Choosing an online training solution for SMEs

There are a lot of online training solutions out there. Choosing one is complicated. We are going to see the main ones on the market and some tips to help you choose one that suits your needs.

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The importance of training

La vocational training has become a crucial element in businesses. Both for employers and employees. It allows employees to increase their skills and businesses to have effective employees and increase their results. This is all the more important nowadays. Jobs, skills and tools change rapidly, it is important to stay up to date to stay competitive.

It also helps to establish a learning culture in the company. This increases employee satisfaction and motivation as well as attracting new talent.

Organizing these courses can be complicated. This is why many companies turn to external service providers.

Online training in France

Online training (or E-Learning), developed well in France with accelerated adoption during the crisis. Many companies have been forced to digitize their training offer. According to a survey, 49.3% of people had to switch to distance learning, sometimes completely remotely, sometimes using mixed approaches such as Blended Learning.

The Blended Learning is a mixed training mode that combines face-to-face sessions with distance learning.

Although partly forced, this change was well accepted.

89% of those questioned answered that they were in favor of more distance learning in training courses or more than Blended Learning.

The public, as well as the private sector, have fully understood the benefits of online training. Today, only 19% of corporate training takes place only in person. 92% of training in large French companies and 70% of those in the public sector have passed to Blended Learning.

La Jungle of online training courses

Online training solutions are being used more and more. They have become fundamental elements within companies and their training strategies. In order to meet the growing needs of businesses, this has led to the creation of more and more training solutions.

It is easy to get lost in the information jungle when you are a small or medium-sized organization and want to choose an e-learning solution.

We are going to try to clear this up.

First of all, it is important to know that the majority of solutions forE-learning Are LMS (Learning Management System).

An LMS is a platform that allows training managers, or HR managers, to create and share training courses for their employees. It also makes it possible to monitor the progress of employees in their training.

These systems are very practical, they allow you to quickly deploy personalized training courses within a company. But they also have disadvantages, the main one being that they require a lot of work and qualified personnel in order to create quality training courses. Some LMS have training courses already integrated by default, but they are then not specialized to the specificities of the company.

The main LMS In France

Some have developed particularly in France. Here is a list of some of the main LMSs in France.

360Learning : One LMS specialized within The major groups. It focuses on a collaborative training experience where content is created by employees for employees.

Learn Assembly : This company offers training in remote Or in Blended Learning for businesses. It is based on questionnaires to analyze the learning abilities of employees and then on training courses. “in a work situation”. The learning path is built in collaboration between the tutor and the learner. It focuses on practice and operational goalsS.

Docebo : One LMS whom focuses on the use of artificial intelligence to create content more quickly, as well as oncontextual learning. It adds training videos directly into business applications used by companies.

Digiforma: One LMS, aimed at trainers, small and medium-sized businesses. It automatically generates all the necessary administrative documents and facilitates the transfer of information between training organizations and their interlocutors.

Different learning methods

The increase in the number of training platforms has created a great diversity of training methods. Both in the structure of the courses, with the Blended Learning which combines face-to-face and distance learning, only in terms of duration, content and method of delivery (video, online courses, virtual assistant, etc.).

In terms of the duration of training courses, we have seen the emergence of shorter and shorter courses, accessible on mobile, which can be consumed at any time.

Microlearning : less than 2 minutes of learning
Fast-learning : less than 15 minutes of learning

With all these possibilities, it can be complicated to choose the most suitable solution. According to an investigation by theIFTS the most effective training courses in France are:

The virtual classroom (18% of respondents)
Fast learning (15% of respondents)
Microlearning (13% of respondents).

The trend is for short content that can be actioned and usable at any time. Unlike more traditional courses, they do not require large time slots or to be present at a specific time and can be reviewed at will.

Define your needs

In order to choose the training method that best suits your situation, the first step is to Define your needs. Obviously your criteria will depend on your situation, but here are some important questions to ask yourself.

1. How many people?

Not all systems are adapted to every volume of people some are optimized to meet the needs of small or large groups.

2. General training or personalized training?

Depending on what you want to teach your employees and the difference in learners' ability to learn, customizing training to meet their needs can be interesting. All the LMS do not offer the same customization functions.

3. What do you want to teach them?

If you want to train them in a particular field, specialized training with people who are experts in that field may be a good choice. Otherwise there are more general platforms.

4. What training format?

The trend is course content, but your choice will depend on what you want to teach your employees, the timing of their learning, and the organization of your business.

5. In what situation are your employees going to use it? On what devices?

Depending on the type of training and the work of the employee, some devices may be more suitable than others. For example, for someone who travels a lot during their work, the Mobile learning can be adapted.

6. Customized training courses or a turnkey system?

Some systems are simply course deployment systems that allow you to easily deploy your training to your employees. You will then need to have the ability to create effective courses yourself. Some others are turnkey solutions, the courses are already there, and you don't have to prepare anything, but the courses will then be less personalized for your business.

7. What budget?

Obviously the budget is going to be important, all the LMS are not at the same price, you will have to assess your needs and your budget to choose the most suitable one.

8. How to integrate it with other software?

Surely you are already using other software. It may be important to see if the LMS and the various software in your company's ecosystem can easily connect together, for example, be able to import your employees directly into the LMS and connect it to your other HR systems.

9. How to follow the evolution of your employees?

The LMS should allow you to monitor the progress of users and to see the evolution of their skills. Learn about the data provided by your LMS, does it provide data relevant to your needs, can you personalize and process the data received?

10. How to make it evolve?

With time and the evolution of your business, your needs will certainly evolve, as will your application environment, check if it is possible to make your LMS with you.

11. How to deploy it?

Deploy a LMS and setting it up can be a bit technical. Learn about installing the LMS you want and ask yourself if someone in your company has the expertise to deploy it, or if the company managing the LMS can help you.

12. How does it fit into your training strategy?

If you already have a training strategy, it is important to check if the LMS can be included in simply without forcing you to change all your processes.

13. The user experience

For both administrators and employees, the user experience is important. Users will spend a long time on this platform, be sure that it is easy to use, fluid and clear. Training is not always very motivating and good ergonomics can have a big impact on user engagement.

14. Accessibility

Remember to make sure that your platform is accessible, even for your users who require special accommodations, for example people with disabilities, you can find out about accessibility standards for the WEB by looking at the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guideline) And the RGAA (General Accessibility Framework for Administrations).

These questions should already allow you to eliminate a good part of the systems that do not meet your needs and should allow you to refine your selection of LMS.

Platform choice

After asking yourself all of these questions, you should now have a clearer idea of what your needs are. You can now create a smaller list of LMS potential based on your criteria. You can then contact the companies of these LMS to ask your questions or use the trial versions if there are any.

Take the time to try out the applications to see if they fit your needs, but also those of trainers and learners.