1. Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: determining the ROI of an LMS
Brad Cooper
Senior VP, Co-founder
Plateau Systems, Ltd.

2. LMS 101 Training records management Training assignment management
eLearning access
Scheduling and enrollment management
Blah

3. ROI = Return on Investment

4. ROI = Return on Investment

5. ROI = Return on Investment
i.e., if the company buys an LMS (investment), what benefit does it provide to the company (return)?
ROI = Return on Investment

6. Training ROI Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping
Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts
Access to and management of online training
Consistent training for each job position

7. Training ROI

8. Training ROI Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping
Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts
Access to and management of online training
Consistent training for each job position

9. Training ROI Improved training process Accurate training recordkeeping
Reduction in training resource and training schedule conflicts
Access to and management of online training
Consistent training for each job position

10. Training ROI Reductions in cost of delivery
Reductions in staff (fewer instructors needed as eLearning courseware replaces ILT)
Reduced time and effort required to manage assignments and recordkeeping
Reduction in travel costs and time spent in transit to attend training

11. Perspective

12. Changing ROI Thinking
While training folks understand the inherent benefits of using an LMS, most management and operations folks don’t
Training ROI is a different beast than business ROI
You must look beyond the training organization

13. Changing ROI Thinking
The first step is to think of the LMS, and the training organization as a whole, as part of the overall corporate problem-solving and process improvement strategy
The training organization is often the one place where all personnel (staff, temps, contractors) and operational requirements meet
Training is most valuable when pro-active rather than reactive; when a contributing partner rather than a necessary evil

14. Determining a Meaningful ROI
The key is to identify specific business problems and determine how training can be an integral part of the solutions

15. Determining a Meaningful ROI
Once a problem has been identified and the training organization contribution to the solution devised, develop an objective and quantifiable metric to determine the impact an LMS can have or has had

16. Objective Business Impact
Example 1
An issue with “hot-floors” on a
Particular type of aircraft was in
the top 10 delay and cancellation
drivers for over 5 years Identifying the root cause of the problem, creating an online lesson, and assigning it to all technicians for that type aircraft significantly impacted the business by removing it from the top 10 list (it was well below 100) and saved over 5 million dollars in maintenance costs.

17. Objective Business Impact
Example 2
A carrier was having persistent
problems with pressurization
issues which had been on the
top ten delay and cancellation list for at least three years A lesson was created that covered all 4 models of that aircraft and included affectivity issues by tail numbers. The LMS managed the distribution and recordkeeping for the course including tracking overdue training. Business impact, over 1.5 million in savings

18. Objective Business Impact
Example 3
A carrier’s ground operations used
classroom instruction to provide training
on policy changes and documentation
when providing training . This two day
session was given annually to around
1000 operations employees (not
full-time trainers) who were flown to the training location. While not all of the information covered was relevant to some of the trainers, it was covered anyway. The materials were converted to online content and the modules tailored to the trainers based on relevance and location. Total cost savings of $3 million annually with minimal disruption to operations.

19. LMS 101 Redux Training records management
Training assignment management
eLearning access
Scheduling and enrollment management

20. Training Records Management
Need to know how my folks are doing – common record and report formats facilitate status reports across organizations and job families
Who completed training on this – reports can be created for specific training activities or sets of activities
Was person trained and when – timely and accurate verification of training in support of investigations
FAA/EASA coming for inspection - accurate and secure verification of training delivered to meet specific compliance requirements

21. Training Assignment Management
Need to find A mechanics fast - training standardization and real-time status monitoring facilitate searches for qualified personnel
We merged with another carrier - substitute credit allows equivalency for the same course
Here comes HR curriculum-based assignments define and standardize action-based training to meet AQP-style training programs
Need to manage training on changing procedures and retraining needs - needs driven by additions or changes to regulations quickly distributed and progress monitored

22. eLearning Access
We’ve got to train on the new GDS - online content, simulation, and testing provide a rapidly deployable and accurate solution
Need to minimize time spent away from work – eLearning can eliminate many ILT offerings, especially for document-based training and general issues
Need hands-on and self-study - eLearning can be integrated with other delivery methods to create “blended” approaches
Need to let learner choose training based on schedule and workload – eLearning and ILT can be equal alternatives to provide choices

23. Scheduling and Enrollment
Stop double-booking classrooms – identify resource conflicts before training is scheduled
We want to go paperless – improve accuracy and eliminate paper-based enrollment and completion recording
Need to reduce training travel – schedule resources, manage enrollment for training delivered via web-based collaboration tools and web conferencing
Need to know how often my classrooms are being used – determine the utilization of resources including rooms, instructors and equipment

24. In Conclusion
Look for LMS ROI as part of a “big picture” solution to corporate problems instead of just a tool to improve training processes
Take into account the administrative time savings realized with a LMS in important non-training activities like regulatory compliance verification and investigation support
Take the attitude that the LMS is an important, and perhaps even mission-critical, system

25. Questions? More Information?
Thank You
Questions? More Information?
Brad Cooper
Co-Founder, Sr. Vice President of Research
Plateau Systems, Ltd.