Reporting and analytics features like those offered by Learn365 play a key role in learning management. Data like enrolment dates, times for and rates of completion, are essential for assessing LMS and course effectiveness. Otherwise, you’re basically operating in the dark.

The best learning management systems streamline analytics with AI, to give you its latest actionable insights in real-time. Systems with fewer reporting and analytics features risk giving you an incomplete picture of learning and development.

2. Gamification

Unfortunately, a lot of stuff we have to learn as part of our jobs isn’t particularly interesting. Gamification is one popular solution. As the name suggests, it takes inspiration from game design to increase learning motivation. Gamification features include:

• Learner levels
• Points systems
• Badges and achievements
• Reward systems
• Competitive scoreboards

3. Personalized learning paths

Personalized learning paths tailor courses to the individual based on needs and ambitions. But you can do more than just personalize course selection. Microsoft Copilot, for example, uses Virtual Instructor-Led Training to provide individual learner experiences.

4. Social learning

Social learning drives motivation by taking advantage of healthy competition and mutual support. Additionally, social learning features take cues from social media by allowing users to share and discuss things like course materials, results and training options with their colleagues.

Cost vs value when you’re comparing learning lanagement software

As with any piece of workplace tech, you have to balance the apparent costs against its potential returns in value. While a more comprehensive LMS may be a serious investment, it’s arguably worth it if it helps coordinate learning management more effectively, especially within existing Microsoft environments.

Costs include things like:

• Subscription fees
• Time and cost of implementation
• System training for employees
• Productivity disruption by training

On the other hand, you must also assess the value of:

• Filling critical skills gaps
• Increasing the value of employee work
• Improved onboarding
• Better succession planning
• Boosting innovation

Final choice and demo tips

Now you know how to evaluate learning management, it’s time to narrow things down. Whether you’re looking for a modern, AI-powered learning solution, or something simpler, you need to make an informed choice.

Before you fully commit, take advantage of the demo scheduling services offered by many LMS providers. These calls are a chance to try out certain features and ask your demo coordinator questions.

Make objective comparisons

The main part of learning management software evaluation is establishing the right criteria. What features can’t you do without, and what design philosophy will suit your people best?

Even making a shortlist of possible solutions is an important step. The important thing is to take your time and investigate your options.