Suffering from LMS dissatisfaction? You're not alone. Learning management systems (LMSs) are sometimes something of a disappointment, it turns out. According to "Training Efficiency: Optimizing Learning Technology," a recent study from outsource services provider Expertus, conducted in collaboration with Training Industry, Inc., the most frequently cited challenges or obstacles in using LMS functionalities to increase efficiency are lack of integration and inflexible reporting capabilities.
And these two concerns are nothing new. Interestingly, they also were reported among the biggest problems in learning measurement in a June 2007 Expertus and Training Industry, Inc., study. Without effective reporting and system integration, this latest study points out, it is difficult to provide internal stakeholders with meaningful metrics about the impact of training on the business. Instead, training departments must rely on volume and activity-based metrics (e.g., courses, hours, registrations, or test scores).
As frustrated as you may be with your LMS, there may be another culprit behind your learning woes—you're just not optimizing the way you should."An LMS should serve as the hub for efficient practices within a learning organization, but we increasingly are seeing how organizations underutilize or are frustrated by LMS capabilities," says Mohana Radhakrishnan, vice president of client services for Expertus. "However, in many cases, it's not actually LMS issues, it is lack of optimization."