Communicating the ROI from an LMS

Demonstrating ROI from an LMS to convince key stakeholders of the value of investing in a new learning platform.

Working in a role in which you’re dealing with learning and development on a daily basis, you will instantly know why a learning management system is needed and the value it will bring to your organisation.

For your manager, leadership team and other stakeholders, the proposition might not seem quite so clear-cut. So to convince them to give you the green light — and, crucially, the budget — you need to get your LMS project off the ground, you need to be able to clearly communicate the benefits of an LMS.

When you’re communicating with people who are not L&D professionals and are overseeing spending across your organisation, that is going to have to focus heavily on return on investment (ROI): what financial advantages is your organisation going to achieve as a result of investing in a new LMS?

Quite a lot, actually. It just becomes a case of conveying these benefits effectively to decision-makers. Let’s look at the starting points for a business case that demonstrates the ROI from an LMS.

Key factors in ROI from an LMS

Greater productivity across your organisation

Investing in an LMS meant Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue secured 100 extra days of frontline services for its communities because of the time saved training firefighters. Your organisation could increase the amount of time employees spend doing their jobs by making training something that can be completed remotely and at the most convenient time.

Reduced training costs

An upfront investment in learning technology can actually reduce the overall cost of training. Greater flexibility, automation and efficiency bring down the total spend. Things like venue hire, travel expenses, trainer fees and admin costs are among the things that can be cut. Samsung was able to cut its training costs by 40% using a new LMS, while East Midlands Ambulance Service removed 95% of paper processes associated with its education programme.

Increased speed and agility

New legislation, updated processes or policies, and updates to tools, software machinery or equipment. When something about the way you work changes, an LMS gives the infrastructure to give all employees the training they need swiftly and simultaneously. Western Union saves money and meets its compliance obligations by pushing new directives to its 500,000 agents via its LMS. 

Training third-parties

Your LMS can also deliver value by getting key training and information to external audiences. Your suppliers, customers, partners and resellers are some of the people who could be given training that helps your organisation to cost-effectively meet regulatory requirements or drive sales. Amazon trains its resellers, while Scottish Water trains its suppliers and its customers.

More engagement in training

An LMS that’s right for your organisation’s needs can dramatically increase engagement with training. ACCA increased user engagement by 600% just by improving the design and user experience of its LMS. This has a wide range of knock-on effects that have financial benefits, including better-trained and more productive employees, greater compliance levels, and reduced health and safety risks.  

Better outcomes

An LMS delivers consistent training to all employees. There are no discrepancies based on where an employee is based, an individual trainer’s preferred way of doing things or slightly different delivery on different days. Everyone gets the same information, which consolidates best practices and creates a consistency that will carry through into the outcomes your team achieves. Samsung increased sales by 64% with the help of its LMS.

Improved employee retention rates

Halfords increased its staff retention and made the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list in the period that we made improvements to its LMS. An LMS makes it easier to create the training, career pathways and personal and professional development that make people want to stay with your organisation. This can generate significant savings on costly recruitment costs.

More efficient onboarding

It’s far more cost-effective to onboard new employees with an LMS. Introductory learning and mandatory training can be completed at a time, place and pace that suits each learner. East Midlands Ambulance Service gives new starters early access to its online learning platform, so paramedics and other staff arrive at work ready to go on their first day. This is one of the factors in a 50% reduction in time spent on face-to-face training.

Save your time and resources

Last but not least, a new LMS will help you to get more from your L&D budget. Kuehne + Nagel saved 500,000 hours of time and resources by using its LMS to cut out face-to-face training. That’s before you factor in the savings that come from cutting out or automating time-consuming admin tasks. You’ll be able to focus the time and resources you save on things that have an even bigger impact on your organisation.

Talk to us about increasing ROI from an LMS

Get in touch to discuss maximising the value an LMS generates for your L&D and your organisation as a whole.

Tags