Top 10 Questions to Ask When Choosing an LMS

UPDATED: May 14, 2025

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become essential for organizations seeking to deliver effective learning and development experiences. Whether you’re an employer, educational institution, or workforce development organization, selecting the right LMS can significantly impact the success of your training initiatives. To ensure you make an informed decision, it’s crucial to ask the right questions during the evaluation process. In this blog, we’ll explore the top 10 questions to consider when choosing an LMS

1. Are Your Specific Learning and Development Goals Supported?
   
   Your LMS should go beyond food safety training to support operational excellence, regulatory compliance, onboarding, upskilling, and cross-training. Look for systems that can address both enterprisewide needs and facility-specific challenges
   
   
2. Is the Platform Open, Configurable, and Future-Ready?
   
   Rigid LMS platforms can limit future growth. Choose a system with open architecture that allows you to upload existing content—like SOPs, onboarding documents, and videos—and blend it with catalog or custom courses to fully customize your learning paths.
   
   
3. Is the Platform Designed with Frontline Usability in Mind?
   
   Most LMS systems are built for office workers, not the production floor. WorkForge offers a mobile-first design, offline-capable functionality, and QR-code-triggered attendance and assessments — making it easy for employees to complete training wherever they are.
   
   
4. Are Different Learning Styles and Accessibility Needs Supported?
   
   WorkForge’s content can be read, watched, or listened to (in preferred language), helping employees of all education levels and language backgrounds learn effectively. This flexible, multi-format approach drives faster ramp-up and better retention.
   
   
5. How Seamless are Integrations with Your Existing Systems?
   
   Disjointed systems frustrate HR, Ops, and L&D teams. WorkForge offers out-of-the-box HRIS integrations (ADP, SAP, Workday, Oracle, and more) to eliminate double-data entry and simplify compliance reporting — a true enterprise-ready platform.
   
   
6. What Audit-Preparedness and Reporting Features are Built-In?
   
   Don’t settle for limited reports. You need configurable, granular reports for audits, KPIs, and workforce development dashboards. Advanced reporting tools provide detailed performance tracking at the employee, team, site, and corporate level — ensuring you’re always audit-ready.
   
   
7. Does the LMS Support Skills Tracking and OJT in Real Time?
   
   In food manufacturing, paper-based on-the-job training (OJT) slows productivity and audit readiness. WorkForge’s Skills Matrix and OJT tools allow real-time tracking of certifications, task validations, and supervisor sign-offs — online or offline.
   
   
8. Can You Customize the Learning Experience?
   
   Maintaining consistent branding and tailoring content by role (line worker vs. maintenance tech) increases relevance and engagement. WorkForge enables deep customization without expensive add-ons or custom code.
   
   
9. Can the LMS Scale Across Multiple Plants, Roles, and Languages?
   
   If your operations span multiple facilities, job functions, and languages, your LMS must deliver consistently across all of them. WorkForge is built to handle enterprise-wide scalability while allowing localized configurations when needed.
   
   
10. What is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Flexibility Over Time?
    
    Beware of hidden costs like mandatory content subscriptions or excessive customization fees (a common pitfall). WorkForge offers transparent, configurable pricing that lets you control your LMS growth without surprises.

Selecting the right Learning Management System is a pivotal decision that can impact the success of your learning and development program. WorkForge offers a unique solution that surpasses the conventional confines of an LMS. Its user-friendliness and configurability empower organizations to deploy, track, and manage individual learning experiences. Our impact is not confined to structured learning; it champions a holistic approach to growth. By seamlessly integrating with diverse systems and offering a Skills Matrix and streamlined OJT functionality, it catalyzes continuous improvement. In a world where one-size-fits-all solutions no longer suffice, WorkForge’s dynamic platform stands as a beacon of adaptability and innovation. It’s not just an LMS; it’s a transformative tool that shapes modern learning and propels learners and organizations toward success.

Contact WorkForge today to book a demo and see how we can help drive your organization forward.