In order to help you navigate your way through the selection process Infinity offer our 10 top tips in what to look for when specifying a Learning Management System:

1. Scaleability First and foremost it is important to consider the scaleability of the product. Consider your audience size now, and in the future and choose a product that can match your numbers and has the ability to scale up easily if required.
2. Ease of use The primary purpose of any LMS is to provide detailed information as and when you and your organisation’s management team need it. Whatever system you choose needs to be easy to understand and user-friendly. New systems are inherently difficult to introduce into companies whether the perceived need is high or not, choosing an LMS that requires user or administrator training serves to add another barrier for busy executives for whom learning is not their key role.
3. Compliance To maximise the return on investment from your LMS you will need to incorporate as much of your learning material as you can. Choosing a system that is SCORM compliant ensures that not only existing materials but also future materials will be easy to incorporate; saving you time and money.
4. Hierachy In a fast-paced commercial world the structures or hierarchies of organisations are often complex and are prone to rapid change due to acquisition, diversification or consolidation. The LMS you choose should be flexible enough to accommodate such change without significant additional programming or investment.
5. Interaction It is important to note that much of the learning that takes place in an organisation is informal on the job and transactional – in the moment knowledge gain. Looking for an LMS that promotes feedback and interaction will enable you to capture frequently asked questions or practical ‘gems’ from co-workers.
6. Communication In addition to accommodating your organisational structure and encouraging learner interaction, an LMS that promotes communication between managers, coaches and subject matter experts will help to ensure that learners receive consistent and timely support. This style of communication also enables functional managers to maintain both the needs of the learner as well as the commercial needs of the organisation.
7. Toolbox Think of an LMS as a ‘learning toolbox’ the more compartments it has for things, albeit small or oddly shaped – the easier they are to find. If your system can support other learning interactions such as video and audio the easier it will be for your learners to find all of the information that they need.
8. Integration Any selection process should of course involve your IT department, although in this day and age it is much easier to integrate technologies or share data than in the past. That said, it makes sense to select from systems that have strong IT functionality i.e. single sign-on; secure registration and the ability to import from your existing HR system.
9. Feedback The popularity of the web and the advent of e-commerce have reinforced the power of the consumer; where individuals are using ratings and comments forums to choose products such as holiday destinations and in some cases the tour operators themselves over glossy brochures and websites. An LMS that offers a feedback and ratings system is likely to gain credibility among learners which in turn will lead to improved engagement.
10. Your brand Employee brands are becoming increasingly important in the role of attraction and retention. A ‘white label’ LMS that can easily be configured to incorporate your brand style provides credibility and identity to the whole learning function.

Downloads: Infinity LMS Specification 1 | Infinity LMS Specification 1