E-learning and LMS blog articles

Are you looking to maximise the performance of your learning and development strategy? If you’re planning on implementing an LMS, you’re on the right track. But how do you begin the process of choosing the best learning platform?

TL;DR: How to Choose an LMS - 5 Critical Overlooked Factors

Bottom Line: Don't just focus on features and price - these 5 overlooked factors determine LMS success or failure.

The 5 Game-Changing Considerations:

Scalability - Ensure your LMS grows with your organisation through variable user capacity and multi-tenancy support
Enhanced UX - Prioritise intuitive interfaces for both learners and administrators to maximise engagement and reduce admin time
System Compatibility - Choose platforms that integrate seamlessly with existing HR software, Microsoft Teams, and offer mobile accessibility
Vendor Support & Training - Select providers offering comprehensive training resources, video libraries, and ongoing technical support
Advanced Analytics - Look beyond basic reporting to detailed insights on completion rates, learner progress, and program effectiveness

Key Takeaway: Most organisations make LMS selection mistakes by overlooking these critical factors, leading to poor adoption, limited ROI, and costly platform changes within 2-3 years.

Action Step: Evaluate potential LMS vendors against all 5 criteria, not just immediate feature needs, to ensure long-term training program success.

Expert Insight: With 20+ years of UK LMS experience, Hubken recommends prioritising scalability and UX over flashy features for sustainable learning technology investments.

UK businesses ultimately select their ideal learning technology by ensuring any LMS solution aligns with their strategic objectives, work seamlessly with current systems, and provide an intuitive user experience. These companies perform comprehensive requirement analyses, assess supplier expertise and capabilities, and weigh ongoing costs and support needs before committing to a platform.

1. Needs Assessment and Alignment with Business Goals

• Identify specific learning needs
• Focus on the business outcomes - prioritise on learning platforms that can demonstrably improve performance, productivity or other key metrics

2. Evaluate LMS Options

• User experience and accessibility
• Integration with existing systems
• Scalability and flexibility
• Vendor evaluation - track record, experience, support, costs, training, etc.
• Costs of ownership (initial investment, ongoing maintenance, potential hiddent costs)

3. Implementation and Adoption

• Time to implement and go live - consider communication, training, and support for admin and users
• Track and learn - gather data on user engagement to measure effectiveness of the chosen LMS

A learning management system (LMS) is the best way to deliver high-quality training opportunities for your learners while supporting a number of organisational needs and objectives across all business functions. However, there are a lot of LMSs to choose from, which can make finding the right system a daunting task.

When distinguishing one platform from another, many L&D professionals fall into the same trap of focusing their full attention on basic features and price. But there are other factors to consider here, all of which can play a significant role in the effectiveness of your L&D programme in the long run. Let’s delve into five of these important considerations that are often overlooked when determining how to choose an LMS.

1. Scalability

Throughout the selection process, most organisations will consider whether the system offers the functionality required to fulfil current needs and align with objectives but fail to consider potential growth and future goals. It’s important to find an LMS that can successfully scale with your organisation and support increased usage without affecting the quality of training opportunities.

In our free eBook, How to Choose a Learning Platform, chapter four focuses on the importance of evaluating whether a platform will grow with organisational needs. The chapter explores key points such as increasing user levels, extending L&D opportunities outside the organisation and adding new features and functionality. Does your potential LMS support these considerations by offering a variety of user bandwidths or multi-tenancy functionality? Failing to consider the potential for scalability can put you in a difficult position further down the line when your organisation has outgrown its LMS’s capabilities so be sure to check these boxes now rather than later.

2. Enhanced UX

To produce the best L&D outcomes, your learners need to be motivated and engaged. But even with the most effective courses featuring highly interactive content and motivational elements such as badges and leaderboards, a poor user experience (UX) can undermine all your efforts.

When choosing an LMS, UX should be a top priority if you want your users to get the most out of the platform. For learners, this means a seamless and intuitive interface that streamlines the learning process and prevents them from wasting time trying to find relevant content and courses. Our Totara LMS has been exclusively designed with a customisable top banner display featuring elements such as course summary, course completion, and course tags – making it easy for learners to measure their progress and identify what needs to be completed.

The UX is also just as important for administrators, so be sure to choose a system that will streamline administrative tasks and encourage employees to take advantage of the features and functionality that will ultimately cut down on time spent on manual admin.

3. Compatibility

To boost the ROI of your chosen LMS and ensure that it successfully aligns with wider company goals and objectives, compatibility is key. Compatibility allows your LMS to seamlessly weave into all functions within the organisation, serving as a centralised platform that fulfils a number of business needs.

Whether it’s integrating with your current HR software or Microsoft Teams, choosing a highly compatible LMS that compliments existing software and supports the crossover of business functions will drastically improve its usability.

It’s also important to consider whether your LMS can be accessed on a range of devices without impacting the learning experience. Choosing an LMS with mobile functionality allows your learners to access training materials anywhere and at any time, a feature that is particularly beneficial for remote employees or students.

4. Support and training

One of our top tips for how to choose an LMS is not to get completely caught up in the snazzy features and futuristic tools. Although it’s exciting to think about how your organisation could benefit from them, have you considered whether your employees and users possess the technical ability required to take full advantage of them? If not, you’ll want to find an LMS provider that minimises the learning curve by offering training and support.

For example, with our HubkenCore package, our clients can benefit from a comprehensive video library, unlimited administrative support, and the opportunity to purchase bespoke online training sessions for deeper product knowledge – minimising downtime and enabling users to take full advantage of LMS functionality as a result. Find out more about our training and support services here.

5. Analytics and reporting software

Have you considered the importance of LMS reports and analytics? While basic functionality such as assessment result reports may be on your radar, there is so much more to consider here. Look for an LMS that offers detailed and automated reporting functionality that provides insights on areas such as course completion rates, learner progress, and sign-on rates. With this information at your fingertips, you can easily analyse and measure the efficiency of your L&D programmes.

Need more help? Speak to one of our experts

Finding the perfect solution for your organisation is no mean feat but with support from an experienced LMS provider, the process will be much easier – trust us, we’ve been one of the UK’s leading LMS providers for over 20 years. Get in touch today to chat with one of our experts and find out why a Hubken solution could put an end to your search. Or if you’re looking for more advice on how to choose an LMS, download our free step-by-step guide.