The Solution for VMS
In searching for the right LMS, VMS wanted a solution that could help with training employees and tracking completed courses, as well as eliminating the paper documents that required filing. The system would need to provide a simple way to pull records for clients when they requested proof that employees were up-to-date on the latest training in their industry.
The search for a learning management system started as a two month project for the biomarketing company and turned into a year-long search, during which time they looked at more than 10 vendors. After evaluating the other vendors, VMS selected SilkRoad Learning as its LMS for its flexibility to handle all of the company’s needs.
“SilkRoad Learnng was the only platform we felt did everything well. During the product demos, I was unable to stump the SilkRoad team. They always found a way to show me what I needed to see. They have a very flexible system that way,” said Baer. “Other vendors would just simply say our software doesn’t do that or we’re working on that for a future release.”
VMS’ Employees and Clients Cheer for SilkRoad Learning
Prior to SilkRoad Learning, VMS offered instructor classes that addressed the broader training touch points. With the LMS, the company has been able to create more in depth classes that are specific to particular jobs. SilkRoad Learning courses have allowed the company to be very strategic in its course planning and the rollout of required training. The system also offers more streamlined and thorough follow-ups to basic courses, which employees have said has been extremely beneficial.
“Now our managers really understand the benefit of using e-learning for their training needs. In the past, our instructor classes were so basic and covered the same thing over and over again,” said Baer. “It was very monotonous and a bit boring for them. SilkRoad Learning has been really well received. Our managers and employees now request training to be done online, and we’re at a point where we need more manpower in order to get them all of the training requested. It’s a good problem to have, that people want more than we have the power to supply.”
With the help of SilkRoad Learning, VMS now tracks every employees’ individual training plans (ITPs), which includes orientation training for all new hires, training specific to starting a new job with a client, critical training, including all training of a critical nature to VMS or one of its clients, and core trainings, which are very specific to individual jobs.
If the company needs to pull reports to prove employees are compliant on a specific topic, they can do so in a matter of seconds, where previously it would take several hours to sort through paperwork. The new LMS allows managers to easily run reports that immediately show required learning status and past training history. VMS and its clients have both benefitted from the immediate visibility and clean reporting offered.
The system has also helped speed up the training process by no longer having to work around schedules for training. This has led to the company being able to quickly train its workforce and provide clients with compliance reports. With this, the company and its clients avoid any penalties that come with not being able to prove your workforce is compliant, which can include fines.
“Gone are the days of scheduling rooms and working around vacations and out of offices. Our clients are very impressed at how quickly we can turn around training now. There are not a lot of logistics that go around creating the course, uploading it, assigning it to people and then reporting back when it is done and having the proof that it was done. I think that is the greatest impact for us, how we look in our client’s eyes…how organized we look.”
Along with time-savings around scheduling, there has also been a great time-savings around the administration of paperwork. VMS no longer has to search through paper files to determine if employees are up-to-date on training. They can instead login to the system and search by employee or course and immediately find each employee’s training status.
“The previous system was horrible. The logistics alone in tracking every client’s training, along with our own internal training was complicated and time consuming. Just taking that one little piece and moving it from paper to an online system, the ROI has been massive.”
Looking to the Future
The company currently only uses SilkRoad Learning to train its own employees, but in the near future, VMS plans to use the system for training its clients. With SilkRoad Learning, the company will be able to deliver training and education to its clients’ sales customers, partners and external channel networks, which will help VMS’ clients deliver a consistent message and track critical activities across the board.
“Our training manager has a roadmap to use SilkRoad Learning externally, which is taking the client training that we train on now and opening that up for other clients’ clients and vendors. That way we are the source of the training and everyone comes to us to get information from one place.”
Key Impacts
- VMS is now able to track every employee’s individual training plans and pull reports in a matter of seconds
- The company can be more strategic in the rollout of course training and offer more streamlined and in depth follow-up courses
- They no longer have to work around schedules for training and can train all employees quickly
- In the future, VMS will use the system to train clients’ suppliers and vendors, providing a consistent message throughout
