Developing a Learning Management System Business Case

Once the due diligence of market research has been done, it’s time to develop a learning management system business case to define why a learning platform will benefit your employees, contractors, channel partners and organization as a whole.

What Is a Learning Management System Business Case?

The term “business case” is in the vernacular of executives who approve budgets and large expenditures. Since an LMS isn’t cheap, it will likely require the approval of several executives who will want detailed information about what this expenditure is, why it’s necessary, how long it will take to select and implement and what measurable business results can be expected.

A good learning management system business case should be in the language that executives understand and is the quickest way to gain budget approval.

Why Buy a New Learning Management System?

Most likely, your organization is experiencing one of these two scenarios that’s driving the need for a new LMS:

1. The existing LMS is more hindrance than help. This means the old, dull learning management system needs to be replaced because you’re paying too much, getting too little, and doing too many manual, administrative tasks. If you’re getting learner complaints on functionality, have difficulty supporting multiple training audiences (such as customers, partners or global entities), or are spending a lot of time compiling reports, it’s time for a new LMS.
2. There is no system, everything is done manually. It’s time for your first LMS. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can often start out with a spreadsheet system, but quick growth makes manual administration of employee learning unsustainable. The new work-from-home environment, contractors filling in to handle workloads, channel partners or customers who cannot rely on salesperson visits for training are all scenarios driving the need for a first LMS purchase.

No LMS Business Case? Request Denied

It’s tempting to skip the learning management system business case altogether. As a learning professional, perhaps a business case is not in your skillset so it sounds like overkill. Maybe you think it will be easier to discuss in a meeting and come to a consensus. It’s not. You need a business case.

The business case places a knowledge document behind your request for a new learning management system. Yes, the discussion and Q & A will happen, but the document summarizes all the options and details that could be forgotten and keeps the main reasons for this acquisition top-of-mind.

Lack of a business case usually results in many setbacks to the LMS selection process, including:

• A lot of new LMS platform discussion and comparison happens each year, but the budget approval never comes through to move forward with a new LMS purchase.
• Senior management thinks it’s too much trouble and won’t deliver enough benefit to justify switching platforms.
• You’re unable to show a link between measurable business results and the cost of a new learning management system and lose the attention of executives.
• The cost of manual administration and lack of efficiency isn’t specifically quantified, so the LMS acquisition gets put off again as a “nice to have.”

How to Create a Learning Management System Business Case

As you can see, a learning management system business case is necessary! Not only does it help solidify your position on why a new LMS is necessary, but it also helps senior management ask informed questions and select a team to focus on identifying the best learning management system – rather than solely focusing on if an LMS is even needed.

Let’s discuss how to create a business case that will sell senior management on the need for a new LMS.

• Focus on use case – Many learning management systems are designed for certain types of organizations, learners (employees, contractors, channel partners), or training to be implemented. Define and describe details for learners and how you want them to interact with the LMS and content.
• Define your priorities – Odds are, you need a learning management system for both internal and external users. But is it more important to focus on customer training or employee training at this point? Do you need an LMS that can handle both?
• Conduct research within your organization – Talk to other division or department heads about their perspectives on learning and training in your organization, what they think is working well, and where gaps exist and what those gaps cost the organization. Discuss what options they would like in an learning platform, and take time to jot down verbatim quotes to help solidify your business case.
• Conduct market research – Learn what competitors and organizations like yours are doing, achieving, measuring and more. Do they have LMS native integrations? How are they growing online learning? These are great questions to start asking.
• Complete the business case key steps – We’ve created a helpful microlesson for our Premium Members which will take you through the key steps to complete your business case.

There’s a lot more that goes into creating an impressive business case to convince senior management that your organization needs to grow its online learning. And Talented Learning is here to help with two different memberships.