Is Changing The LMS Worth It?
An LMS is an important tool for any company today. But problems arise when it no longer serves its purpose. That’s when a company needs to replace it. What are the signs a company gets before replacing an LMS? A company must also think about the money it has already invested in the LMS before changing it. The company has spent many person-hours in integrating various plug-ins. Now, with a new LMS, the company has to transfer the content from the old LMS to the new LMS. The buyers don’t know when to replace the LMS. They don’t know whether the new LMS will meet their needs. First, they have to analyze the symptoms of the bad LMS.
When there are problems with an LMS, the vendor is the one to blame. They might have overadvertised. They may have talked about features that don’t exist. They may also refuse to work on the LMS after it has been sold (i.e., they don’t fulfil all the promises made at the time of sales). A company must change the LMS when it sees the following warning signs:
Warning Signs You Should Change Your LMS
Lack Of Integrations
The vendor does not have enough support staff, whom you need during any problem. It’s problematic when you have to make changes to your LMS without any help from the vendor. Of course, you can get help from the internet, but that is time-consuming. Every LMS buyer requires some crucial services. That’s why they need vendor assistance. The LMS should have properties like support for customers, that they should be allowed to access when they face problems with products. Many plug-ins and features are required in an LMS, such as localization and marketing support which is about sending automated emails from the software to prospects and customers. A company can’t waste time on adding plug-ins to an LMS. Therefore, a vendor should be ready on time to help the company do such tasks. Lack of customer education could be a reason companies want to get rid of their current LMS vendor.
Lack Of Customer Education
With the LMS vendors offering customer education, companies have a tough choice ahead of them. Customer education helps buyers know which LMS is better for them. If customer education is provided, they can have better performance. The companies are investing money in this domain. Companies can now see the ROI of the LMS, which was not so easy. The LMS can now be used to impart training of various types, such as Instructor-Led Training and hybrid training.
No Training Management System
Some LMSs are perfect for organizing training because they have been paired with a training management system. Through this software, the company can manage the location and the number of attendees at training. It can also store other elements of training such as hotel accommodation and meals for attendees. So, if your LMS does not offer this feature, it’s time to change it. The LMS must also have features that help in assessments before a company invests in it. Although LMSs can grant certifications based on summative and formative assessments, it must also provide Virtual Reality (VR) assessments to learners so that they can show what they have learned. The learners can get certifications once they can prove their mastery of the acquired skills through the VR simulation. So, the LMS must have the facility for integrating such simulations. Many LMSs in the market are capable of such kind of integration. So, a company willing to change its LMS must not compromise on this factor.
Integration With AI
An LMS must have AI capabilities so that buyers can benefit from advantages like personalized course ideation and curation, easy translation, and the handling of training events. There are many ways in which you can create content through AI in an LMS. So, if your LMS does not have such capabilities, you are losing out. AI can help in planning content and developing it.
Integration With Video Conferencing
LMSs can also be used in the integration of video conferencing tools through which people can communicate easily. So, an LMS that cannot be integrated with other LMSs or communication tools is not fully serving its purpose, and it’s time to change it.
An LMS could have other problems that make it obsolete for use. There could be a lot of downtime, making users frustrated. Also, the vendor may not be providing enough support in terms of training. There also might not be any scope for offline learning in the LMS, so the users always have to stay online to watch the content.
Other Problems
Data visualization is a necessary feature of an LMS, that lets the management get reports about all learners. When an LMS does not provide such support, the management can’t check how many users are using the system and whether an LMS is worth its costs or not, or when the LMS does not provide enough value and requires downtime for maintenance. This maintenance is the vendor’s job, and when they are doing nothing about it the company cannot introduce upgrades in the LMS. The company can do such upgrades, but the LMS should not be expensive. Gamification is an essential feature of an LMS because it’s used to check the learner’s capabilities. A company should also be able to integrate LMS with social media to get the best out of it. Users can communicate through them in the LMS or share their content on social media. So, when an LMS lacks such features, it should be changed.
Editor’s Note: Check out our directory to find, choose, and compare eLearning Industry’s Top LMS Software.
Creativ Technologies
We provide niche elearning solutions to corporate clients. Our company also provides LMS administration services. We are experts in Blended Learning, Mobile Learning and Web Based Training