The art and science of LMS selection with Filip Lam
为你的公司选择合适的学习管理系统就是要找到一个能分享你的经验的合作伙伴 学习愿景. But there are hundreds of LMS vendors out there. How do you know who’s going to really partner with you? Who is excited to solve the challenges that your business faces, and 创造新的东西?
There’s no better person to answer these questions than Filip Lam, Head of People Growth 在艾伦. I’ve experienced Filip’s work in action. 他对数据和用户需求的承诺，以及对L&D, leads to future-proof tech decisions. I talked to him about how to find consumer-grade tech for learning, how to use data to make your decisions, and what exactly is partnerability?
Zero in on tech and talent
丽塔:你说过根据用户体验和团队的才能来选择产品同样重要——为什么呢?
菲利普: There are two main reasons. 首先，我们都习惯了在家里使用惊人的科技，而在工作中却使用老式的科技.
对我来说，我们在工作中使用的软件应该符合我们在家里使用的标准. When I look at what’s available today in learning technology, I often find I’m not happy with what’s on offer. 我想知道LMS提供商正在提供当今最好的软件, 并将在未来继续跟上消费级标准.
Secondly, buying a learning solution is a lot like hiring people. When you’re hiring, you have a business need. So you look for a certain profile of a person. 你写下你希望这个人负责的具体工作要求. You consider what is needed for the job now. But you also have to be ready for how this person's job will evolve. 所以，你看他们的个性，智力和其他属性. 你必须相信每个人都有能力解决问题和不确定性. 你赌的是天赋.
It’s the same with technology providers. I want to partner with companies who share my values. I want a partner who will complement me in areas that I'm not good at. And then we can work together to build something that will 改变行业. 您应该选择一家乐于开发LMS软件以适应您未来需求的公司.
顾客说话，L&D听
丽塔:在LMS的选择过程中，你应该在什么时候和你的客户交谈? And by customers, I mean learners.
菲利普: 我把它翻过来. I use the need for an LMS implementation as an opportunity to solve 实际业务问题. I’ve tied in my project with another team’s ongoing project.
例如，在之前的一家公司，我们需要一种更好的方式来招募工程师. Working with their team meant that, as L&D, 我们立即得到了工程部和人力资源部的回复，询问他们是如何找到一个学习系统的——他们是否喜欢这个平台? 有帮助吗?? 很愉快吗?? Are the LMS features relevant to their work?
Imagine asking someone from HR to respond to my request ‘Hey! Hypothetically, would you find this platform useful for onboarding?’. It’s highly likely that your HR colleagues are already at max capacity. Think about it from their point of view: your request puts the burden of additional work on them; it is a thought experiment that is not integrating into their daily work. It’s not taking their pain away.
结合 实际业务问题 with an LMS pilot shows everyone that L&D is an integral part of the business. 以人力资源和工程为例:假设你有一个想要演示的LMS. Set up an onboarding pathway that HR can use when new Engineers start. 这种方式, you can learn how HR feels about the platform, in addition to trying to make their lives easier. You’re not asking them to add to their workload.
如果你这样做, 测试学习平台成为同事优先考虑的一部分，因为它解决了他们现在遇到的问题. It will be an accurate reflection of learner engagement.
After you’ve made a good shortlist of 潜在的LMS提供商包括你的客户. 就这么简单.
让数据来说明问题
Rita: You’re a big believer in making data-driven decisions. Can you tell us about how you test your platforms with your employees, and why that leads to a more reliable choice?
菲利普: To select an LMS, you need to know how employees really feel about it. 在艾伦, 我们想知道我们选择的平台是否会对用户体验产生重大影响. 所以我们进行了A/B测试，即在两个不同的LMS系统中创建培训课程. 其中之一就是萨那.
我们问了这样的问题:“如果你要评价这个工具，你会给它打多少分??，“你会把这个工具推荐给朋友吗?”，以及“你觉得这个工具有多直观??’ We also asked people if they found the tool to be delightful. 这听起来是个奇怪的问题，但我们希望与人们喜爱的消费级技术合作.
