We have just completed one of our most important industry studies ever: "Learning Management Systems 2004." This comprehensive report details our in-depth research into the LMS market and the top 17 LMS vendors. It is designed to help you understand the marketplace and make better decisions on LMS selection, implementation, and strategy.

Some of the highlights from the study include:

• Our new LMS Market Map^TM, a graphical display of where vendors play to make it easy for you to select the right "short-list" of vendors;
• Market share by revenue and number of customers as well as detailed profiles of the top 17 LMS vendors;
• Our research on advanced LMS features: suites, hosting strategies, analytics, HR integration, performance planning, and workflow integration;
• Market trends and directions, including the evolution of this space and what we think is coming next.

You can purchase the report now and receive a $100 discount through July 15. Sign up for our July 15 webinar and hear the topline findings.

How do you make sure you get local field managers involved in a corporate-wide program? We recently interviewed a national retailer of home textiles and housewares and found a powerful, innovative approach.

Before e-learning, each store had an apprenticeship model for manager training. Each new manager would travel to a nearby store to observe operations for several weeks under an experienced manager. The approach was problematic: it took managers away from their store and often put a burden on other managers who were not ready to take on the role of mentor.

Last year, the company embarked on a new approach to consistently train new store managers on corporate policies, while developing key local relationships and applying store-specific procedures. The solution was to build an integrated program which blends corporate e-learning with local coaching and in-store training activities.

Under the new program, newly hired managers go through a 10-week training program at their home store which includes weekly online learning modules and local assignments that are reviewed and discussed with experienced regional managers. The following is an overview of the key components of the program:

• One self-paced, online learning module per week for 10 weeks;
• Case studies or exercises focusing on business analysis, store operations, and HR issues;
• Weekly review and coaching sessions with the store General Manager;
• Online knowledge tests to ensure key corporate material is mastered;
• Reports submitted to District Manager to establish and build relationships.

We recently assisted a large convenience store chain make a decision on their LMS. The company has very specific training needs that couldnot be addressed by some of the well-known suppliers. As a result, we needed to be very precise about the solution we were seeking and methodical about the process to pick the right product.

The company's main training problem was the lack of a centralized system to view all types of training in the stores. Managers had no visibility into the activities and success of a wide range of training programs. Working together, we identified their high-level LMS requirements as:

• Ease of Use: Many managers and employees have little experience with business applications and would be very confused by anything but the simplest interface.
• Certifications: The system needed to be able to bundle learning tasks into a group which we called a certification. Completion of learning tasks may require manager approval or in other cases the learner needed to take a simple test (prescriptive learning), to demonstrate his or her knowledge.
• Domain Expertise: We needed a supplier that understood the retail store business environment had similar customers in the retail sector.

We went through a process very similar to the 7- step methodology recommended by Bersin & Associates (see article) including documenting our requirements and submitting them to vendors for feedback on their capabilities. We sent an RFP (Request for Proposal) to seven vendors which met the following criteria:

• Experience with medium-sized businesses. We did not want to be a small fish in a big pond by working with a supplier that would not value our business. We frequently find that mid- market buyers need vendors focused on mid-market problems.
• Demonstrated experience in retail. We asked for a list of retail clients up front to be sure that we could get customer references that were relevant to our business.
• Existing relationship. We also chose to approach suppliers that had an existing relationship with the company.

Join us on July 15, 2004 at 11:00am Pacific/2:00pm Eastern for our upcoming webinar hosted by Josh Bersin. This month's webinar will feature findings from our latest industry study "Learning Management Systems 2004."

As mentioned in the article above, some of the key highlights from the study include:

• Our new LMS Market Map, a graphical display of where vendors play to make it easy for you to select the right "short-list" of vendors;
• Market shares and detailed profiles of the top 17 vendors;
• What you need to know about advanced LMS features, suites, hosting strategies, HR integration, performance planning, and workflow integration;
• Market trends and directions, including the evolution of this space.

This webinar is free, come join us.