What to Look for in an LMS (And What to Avoid)

You already know how important effective workplace training is. Whether you’re onboarding new hires, managing compliance training, or ensuring your team has the skills to do great work, your learning and development program has a major impact on employee and business success. In today’s tech-forward landscape, what’s changing is how teams get trained.

These days, a learning management system (LMS), also known as an enterprise learning platform, isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s central to keeping people informed, aligned, and growing. When you dive into the data, this is clear.

Skills are evolving quickly (about 25% of the skills required for jobs across industries have changed since 2015), and nearly 90% of learning and development leaders agree that building employee skills now is the best way to prepare for what’s next, according to a workplace learning report from LinkedIn.

An effective LMS supports that kind of growth for employees and leaders. It brings structure to onboarding, simplifies compliance, and makes training accessible, whether someone’s on a shop floor, behind a desk, or working remotely.

With talent shortages growing, the stakes are real. Over 65% of respondents to the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) 2024 Q1 outlook survey listed attracting and retaining talent as their top challenge. Deloitte found in a 2023 workforce strategies study that 1.9 million manufacturing jobs (over 50% of total positions in that industry) remain unfilled due to skills gaps.

One way to address skill gaps and boost talent within the workplace is with a modern LMS solution. Here’s how to evaluate what’s available (and what to avoid).

There are a lot of platforms out there, and not all of them are built with your day-to-day in mind. If you’re looking for a system that truly supports your team and your goals, here are some non-negotiables:

Some platforms may check all of these boxes but still fall flat when it comes to actual engagement or ease of use. These features tend to drive greater training ROI:

Ultimately, the best enterprise learning platforms are the ones that fit you, not the other way around.

You know what works for your business, but here are a few LMS red flags that could cause problems:

While you’re exploring options, check out Propelr’s learning platform.

Here’s our approach:

We built our platform with the goal of making workforce training faster, smarter, and more effective.

Propelr is flexible enough for whatever training challenge you’re tackling: onboarding, compliance training, skill-building, customer education, or all of the above. Contact our team to get a live Propelr LMS demo.

The LMS you choose has long-term implications for how your organization attracts, develops, and retains talent. In an L&D report that addresses how companies thrive amid economic headwinds, LinkedIn found that 29% of employees on average say that opportunities to learn and develop new skills are a top reason they’d consider accepting a new job. And 98% of companies that adopted a skills-based learning approach said they retained top performers, according to a Deloitte report evaluating workforce issues around skill gaps and applicant gaps.

Impacts on recruitment and retention directly impact the bottom line. In a 2025 report, SHRM found that hiring a new employee costs about $4,700. In comparison, most companies invest around $3,000 per person in learning and development. Upskilling doesn’t just build stronger teams; it saves money, improves operations, and future-proofs your workforce. The right LMS is how you get there.

At Propelr, we have a learning platform designed to help you train smarter and grow stronger across every role, shift, and location. We’ll help you automate busywork so you can focus on growing your team and your business. Check out the ins and outs of our platform.

An LMS is digital, interactive training software that enables businesses like yours to create, deliver, track, and manage workplace education. Whether you’re onboarding new employees, offering compliance training, or providing customer education, an LMS can serve as your centralized hub.

With the constant rise of new technologies and changing business priorities, workplaces are moving faster than ever. When businesses cut through the noise to prioritize learning and development, they see lower turnover, higher productivity, and a more engaged workforce.

Deloitte found that 98% of organizations that implement a skills development program retain top performers, 49% improve processes to maximum efficiency, and 79% report a positive workplace experience for employees.

Implementing a learning management system (LMS) is one of the most effective ways to elevate your training program. Considering an LMS for your business? We’re here to answer your questions!

Are you a trainer at a manufacturing plant? Or maybe you work in the HR department of a major retailer? Regardless of your role or industry, an LMS can benefit your company. Here’s how:

• For HR leaders, an LMS is a valuable tool for facilitating effective onboarding and ensuring the completion of required compliance training.
• Learning and development managers can use an LMS to upskill employees with ongoing professional development that leverages structured learning paths.
• Training coordinators can streamline logistics, manage training schedules, and monitor learner performance easily in an LMS.
• Small business owners who make an upfront investment in an LMS save time, resources, and money in the long term by providing consistent, scalable training to their employees and customers.

An effective learning management system should simplify and enhance the training experience for leaders and learners. Here are the most popular features HR professionals and learning and development leaders look out for.

• Content Builder: Create learning courses that align with your business needs. Look for an LMS that features no-code course authoring software so you can tailor every learning opportunity without extensive IT knowledge.
• Gamification: Looking for a gamified learning platform? Boost employee engagement with features like badges, leaderboards, and rewards that make learning fun and interactive.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Busy leaders can personalize learning paths quickly with an AI-assisted course creator, which you’ll find in some LMSs.
• Analytics and Reporting: Track the impact of learning, identify gaps, and make smarter training decisions with clear, actionable insights generated automatically.

An LMS simplifies training management and delivers measurable benefits for businesses.

Create a Safer Workplace

When employees understand essential regulations and workplace standards, your organization will reduce injuries and lower claims. An effective LMS makes implementing safety and compliance training easy, and built-in progress tracking helps identify gaps and demonstrate compliance to regulators. Ultimately, a safer line leads to more productivity and stable profit margins.

Build Employee Confidence

Set every employee up for success from day one. With an LMS, it’s simple to deliver consistent, comprehensive onboarding to every employee, regardless of role or job location. An effective ramp-up period will lead to more productivity down the road.

Retain More Employees

Employees value professional growth and want to work for a company that supports their development. By offering ongoing learning opportunities through an LMS, you empower your team to develop new skills, stay engaged, and see a clear path for career advancement, reducing turnover in the long term.

Empower Your Customers

An LMS isn’t just for employees. When customers have on-demand access to interactive courses, how-to videos, or product walkthroughs, they’ll learn your products faster, reducing calls to your customer support team and turning them into long-term advocates.

Different LMS platforms are designed for different purposes. Here are a few things to look out for when shopping for an LMS that meets your needs.

Is a free LMS worth it?

While free LMS platforms can be appealing, especially for small teams or limited budgets, they often come with trade-offs. Free solutions may lack scalability, advanced analytics, integration capabilities, and customer support. For organizations looking to grow or meet complex training needs, a paid LMS often delivers better value in the long run.

Want to see how CBord transformed their training and customer engagement?

Download CBord’s Case Study

Should I Use a Cloud-Based LMS Solution?

When deciding whether to use a cloud-based or on-premise LMS, consider the complexity of your company’s data control needs and the extent of your in-house IT resources.

• Cloud-based learning platforms are hosted online and accessible from anywhere. They offer automatic updates, scalability, lower upfront costs, and require minimal IT involvement. They are often subscription-based and include customer support, security updates, and integration with other HR tools.
• On-premise systems are installed locally on your organization’s servers, giving you complete control over data and security. However, they often require more significant upfront investment, ongoing IT maintenance, and internal resources to manage updates and support.

Choosing the right LMS starts with understanding your goals, audience, and technical needs. Whether you want to train employees, engage customers, or track compliance, there’s a solution out there for you.

Need help finding the right LMS? Take a quick, self-paced tour of Propelr’s learning platform.