Elearning Guidance for Finance Directors: How to select the right supplier?

Recently a report by Trimeritus stated that there are 624 different elearning LMS vendors globally, so how do you know which ones are credible or not?

Here are a few tips to help you in the decision-making process:

1. Due Diligence

If you are investing both money and time into the successful implementation of elearning, it’s worth doing a background check on any company you’re looking to work with. You should be asking questions such as:

• How long has your company been trading?
• Can you share your financial results?
• How many developers do you have in total?
• What’s the breakdown of project team vs support?
• Can you meet up with them at their headquarters?

2. Credit Checks

It’s worth looking the company up on websites like Dun and Bradstreet – though this can be at a small fee, it’s worth it for peace-of-mind. You can also get a much more ‘general’ indication of the company’s performance and stability from websites like Hoovers.com and CompanyCheck.co.uk. DueDil.com, a new service, is also quite handy.

3. Quality Standards

If you are setting up an LMS platform, you need to be sure you are in safe hands. You should be asking questions around quality standards, spanning from skills of project teams such as PRINCE2, to data security and company training. It’s absolutely vital that you look into this before signing any contracts. Common quality standards include, ISO9001, ISO27001.

4. Key Partnerships

When selecting a new elearning supplier, look for partnerships they already have in place. Often, if they are part of an official community such as Totara LMS, for example, this stands for quality. Creators of products for elearning such as Totara will only partner with established, credible companies. If you are partnering with a company that is not a reputable partner, you should question more and be sure about your choice.

5. Number of customers and size of contracts managed

This relates to how established the company is, again linking to their experience and validity. If they have managed both small and larger scale elearning projects for tens of thousands of users, you are probably in safe hands. It’s important to know the company can scale as you build out your elearning proposition.

6. References

Nothing speaks more about a company than talking with their existing customers – don’t just ask for one reference, ask for several. Look for a case study in your sector and then chose at least two more in other sectors. This will also give you a different perspective and potential new ideas for growth and future plans.

7. Product Roadmap

If you are investing in both a supplier and a product, you need to know they are investing in it too. Speak to your potential new supplier about the product features and planned roadmap features, ask for details and dates. You should always be thinking about this during the scoping discussion, it will really help frame your plans in line with the products.

Following this advice you’re sure to end up with a reputable partner who’ll create a quality, long lasting LMS. Webanywhere is proud to say we have all of the virtues listed in this blog, and we’re more than happy to talk to you about designing an LMS that fits your needs. To get in touch, fill in the form on  our contact page  and we’ll be in touch.