Going Into an LMS Demo? 7 Questions That You Must be Prepared to Ask!

In one of our earlier blogs, we have discussed the ‘9 Questions to Ask Your Vendor Before Selecting an LMS’. If you have read it, you would know that one of the queries is enquiring if your vendor offers a demo or trial of their Learning Management System. However, even when your provider says YES to this question, you should do your research and go prepared with specific questions to shoot at your provider while giving a demo of their eLearning solution. Irrespective of your business sector, company size, or training requirements, it is vital to ask these seven questions during an LMS demo — to understand if the platform is suitable for your organisation.

1. What is the pricing structure?

Your overall budget, which you have set aside for your training needs, determines the price that will be right for you. Make notes of your past spending history regarding corporate learning. Now, calculate how much you are willing to invest in your new LMS. Several LMS solutions like PlayAblo offer flexible pricing, driven by content requirements and the number of learners. During LMS the demo, brainstorm the options and check which features meet your needs and still stay within your budget. Finally, pick a learning solution that makes the most sense.

2. What is the LMS implementation process?

A shift to a new solution will be met by some resistance from your management and teams. Therefore, it is essential first to gauge if your organisation is ready for a new LMS. Now, if you need one, you should take the necessary steps to minimise the scepticism of your workforce.

How? By NOT opting for a platform that has a complicated implementation process. Hence, during the LMS demo, get a clear understanding of the average installation and initial onboarding time for the LMS. When you have completed this process, mimic the procedure for your learner base. Get a heads-up if you will be receiving the provider’s support during the implementation phase. Solutions like PlayAblo will handhold you through the entire set-up process and will not leave you alone to figure out things on your own!

3. What about the LMS’s scaling capabilities?

Any business will grow with time. No organisation that stays stagnant has seen a boost in revenues and sales. Growth means the addition of new employees and new learning materials. Therefore, during the LMS demo, ask your vendor if the solution can scale with you. You should also enquire if the platform allows you to add complex content and learning modules over time. In short, ensure that the LMS you have picked includes the option to incorporate future growth possibilities — both in terms of budget and features.

4. What are the integration features?

For the smooth functioning of your eLearning process and tracking the impact of your online training, your new LMS needs to have integration features. Hence, you should know about these elements before a full-fledged implementation. Only then you can own a comprehensive solution that serves as a part of your company’s learning culture. Else, you will be operating software that simply works in silos!

5. What are the additional benefits included in your LMS

It is always beneficial to question your LMS provider if they offer any extra tools or services along with the solution. During the LMS vendor scouring process, it often becomes overwhelming to pick additional features when there are so many options available. Therefore, your team of experts must equip themselves with the proper know-how to filter the best features from the good ones. Some of the elements you should consider are built-in content creators, virtual classrooms, web-conferencing tools, gamification features, and assessment capabilities.

6. What are the tools to measure learning effectiveness?

During the LMS demo, do not miss out on asking about success metrics. There is no point in investing in an LMS that has no options to measure learning progress. You have to be able to measure online learning success quantitatively. Ask your provider about the metrics that provide to evaluate the effectiveness of your Learning Management System.

With PlayAblo, you can effortlessly demonstrate that learning is a strategic investment. Additionally, our analytical dashboard makes it easy to evaluate and assess corporate training platform and then interlinks it to improvements in employee performance. Also, you can track new knowledge and skillsets acquired by your workforce.

7. Do you support a fully functional pilot?

By now, it is clear that a free LMS demo is a no-brainer. However, it’s even better when your vendor gives you the option to try out a fully functional pilot with support. For example, PlayAblo provides you with the choice of going for an all-inclusive trial. Our team enables you to have a real-time view of how the LMS will function. There are options to view and try online learning sessions — live! What’s more? Our experts also hold training programs to guide you through the entire process.

Conclusion

Indeed, picking the suitable LMS for your organisation is not an easy task. After all, it involves a considerable investment in a platform that will help your employees learn. We hope our above pointers will help you choose the right LMS vendor who can meet all your needs.

PlayAblo is an award-winning cloud-based learning platform that offers multi-device support, microlearning modules, and analytics, gamification among other features.