{"id":40547,"date":"2022-11-24T21:31:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T21:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/articles\/how-to-make-your-lms-fit-into-your-organization\/"},"modified":"2024-08-02T20:49:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T20:49:23","slug":"how-to-make-your-lms-fit-into-your-organization","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/articles\/how-to-make-your-lms-fit-into-your-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make your LMS fit into your organization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For many organizations, a learning management system<\/a> (LMS) will be the biggest investment in their entire learning strategy. When you\u2019re spending a significant chunk of your learning budget on an LMS, you want to make sure you\u2019re maximizing your ROI.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many organizations get lured into using an unsuitable LMS with a long list of eye-catching features, an appealing discount or vendor promises that sound too good to be true. Well, guess what\u2026 they usually are.<\/p>\n

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring six ways to make your LMS work for you and your organization. This week, we\u2019re focusing on how to ensure the LMS you choose molds to your organization, and how to get the look and feel right.<\/p>\n

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Can’t wait?<\/h3>\n

Download our guide, \u201c6 things that will kill your LMS\u2026 and 3 companies that did it right\u201d<\/em> for practical tips to build an LMS that suits your organization\u2019s unique requirements.<\/p>\n

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GET YOUR COPY<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ensure your LMS molds to your organizatio<\/h3>\n

Every organization has its quirks. From the most traditional, family-run businesses to dynamic new Silicon Valley startups, every business has its own way of working – and learning. From your workflows to your processes and even the roles within your learning and HR team, your organization is different – and that\u2019s something to be embraced. That difference is your competitive edge. That’s why when it comes to your LMS, adaptable is better<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To ensure that your LMS molds to your organization, there are three questions to ask your learning vendor<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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  1. Do you understand our organization\u2019s unique needs?<\/strong>
    \tIf your learning vendor is trying to push you into adopting an LMS out of the box, it\u2019s likely they don\u2019t fully understand the ins and outs of your organization, and may try to cut corners to fit your needs into the existing software.<\/li>\n
  2. Are you as invested in the success of this implementation as we are?<\/strong>
    \tFind yourself a vendor that really cares about your success. Ask them to demonstrate how they will meet those specific needs, rather than accept their word or roadmap promise.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  3. How easy is it to change or add new features, functionality and setup options within the system?<\/strong>
    \tAs your business needs and circumstances change, so too will your learning needs. Knowing upfront if you can easily add or change features and functionality within your LMS could save you a whole lot of time and money further down the line.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Make your LMS look and feel uniquely yours<\/h3>\n

    Your learners trust you as an organization, and count on you to provide them with quality learning content. While you may think that as long as the content itself is high quality, the appearance doesn\u2019t matter, this is far from the truth. A consistent, cohesive brand puts learners at ease and makes your learning appear more trustworthy, which ultimately enhances the learner experience.<\/p>\n

    Branding goes deeper than just slapping a logo and your brand colors on an out-of-the-box LMS, though. It\u2019s about creating a seamless, instantly recognizable space for your learners, which includes things like site navigation, the art style and even the icons you use. A generic LMS will inevitably feel like \u201cjust another system,\u201d which will create an uphill battle for you in terms of engagement and driving usage. Getting\u00a0your LMS theming<\/a> right can spell the difference between great engagement and a system that gathers dust.<\/p>\n

    To make sure your LMS looks and feels like it’s part of your organization, these are the two questions you must ask your vendor:<\/p>\n

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    1. To what extent can branding or design be applied to the LMS?<\/strong>
      \tDifferent learning management systems support different levels of branding and design. At the most basic level, this might mean adding your logo to the top corner and adding your brand colors. At the more sophisticated end, you can make your LMS look like an extension of your brand\u2019s website or intranet, with a custom navigation, icons, terminology and graphics. Find out where on this spectrum your chosen LMS sits to find out how you can make your LMS look and feel uniquely yours.<\/li>\n
    2. What layout and look-and-feel changes can we apply after launch?<\/strong>
      \tYour branding won\u2019t stay the same forever. The last thing you want is to design your LMS to perfectly match your existing website, only to have your marketing team announce a giant rebranding project three months later. It may not be this extreme – you may simply need to update imagery to match a new campaign or swap a color palette for accessibility reasons. Either way, ideally your LMS look and feel won\u2019t be \u201clocked in\u201d when you launch – you will most likely need the freedom to make updates and freshen up the visuals as time progresses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Hopefully we\u2019ve given you a flavor of how you can procure and design the perfect LMS for your organizatio<\/a>. Check back next week to find out why ensuring your LMS integrates into your technology infrastructure is so vital, and how to break free from your vendor\u2019s roadmap.<\/p>\n

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      Want to know more?<\/h3>\n

      Sign up for our webinar with Josh Bersin and Lars Hyland on April 21st to find out how you can build an adaptable organization through people, processes and technology.<\/p>\n

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      SIGN UP NOW<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"template":"","tax\/tags":[],"tax\/solutions":[],"tax\/topics":[],"tax\/industries":[],"tax\/article-types":[1021],"class_list":["post-40547","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/40547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/tags?post=40547"},{"taxonomy":"solution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/solutions?post=40547"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/topics?post=40547"},{"taxonomy":"industry-tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/industries?post=40547"},{"taxonomy":"article-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.totara.fortyapp.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tax\/article-types?post=40547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}