How to Launch Your Learning Platform [7 Simple Steps].

Looking for easy ways to launch your learning platform? We share 7 things to do before launch day.

So you’ve been working hard on your LMS and you’re ready to press the big red button and set it live.

But while you’ve likely invested a lot of time and money into your learning management system pre-launch, it’s worth taking a bit more time before getting trigger happy.

After all, an LMS is only as good as its users. And if your users aren’t engaging with your system, then all of that hard work will be wasted.

⚡️ Pro Tip

Still looking for the best LMS for your business? Learn more about Think LMS to see how our Totara-powered tool can help you achieve your business goals.

Learn more about Think LMS

In the blog, we’ll go through:

• What a learning programme is and why it’s best to wait
• 7 steps to take before you launch your learning programme

So, let’s get started.

What is a learning programme?

L&D teams rely on learning programmes to deliver training courses and materials to their company.

Related: What exactly is an LMS?

Learning programmes can usually be created with a learning management system which also gives you access to tools like:

• Goal setting and tracking
• Feedback forms
• Compliance reporting and more

Remember, not every LMS is created equal. It’s worth checking out a number of providers to find the best fit for your team.

Related: Key features you need in your LMS

But why is it important to hang fire when it comes to launching your brand new LMS?

Employee engagement.

If you haven’t set wheels in motion for a learning culture within your business, then chances are you won’t see a huge uptake of your LMS.

And it’s no surprise.

If you’re not promoting your LMS in the right way, it won’t get the right engagement.

So, what do you need to do before you press that ‘go live’ button?

7 steps to launching your learning programme

Launching a new learning platform is an incredibly exciting time for any organisation. Often, it marks a new beginning for L&D, and brings with it new opportunities and challenges.

But, before you click the launch button, check these 7 important factors:

1. Branding
2. Tech stack
3. Admin
4. End to end experience
5. Learning transfer
6. Testing
7. Launch campaign

Let’s go through each one by one.

Branding

Branding creates a sense of familiarity. Chances are, your people are already au fait with your business branding.

So, when they’re logging into a new platform for the first time, delivering a consistent, familiar brand is a good visual cue that they’re in the right place.

This could be anything from:

• Just your logo
• Your logo and a few brand colour items
• To a full brand skin

✏️ Note

Not every LMS will give you theming functionality which makes customising your platform extremely difficult.

Tech stack

If you’re creating a new tool for users, then you need to think about how this platform will integrate with other tools in your tech stack.

This is no different for an LMS.

Integrating your learning platform and the rest of your tech stack is important for two key reasons.

One, your learners will expect cross-functionality and anything less than that will be seen as a barrier to learning.

Two, integrating your tech allows you to bypass potential data siloes for easier reporting.

Admin

It might seem like silly but take a moment to really consider if you know how to use your platform.

If there are any niggling questions about specific functionalities, now is the time to ask them.

⚡️Pro Tip

Think have a team of specialists on hand to help you get the most out of your LMS. Book a demo to see how we can better support you and your company to grow.

On launch day, you will probably get quite a few questions from your colleagues about how to use the platform, so you want to be armed with the right answers.

If you don’t know how to use your LMS – now is the time to ask for extra training or support, before launching your learning platform.

End to end learning experience

Your learning experience is more than just the courses you have available.

Related: How to create better learning experiences for your people

It’s the moment from their first login, and through every step and action they take on your LMS.

Key things to consider are:

• Usability
• User journey
• The relationship between training and development

By clearly signposting your site, and having clear processes in place, you can ensure users get what they need out of your LMS.

After all, it’s not a case of ‘job done’ once a course has been completed. You’ll be looking at how they’ve utilised that learning and what they want to achieve next in their career.

Learning transfer

Learning transfer is the art of taking the knowledge learned through training and applying it to the workplace.

Without learning transfer, your hard work will be pointless.

So, consider how you will enable and encourage your people to apply their learning in the workplace.

This could be by providing opportunities to practise within a safe environment (e.g., through simulations in an eLearning course) or by encouraging social learning and collaboration amongst your people.

Testing

When setting any new system up, there are always going to be bugs and fixes needed.

Before you launch your LMS, make sure you offer the platform out to test users who have never seen the site before.

Get them to click around, engage with the tool and then report back any bugs.

This means your real users will get a flawless experience of your LMS when you finally do go live.

Campaign launch

All too often, L&D launch their platforms and then sit and wait.

But twiddling your thumbs waiting for users to come to you is never a good idea.

Before you launch your platform, think about how you’re going to publicise and sell it to your teams.

Think about:

• How to make them aware of the platform
• Their expectations versus reality
• How to sell the benefits of your LMS

Consider all of this before launching your learning platform to make sure it is a success. 

Wrapping up

If you’re at this point and you feel confident with each of these steps, then chances are you’re ready for the big reveal.

But remember, it’s not a case of pushing the platform out and leaving it as is.

You want to be continuously updating your LMS to ensure your content is fresh. Plus, you want to be constantly testing usability and upgrading aspects of your tool to make sure it’s easy to use and hits your targets.

Think is a leading partner of Totara, so if you’re wanting to learn more about integrating an LMS, then get in touch. Book a demo with our team to see how we can help you hit your L&D goals.