Employee engagement
Implementing a Learning Management System (LMS) is a significant investment for any organization. It’s not just about rolling out a new platform—it’s about transforming how learning happens, shifting behaviors, and ensuring long-term adoption. One of the biggest success factors? Engaging your stakeholders from the very beginning.
On Tuesday 28th January 2025, we hosted the latest edition of our customer-exclusive event, where we discussed the importance of stakeholder engagement.
In this valuable session, our customers got together to highlight the challenges they’ve faced when it comes to engaging their stakeholders. Discussing what they learned throughout their journey and how to navigate these common challenges, here are the 6 top tips to early stakeholder engagement:
1. Different Needs, same goals
One of the biggest challenges organizations face is that stakeholders often have different needs and priorities. However, they’re all working toward the same goal, and you just need to make them realize their expectations are aligned. Early engagement allows you to break down silos, foster collaboration, and ensure everyone is working together rather than pulling in different directions.
Ask stakeholders why they need certain features or solutions. This helps uncover overlapping needs and find scalable, efficient solutions that work for everyone.
2. Encouraging a culture of learning
Stakeholders, especially senior leaders and managers, play a key role in driving learning culture. If employees view LMS usage as just another mandatory task rather than a growth opportunity, engagement will suffer. Involving leadership from the outset helps set expectations, secure buy-in, and create a culture where learning is valued.
Encourage leadership to actively support learning initiatives, such as approving dedicated learning time and ensuring managers protect that time for their teams.
3. Addressing technical challenges
Not all stakeholders are comfortable with new digital tools, and IT concerns can slow down adoption. Engaging IT teams and creating ‘digital ambassadors’ early can help smooth out these concerns.
Create simple user guides, offer training sessions, and provide ongoing support. Piloting the LMS with select users before a full rollout can also help identify potential roadblocks.
4. Managing resistance to change
Change is hard, and LMS adoption often requires shifting learning habits. Employees may be hesitant to try self-led learning. Managers might resist changing their current processes and practices. Leadership may have concerns about why the change needs to happen in the first place. However, if you address the resistance from the beginning, you’re proactively ensuring a smoother transition.
Communicate the benefits clearly – whether it’s time savings, skill development, or improved compliance tracking. Your LMS should bring simplicity and efficiency to your organization – and that should turn the heads of even your most resistant stakeholders.
5. Prioritization and managing workloads
Many organizations face competing priorities, making it difficult to dedicate time to LMS adoption. Employees with heavy workloads might struggle to engage with learning, while stakeholders managing multiple roles may find it hard to focus on LMS implementation.
Instead of overwhelming stakeholders with long wish lists, break down the implementation into phases. Ask stakeholders to prioritize their needs and focus on delivering quick wins that demonstrate value early on.
6. Communicate, communicate, communicate
Stakeholder engagement isn’t a one-time task, it’s an ongoing process. Regular updates, open dialogue, and adapting communication styles based on stakeholder needs can help maintain momentum.
Utilize different communication methods, including:
Your LMS journey isn’t just about the technology, it’s about the people. Engaging stakeholders from the beginning ensures a smoother, more effective implementation. By fostering collaboration, addressing resistance, and prioritizing engagement, you’ll build a learning culture that thrives long after the LMS launch.
Missed out on the event? Do not worry, as the recording is now live in The Academy.
New to Kallidus and want to find out how you can invest in your people with success? Speak to one of our experts today to find out how Kallidus supports you to empower learners, managers, and L&D leaders whilst maintaining compliance and encouraging development.
Claire is an enthusiastic and meticulous content writer whose passion is to support growth and continual learning for everyone.
