1. Identify Your Needs
Before choosing the right learning technology for your organization, you need to consider your goals. What do you want to accomplish by implementing your new technology?
- Improve message consistency across your organization?
- Report to compliance boards that your team actually did it?
- Boost team performance to directly impact company revenue?
- Finally calculate your training ROI?
- Deliver performance reports to your CEO that you’re proud of?
Make a list of your goals before starting your search. And don’t worry if the list seems overwhelming. There are technology solutions out there that can do it all and leave you looking like a hero.
2. Know the Trends
To choose a top learning technology you need to know the trends. External trends like gamification, social components, mobility and top notch analytics are must haves that only the top online learning software solutions offer. Using industry events and thought leaders to stay aware of where the market will lead you to the best of the best, and technology that will actually drive results.
And don’t forget internal trends. Understanding your company structure will help guide your decision. Is your office a BYOD company? If so, your options are narrowed to solutions that can deliver on any device, and any platform. If there a particular internal push that the organization needs to be able to speak out like a merger, acquisition, new CEO, or new products or solutions? If the answer is yes you need to turn your focus to solutions that offer training capabilities for message consistency.
As you narrow in on external and internal trends you’ll find the options out there that “offer it all” are few and far between.
3. Do Your Research
Spend some time looking into what options are out there. At first glance online learning technology solutions may seem similar, but the differences often can’t be put into a checkbox. Look at specific tech capabilities to make sure the technology set will actually achieve your goals.
If you’re looking to improve your reps close rate by beefing up their sales pitch skills, consider whether that’s something you could effectively do without video. There’s a reason top athletes review their game tapes. The only way to truly see how you perform is by watching yourself back on video. Choosing a learning technology solution that didn’t offer recording and playback capabilities would be shooting yourself in the foot.
Tie your research back to your goals, and make sure the tech you’re choosing actually lives up to the standards you need.
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4. Do a Demo
Once you’ve narrowed down your top choices, grab a few demos with each of them to dive deeper into the technology. Technology capabilities are huge, but so is customer service. Participating in a demo will give you a better look at who is behind the scenes.
And keep an eye out for the extras. Will you have your own dedicated implementation rep? Does the vendor offer training and development opportunities for your dedicated admins? You want a solution that puts you and your success first.
5. Get Buy In
Lastly, make sure you’ve prepped your organization for the new technology. Get buy in from the right decision makers, and even involve them in selection process. Having the right backers for your project will help move the project along, and make implementation that much easier. Be sure to talk with front line managers, and end users as well.
A big part of choosing the right technology is identifying what you need. What size is your company? Are you scaling up or do you require an enterprise sales enablement solution? Identify impactful goals for your organization, and determine how learning technology can propel you to meet them. Choosing the right solution is the first step on the path to success.
In need of more guidance? Read our great introductory guide, “What is sales enablement?”
