Life science firms rely on cloud-based learning management systems to address compliance

Rob Sims, director of life sciences at LMS vendor UL EduNeering, agrees with Gozzo that customers start researching an LMS when they need to create a framework for compliance across the board. Many startups track training and compliance with a spreadsheet. “It only becomes a burden when you start questioning the accuracy of your spreadsheets,” he says. “Also, the time it takes to deliver training becomes an issue. If 80 employees have to do in-person training on new SOPs, that can become a time drain.” But a company can use a solution like UL EduNeering’s Compliancewire to send out the training material electronically. It basically sets up a link to the material and a quiz.

Global training for employees and customers

Mergers are common in the life sciences field, and many companies grow quite rapidly, complicating the corporate training picture. Atlanta-based Elekta, which is working on innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders, has grown through mergers and acquisitions over the past eight years, so it had legacy LMS systems from all those companies that came together, explains David Burns, director of global training solutions. But the company recently chose to work with a software-as-a-service enterprise

learning management system from NetDimensions. The initial rollout was to 5,000 internal employees and distributors. The next phase involves using the system to train customers as well.

“The primary impetus for us going with an enterprise learning management system was the need to extend our training offerings to the globe to train both employees and customers,” Burns says. “Initially we on-boarded another system to facilitate e-learning and to demonstrate the proof of concept, because senior leadership needed to understand the value proposition behind an LMS. While we were putting together the business case, we launched a very practical out-of-the-box LMS to facilitate short-term goals while we grew out the plan for the longer-term goals.”

Integrating the LMS with other internal systems is a key task, he stresses. Some of that work has been done already, and some is still on his to-do list. “When you think about content management, there are potentially a lot of integrations. Right now we integrate pretty seamlessly internally with our single sign-on capabilities, so any employee can log into their system and be able to go straight into the LMS. Then we will integrate with Salesforce.com. That is a top priority in the next two to three months.”

Lessons learned

The fact that Elekta is a global organization adds complexity on several levels. The biggest lesson Burns has learned in the process is that you can never over-communicate. “Make sure upfront you are communicating the expectations and more importantly, what you are not going to deliver,” he recommends. “The system can do just about anything, but until you have the appropriate resources and time to configure and implement the system, it is only as good as what you put into it. If everyone is thinking they are going to get x, y and z but you only deliver on x, they ask why. So you have to communicate clearly on the expectations.”

Training and compliance executives should also ensure they have cross-functional collaboration with the business. Burns says, “When you position the capabilities for an enterprise LMS, everybody says they get it. But are they committed to the whole change management process that goes along with it? Until they take full ownership, I would argue they are not committed. Until you have that kind of commitment, you are going to struggle to implement the system.”

Enterprise LMSes are important, but they are just one part of a bigger equation. Consultant Dan Morris says, “The bigger picture involves the internal procedures of how you configure it and how you collect data.”