5 Things to Consider After Your LMS Launch

When you are implementing a learning management system, your preparations and planning are focused on getting to go-live. Going to launch is cause for celebration. Kick back and relax for a minute – but only for a minute. The real work has just begun.

Everyone has minor issues after a technology launch, but the tension of the moment magnifies them. By following the procedures you established with your team, you can make post-launch go smoothly. The work you did so far prepared you well for what is coming. You are more prepared than you might think.

Readiness Checklist

If you have used the Pixentia methodology, you have the right procedures in place. Use these indicators as a checklist to be sure you are ready.

1. Your enterprise learning strategy is in place. It supports your workforce strategy, and your workforce strategy supports the business strategy. You completed one of the most important milestones in the plan – your new technology will help you grow your workforce and adapt to the future.
2. The team you built in your lms implementation is the core of experts who will carry your learning strategy and change management efforts forward.
3. Governance and decision-making processes you put in place will continue to make issue resolution a routine part of everyday work and keep problems from becoming crises. Issues you handled up to this point are the proof you can manage whatever comes your way.
4. Your change management effort is well underway and will continue as you adapt to changing business conditions. Your communication team understands its work will never end.
5. The support team is ready and knows how to turn a negative experience into a positive.
6. You are monitoring and reporting on the efficiency and impact measures of your project and your learning programs.

Post-Launch Issues

We can’t anticipate every challenge in an LMS launch, but a few things are common to most instances. Here is a short list with a few recommendations for handling them. 

Disillusionment

No perception of the future is perfect. There will be a disconnect between expectations and reality. Sometimes users will have unrealistic expectations.

The prime antidote will be open communication.

• Prepare your support staff. implementation team, testers (who are now champions), and early adopters to change the conversation.

• Provide and promote a feedback system. Use a private social network like Yammer, Chatter, Zyncro, or a SharePoint site, with a direct link from the LMS home page. Monitor it and respond.

Overreaction

When a technical problem occurs, users may overreact. This is normal behavior you can de-escalate quickly by anticipating the reaction and remaining calm. We have found good humor to be an effective antidote. Every organization is different, and humor may not work for you.

Resistance to Change

In every organization, some people are slow to adopt changes. A natural tendency when people are under stress is to revert to old ways of doing things. Be open to suggestions, but remember if you allow people to return to old ways, they will. Walk them through the new process.

A small number of people may resist. They may even work against the change. You will find that technology is not the cause of the resistance; there will be other factors at work. Prepare managers and supervisors to deal directly with active resistance. We believe a direct approach is best: we have a new way of doing things -- are you with us?

Support Challenges

No matter how well you prepare your support staff, they will encounter challenges. Help them understand there will be an adjustment period. Prepare them for the challenges and make sure you help the helpers. Each challenge is an opportunity to learn so you can serve the next user better.

Configuration Errors

No matter how hard you tried to avoid them, you will need to make configuration adjustments. Use them as opportunities to learn. How well you navigate these challenges will depend on how well you prepare your users.

Enlist your users in the discovery. Encourage them to use your feedback system and support procedures to get problems resolved right away. Repeat the process every time you introduce a change.

When a user points out an issue, let everyone know who found the problem and helped fix it. You could even award badges to people who alert to and resolve problems.

Summary

We doubt you will experience a unique problem. The issue may be new to you, but at least some of the thousands of LMS customers probably had the experience. You can rely on the User Community, your implementation partner, and your support provider to help you through.

Phenomecloud is a full-service technology company dedicated to helping clients solve business problems, improve the capability of their people, and achieve better results.