Learning Management Practices that Sabotage Scalability

Organizations that move from managing training manually using spreadsheets or pen and paper to using a learning management system (LMS) invariably see improved efficiency and cost savings. Thrilled with the gains achieved, these organizations often stop short of any further optimization.

If the time needed to manage a specific learning program drops from 100 hours when managed manually to 25 hours managed using a learning management system, it's a cause for celebration. Few people subsequently wonder "what can I do to further reduce the time and effort required to administer these types of learning initiatives?"

The result is that the organization rarely taps into the true power of their learning management system. Just as most of us use only a small subset of features found in office software suites, learning administrators work within their learning management system in inefficient ways that sabotage the scalability of their learning initiatives. Faced with the need to train a large number of learners in a short amount of time, they have no recourse than to add additional administrators.

So how do you know if you're sabotaging the scalability of your learning initiative? Here are some red flags:

OVERALL:

Your processes are focused on individual learners rather than groups of learners
Courses are treated as discrete events, rather than part of learning plans

REGISTRATION:

You're often registering individual learners manually

ENROLLMENT:

You’re manually enrolling learners into courses
When a learner completes a course, you need to manually enroll that learner into the next course
You’re enrolling learners into individual courses even when the course is part of a curriculum
Courses are treated as discrete objects rather than part of learning plans

COMMUNICATIONS:

You’re messaging individual learners one-by-one
You’re often using Outlook or other e-mail programs to communicate with learners
You’re sending out individual messages, instead of template-based e-mails

REPORTING:

You regularly need to repeat the same steps to create a meaningful report
You’re regularly creating reports and manually e-mailing them to people
Even though you’re using a LMS, you find yourself referring to reports you maintain outside of the system

CERTIFICATION:

You’re printing and mailing certificates
You’re manually keeping track of when individual certifications expire
You’re manually sending recertification reminders

NOTE: I'll be providing a Webinar on this topic on Wednesday, January 18 at 2 pm ET as part of HR.com's Technology Enabled Learning online conference.