How to Select the Best System for Employee Training and Development

As businesses grow, managing employee training becomes increasingly complex. A Learning Management System (LMS) can simplify this by centralizing training, tracking progress, and providing insightful reporting on employee development. For small and scaling businesses, selecting the right LMS is crucial for managing growth while staying efficient and cost-effective.

This guide will walk you through how to choose the best LMS for your business. You’ll learn about key features to consider, the importance of scalability, and how to assess affordability. Additionally, we’ll highlight some affordable LMS platforms, such as TalentLMS, LearnUpon, and Docebo, that offer robust solutions tailored to growing teams.

An LMS is more than just a training platform—it’s a tool that supports your business’s growth by helping you develop your employees’ skills efficiently. As your business expands, so do the training needs of your team. Without the right system in place, it can become increasingly difficult to track progress, manage different training programs, and ensure employees are developing the necessary skills for their roles.

Choosing the right LMS allows your company to:

• Streamline Training Management: With all training activities in one platform, you can easily manage and assign courses, track employee progress, and analyze learning data.
• Track Employee Development: An LMS can help you monitor individual performance, skill gaps, and certification status, ensuring that employees meet key development goals.
• Ensure Scalability: As your business grows, the right LMS can scale with you, offering additional features and accommodating more users without needing to switch systems.

The first step in selecting an LMS is to clearly define your business’s training and development needs. What are the goals you want to achieve through training, and how will you measure success? Consider both your immediate needs and long-term objectives as your business grows.

1. Identify Learning Goals: Determine what you want to accomplish with your training program. For example, are you focusing on onboarding, compliance training, upskilling, or leadership development? Each of these objectives may require different LMS functionalities.
2. Assess Current Challenges: What challenges are you currently facing in employee development? Is it difficult to track progress, manage certifications, or keep up with training updates? Identifying these pain points will help you prioritize key features in your LMS search.
3. Consider Your Growth Plan: As your business scales, will your LMS need to support more users, teams, or departments? Ensure the platform you choose can accommodate the growing size and complexity of your organization.

Once you’ve outlined your business needs, it’s time to identify the core features your LMS should offer. The right LMS should balance functionality with ease of use, allowing you to manage and track employee training without unnecessary complexity.

• Tracking and Reporting: The LMS should provide robust tracking capabilities, allowing you to monitor employee progress through courses, measure learning outcomes, and generate reports. These insights help you identify who is excelling and who may need additional support.
• Scalability: Choose an LMS that grows with your business. Look for a platform that can accommodate more users, teams, and advanced features as your company expands.
• Mobile Access: With more employees working remotely or in flexible environments, mobile access is critical. Ensure the LMS supports training on mobile devices, enabling employees to complete courses on the go.
• Course Creation and Customization: Whether you’re offering in-house training or third-party courses, the LMS should allow you to upload or create custom content. Look for features that support multimedia integration (videos, quizzes, and interactive modules) to keep learning engaging.
• Certification and Compliance Management: If your business needs to track certifications or ensure compliance with industry regulations, the LMS should offer tools for tracking certification status, generating compliance reports, and setting reminders for recertification.

• Gamification: Engaging employees in their training through gamification (leaderboards, badges, and rewards) can increase participation and motivation.
• Integration with Other Systems: If you’re using other HR or talent management software, ensure the LMS integrates seamlessly to streamline processes and data sharing.

No matter how feature-rich an LMS is, it won’t be effective if it’s difficult to use. Both administrators and employees should be able to navigate the system easily. A simple, intuitive interface will encourage employees to engage more with their learning materials and help administrators manage training more efficiently.

1. Test the User Interface: During your demo or trial period, if available, pay attention to the layout and design of the LMS. Can employees easily find courses? Are administrators able to create reports and manage content without confusion?
2. Check for Support and Training: Even the most intuitive systems require some level of onboarding. Does the LMS provider offer tutorials, customer support, and training for administrators? These resources can reduce the learning curve and help your team get the most out of the platform.

For small and scaling businesses, it’s essential to select an LMS that not only meets current needs but can grow alongside your company. Additionally, keeping costs manageable is critical, especially when working with a limited budget.

As your business expands, you’ll likely need to train more employees and potentially add new departments or locations. The LMS you choose should offer the flexibility to scale, whether that’s adding more users, incorporating advanced features, or supporting multi-team management.

LMS pricing structures vary widely, with some charging per user, per course, or based on the number of features you need. It’s important to select a platform that offers the right balance of features and affordability. Look for transparent pricing with plans that accommodate small teams and can expand without becoming cost-prohibitive.

Now that you know what to look for in an LMS, here are some affordable platforms that offer robust features and scalability for small and scaling businesses:

• Best For: Small to mid-sized businesses looking for a scalable, easy-to-use platform.
• Key Features: TalentLMS offers customizable learning paths, course creation tools, reporting, certification tracking, and gamification. It’s known for its simplicity and intuitive interface, making it ideal for small teams with limited technical resources.
• Pricing: Starts at $59/month for up to 40 users.

• Best For: Businesses needing advanced reporting and multi-team management.
• Key Features: LearnUpon supports large-scale employee development with features like detailed reporting, course management, and integration with other HR systems. It’s well-suited for businesses looking to grow their training programs.
• Pricing: Custom pricing based on features and the number of users.

• Best For: Companies seeking a robust platform with AI-powered learning tools.
• Key Features: Docebo provides a highly customizable platform with AI-driven recommendations, course creation tools, and strong reporting capabilities. It also integrates with numerous third-party systems, making it a great choice for scaling businesses.
• Pricing: Custom pricing based on company size and needs.

Before making your final decision, take advantage of free trials or demos offered by most LMS platforms. Testing the platform with real data or a few employees allows you to see how it works in practice and identify any potential limitations.

1. Set Up a Demo or Trial with Core Features: Focus on the features that are most important for your business, such as tracking, reporting, and course management.
2. Collect Feedback from Users: Have a few employees test the LMS and provide feedback on their experience. Was the interface easy to use? Could they navigate courses and track progress easily?
3. Compare Pricing and Scalability: Compare different pricing plans and assess how well each LMS can scale with your business. Choose the platform that offers the best balance of cost and long-term value.

Selecting the best LMS for tracking employee training and development is crucial for supporting your company’s growth. By identifying your business’s specific training needs, prioritizing key features like scalability and ease of use, and testing affordable platforms, you can choose a solution that not only fits your current operations but also evolves with your company.

With the right LMS in place, your business will be able to streamline training, ensure compliance, and track employee development—ultimately building a more skilled and engaged workforce.

Need help selecting the right LMS for your business? Contact HR Launcher Lab for expert guidance on choosing and implementing the best solution for your team’s training and development needs!