The business terrain is in a state of constant flux, and to remain competitive, organizations must be equally dynamic. A strategic investment in learning and development (L&D) can be the key to maintaining an edge. Learning can bolster productivity, foster innovation and enhance customer satisfaction. Technology is the linchpin of contemporary L&D. Selecting the right learning technology can help organizations leverage L&D to propel revenue growth. Brandon Hall Group™ Smartchoice® Preferred Provider Litmos offers a suite of solutions that can help you with this goal.
In Brandon Hall Group’s 2024 HCM Outlook Study, an overwhelming 76% of respondents said their companies were planning moderate (44%) or Heavy (32%) investment in technology selection and implementation for learning in 2024. If your organization is among that majority, this is the time to begin thinking about your learning team as a business unit and plan accordingly. Planning is often the first discipline to be jettisoned when time pressure becomes a factor in business, particularly for learning and development (L&D) solutions. Yet planning remains the most critical component of establishing new revenue opportunities for learning.
Our recent eBook, Leverage Learning to Drive Revenue, lays out a planful approach to building revenue through learning and leveraging your technology to do that.
To capitalize on the functionality in any new learning technology, L&D must essentially accelerate traditional technology evaluation processes to run in a near-continuous cycle of evaluation and recommendations. Especially if the goal is to advance the technology ecosystem, a goal shared by 75% of respondents in the HCM Outlook 2024 Study. This will require aggressive partnerships with your technology partners to protect investments and relationships, especially as more frequent adjustments to the mix of technology tools may be required. It also requires solid alliances with both IT and Procurement so that decisions can be made in line with the overall technology strategy. This helps drive efficient decision-making, effective implementations, and high user adoption — all hallmarks of wise technology choices.
When it comes to evaluating learning technology through the lens of creating a learning-specific revenue stream, there are several factors to consider:
- Can your LMS provide revenue recognition? First and foremost, can your eLearning platform manage revenue recognition? Can you assign cost and pricing to your offerings and manage them as sources of income?
- Does your LMS allow for revenue center support/multiple lines of business? To support ongoing growth, the ability to manage multiple lines of business becomes important. Can your learning management system create different revenue streams?
- Can your LMS scale to a global reach? Or at least scale to the furthest extent of your customer footprint? Investing in new technology that limits your reach is a mistake.
- Is your LMS an open API architecture? This matters so that you can easily and fully integrate additional tools over time and so you can readily deploy your content when and where customers are willing to pay.
- Does your LMS allow for subscription management? In addition to straight-up revenue recognition, one of the more attractive revenue streams in learning is the subscription content library. Can your learning management system support this eCommerce approach?
- Can you allot training credits within your learning solution? Another potential component of your strategy may involve offering individual users/learners credits to apply toward the “purchase” of content in the system. You will want to ensure that is a possibility in the eLearning technology that you invest in.
- Will your LMS support all modalities — including in-person, virtual, and on-demand instruction? While self-explanatory on the surface, confirming you can manage all types of offerings through your learning management system is critical. Don’t overlook this key characteristic.
- Can you automate learning management tasks? Growing learning revenue and scaling learning reach can only be done if simple tasks can be fully automated in the learning management system. Taking up resource time to build assignment groups or create course shells, for example, will defeat the purpose of building revenue opportunities.
- Can you rapidly deploy and customize the learning management system to your business needs? Customization is king in the 21st century. Make sure your eLearning solution protects your ability to do that and will grow with you over time.
Regularly reviewing and analyzing data from key metrics can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your learning programs. Utilize data visualization tools to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement. Analyze learner performance data to identify top performers and underachievers, allowing you to provide targeted support and interventions. Additionally, gather feedback from learners (customers), instructors, and managers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the learning experience.
Establishing a feedback loop is crucial for ongoing enhancement. Encourage learners to share their perspectives on the learning process, from the content’s relevance to the effectiveness of the delivery methods, and the support they’ve received. This input can be gathered through surveys, discussions, or feedback forms. Use these findings to pinpoint successful approaches and areas for refinement, then adapt your learning programs accordingly.
Lastly, allocate your resources wisely to ensure the greatest impact from your learning endeavors. By prioritizing investments in learning technologies based on your strategic objectives, you can ensure that your learning programs deliver a positive return on investment.
Platforms like Litmos offer a solution that is learning-focused but business-minded. Litmos offers an operations solution dedicated for running training as a business with a feature-rich, robust, self-service solution that enables you to easily administrate and automate your external training business.
To delve deeper into building out training as a revenue stream, request the eBook: Leverage Learning to Drive Revenue.