We also wanted to create a collaborative learning culture. 这个问题让我们的用户告诉我们他们喜欢哪些工具. If a tool is delightful to use, 当你试图建立这种新的学习文化时，这是一个很大的优势. 这个问题表明，有一个平台一直被课程内容创作者评为更高.
We took a different approach with our learners. We didn’t ask them what they thought about the training content. 我们问他们是否觉得培训很好，以及他们觉得培训有多吸引人.
我们在两个lms中使用了相同的内容、相同的图片和相同的文本. And all our learners preferred 萨那.
Partnerability – Filip’s secret success tactic
Rita: Okay, so now we know why data matters. 你能告诉我更多关于伙伴关系是什么以及为什么它对你如此重要吗?
菲利普: 伙伴关系意味着LMS提供商将如何与我的公司合作解决我们的问题. It matters because I need to know how important our success is to them, and how much say we can have on their product roadmap.
我们一致认为，选择供应商就像雇佣新员工:你押注的是人才. It’s the same with a potential provider: how talented are their people? 这一点很重要，因为它会影响供应商打造令人惊叹的产品的速度，以及他们雇佣其他人才的速度. 在我看来，这与团队的才能和努力程度直接相关.
If there is an area where a provider is a little bit lacking – say, 例如, 他们的分析页面不够好——询问供应商是否可以构建它. Building a new integration isn’t the problem, but it’s a lot harder to rebuild a tech stack, or completely change the user experience.
When we see room for improvement, we expect someone to listen to us. 例如, 在艾伦, 我们需要跟踪每个人的工作时间，因为从监管的角度来看，这是必要的. It’s not important to everyone, but that feature would make us 法律上的. 我们希望我们的合作伙伴与我们进行坦诚的对话，我们在他们的路线图上.
Finally, we needed to find a partner who shares our values. 在艾伦, we are highly focused on customer experience. 我们需要一个供应商谁将继续优化他们的用户体验 得到客户的喜爱. 以那种方式, our mission is supported and shared by our partners, allowing us to live true to our values.
一个充满人才和共同的进步文化的供应商是非常合适的.
Product-led, partnership-driven
Rita: You believe that product-first providers are the best providers. 这是为什么?? And how do you tell if a provider is truly product-focused?
菲利普: 我相信产品至上的公司，因为他们真正关心客户的意见. If the product isn’t working, they will roll it ‘back’. 他们想要改进它.
您可以通过与产品人员会面来判断提供商是否真正以产品为中心. Their number one focus is to take note of criticism. 即使他们对此无能为力，他们也必须知道，因为他们在乎. 很明显, everyone in business is invested in securing more sales, but a product-first provider cares about the details. They're interested in that discussion.
Some product people are happy meeting with us; others aren't. 真正关心客户反馈的产品团队认为与潜在客户交谈是一种特权, 或者一个真正的客户. They'll take note of everything.
Don’t leave the roadmap to chance
Rita: Why do you ask to see a vendor’s roadmap when selecting an LMS?
菲利普: The roadmap shows me where the company wants to go. 作为潜在的合作伙伴, 看到路线图可以更好地理解供应商的愿景和他们的价值. It'll show you what they have prioritized.
The product will evolve in a way that you cannot predict. 对我来说, 重要的是要相信我们的公司将与变化保持一致，因为我们现在相信同样的事情. 所以很自然，他们会把产品带到一个你也相信的地方.
这是关于我与潜在伴侣之间的坦诚和开放的对话. I want to know how we will work together to challenge the industry.
At 萨那, when we partner with a company, it’s more than a transaction. 我们打赌这家公司会挑战我们，让我们创造新的东西. Alan is one of those companies. 我很感谢菲利普花时间和他的见解——他们推动了我们和整个L&D社区前进.
LMS的ABC指南
读文章