I’ve been poring over the ILTA 2019 Technology Survey and finding so many nuggets to celebrate, study and utilize. In this article, I would like to celebrate (and educate)!
If you open up the report and jump to pages 111 and 112, you’ll see a chart titled, “Does your firm have a learning management system (LMS)? If yes, what platform are you using?”
Right there, in glorious four-color display, you can see that, among firms that have an LMS, Savvy is ranked in the top four. Additionally, I’m proud to note that our market share has expanded since 2016. (Between us, I foresee that number increasing in 2020; we need more of our clients to respond to the survey next year and I think you’ll see that our share is actually higher than stated in the 2019 report. But I digress…)
Why Are So Many Law Firms Not Using an LMS?
But as I celebrate, I find myself staring at that first, overly large, category of law firms on page 111: “None/Not applicable.” How in the world does a law firm manage its training without an LMS?
I’ll tell you what we’ve seen at firms we’ve visited: They are using multiple, conflicting Excel spreadsheets. They draft emails every time they have to remind someone to take a course. They house home-made (old) learning content on a local server and “feed” it to learners in unwieldy batches. And they are frustrated that “no one cares about learning” at their firm.
I’m here to tell you that using messy Excel spreadsheets and manual tracking for training programs is as archaic as using a legal pad and pen to submit documents to the courts.
What are the benefits of using a law firm LMS? I’ll tell you just a few…
- Easy administration: Bye-bye Excel spreadsheets. A robust LMS can do all of the micromanaging for you while you focus on the big picture. Schedule routine emails, follow-up on lagging learners, track progress on an individual or firm-wide level, deliver learning content to any device – a good LMS for law firms can do all of that.
- Easy content delivery: Store all of your law firm training content in one place, accessible to all who need it. Additionally, you can create customized or turn-key learning paths for subsets of learners (such as new hires, “the Boston office,” or “litigation.”)
- More accountability: When reporting is automatic and easily documented, you can hold learners accountable for their progress.
- Improved client service: Clients increasingly expect their law firms to conduct ongoing technology training to assure that everyone who touches their sensitive data knows how to work efficiently and keep it safe. With an LMS, you can provide reports that prove each employee’s tech prowess.
- Easier compliance: In addition to technology training, you can store all of your compliance training on an LMS, generate reports on individual progress, hold people accountable, and make the annual audit process much easier.
- Create and maintain a learning culture: Overall, the best part of an LMS is that it helps you to create a sustainable, ongoing learning culture at your firm. (Those programs managed on Excel spreadsheets tend to thrive only as long as someone is constantly dedicated to nurturing each learner, which is completely unsustainable.)
There are many other benefits, but those are some of my favorites.
If you have been considering a learning management system for your law firm, I invite you to consider the SavvyAcademy LMS. Let us offer you a free demo (and, while we’re at it, show off the exceptional customer service that our clients rave about).
Call or email Savvy’s Chief of Business Development, Jay Stromberg, for more information or a free demo of the SavvyAcademy LMS. 303-800-4568, Jay@SavvyTraining.com