The pressure is on — businesses are getting more competitive for workers; regulations continue to increase, and expectations are sky-high to deliver ‘the next big thing.’ Corporate training is a lifeline when it comes to addressing these issues. But, have you thought about how sloppy version control can put a real damper on all the hard work your business has put in and set you back?
Time is money and nobody has time to get held up by issues that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Unfortunately, some companies have learned the hard way when they find out after purchasing an expensive LMS that version control is prohibiting their business from,
- Quickly getting new employees on-boarded
- Keeping up with ever-changing regulations
- Being proactive and focusing on the future and innovation
And, certain industries are even more time sensitive as they are on the forefront of change like life sciences, aerospace and manufacturing.
Mounds of SOPs and regulations go hand-in-hand with these industries. So, when it comes to staying in compliance, it’s imperative that version control is dialed in and updates to content can be made quickly and precisely.
So, How Can an LMS Help with Version Control?
There are a few areas that must come together to ensure all content is the most up-to-date and current.
1. Centralized Content Management. People work in different offices, departments and countries so it’s easy to have multiple versions of an SOP or piece of content floating around. If you can’t find or authorize that the right version is being used it only slows the process down. Centralizing content will be crucial to devising an efficient system.
2. Easy Collaboration with Flexible Permissions. Chances are multiple people will be involved with getting content approved and/or updated. There shouldn’t be any obstacles for workers to collaborate.
3. Seamless Integration. Content is of no use if it can’t be exported easily into the LMS and consequent learning paths. Be sure the LMS also accepts multiple types of content – e.g. SCORM, videos, PowerPoint.
4. Automation. When there are large amounts of content that needs to be uploaded quickly, automation is a non-negotiable. Not only will it expedite the process but remove human error. This is important for highly regulated industries.
5. Simple Processes. When time is of the essence, it’s not productive to mess around with complicated methods. Dialed in processes will help simplify and expedite things. For instance, an administer should be able to update an SOP once and have it update throughout the entire system. This means it also will send reminders to employees to remind them there is a new piece of learning material that must be taken or re-taken.
The Selection Process
Choosing a learning management system requires considering all the details...content being one of them.
Depending on your position within the LMS selection team, you might want to know more about how SMEs work on a piece of content and how to ensure they’re all working from the most current version.
If you’re the CEO, you’ll want to dig in deeper on the questions that explain how efficient the LMS works when it comes to content and version control.
- Can it handle large amounts of data?
- How quickly can new content be added and how that will affect the efficiency of current on-boarding or compliance methods?
- Are there options for customized content and what kind of turnaround is there?
Everyone on the LMS selection team will have a different perspective on content and how it should be handled with the LMS. Be sure that all viewpoints are noted and brought to the discussion table.
Even better, write down use cases that can better explain what you need so the vendor can explain in further detail how they would address the issues.
Choosing the right LMS should bring with it a host of benefits that will propel your business to reach its goals. Content is such an important piece of the puzzle. And, when it fits seamlessly into learning programs, you'll experience faster on-boarding, better compliance and more time to focus on the big picture. So, be sure to think about version control during the selection process.
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