Lately, I have been reading a lot on LinkedIn about learning for employees with AI, from various angles on how to achieve it.
A report conducted by a research firm (which shall not be named) found in essence that their respondents found the LMS no longer needed, and dropping – i.e., looking for alternatives – and out with the LMS (where have we heard this before?).
To be clear, the majority of learning systems are really an LMS – a learning management system – which, to go to the basics, provides content for learners (whoever they are), and the ability to track – on the metrics side.
That’s it.
Now, it is true that a knowledge management platform changes it up a bit, and I wouldn’t slide them into the LMS category, but even then, KM is going either the MCP route or sees itself more as lying on top of your tech stack, including your LMS.
A learning platform, training development platform, and so on, slide until the LMS moniker.
HCMs, okay, some LMS vendors who are pushing away from the ‘learning stigma’ for employees into an HCM, whether via acquisition by HCM, or within the HCM and handling all the career pathways, and wait for it, talent development still follows a familiar pattern.
There are a couple of points to consider before flipping the LMS on its head.
a. The continuation of vendors moving away from the LMS – customer training/partner enablement/B2B and even L&D, unless they angle into human capital management – is on the upswing. I’d argue that the latter are in the talent development side of the house, which I have reported for a while as the next big segment.
b. Customer training/partner enablement systems have a lot of options now that the combos are starting to pick a place to be – after all, pushing your learning system more towards a career-centric focus (something LMSs could do from day one), along with the feature sets that are included, changes the narrative.
A vendor in combo land can say we handle both sides here, but if the system heavily skews towards, let’s say, L&D or HR, then, uh, you are no longer playing both sides.
Nor should you push yourself as such.
c. Associations are in the customer/partner angle, ditto non-profits.
d. All systems are going heavy into AI – again, no surprise here, and will continue to push more and more. Some are starting now, others ramped up full speed ahead with machine learning prior to 2020, and zinged into Generative AI (which is what folks refer to as AI), in 2022 or thereabouts.
e. Is it possible that a 100% AI learning system will exist by the end of 2027? I say absolutely. And I’m not referring to piecemeal here – I’m saying a total AI-driven system for learning and yes, training too. (I will publish next week, what this will look like from a systems thinking perspective – a preference of mine, whereas the systems is uh, not a variety of systems – long story).
I’d even say, possible, should be yes, there will be at least one by the end of 2027 – how good it is, well, another story – and it comes with risks and challenges – but as they say, ships were not built to stay in the harbor (okay, some poster I hung on my wall says that).
Flip One
Learning for Business Outcomes AKA Impact of Learning
Do you want to validate that your learning or training is truly meeting the company’s expectations?
Meet truly business outcomes – that isn’t about biz operations?
Learning for Business Outcomes delivers that.
The LMS must do this, regardless of whether it is customer training or employee (internal/external).
Take the ROI out (it’s worthless anyway, and easy to manipulate) and be clear around Business Outcomes.
When I was at AWS, I went there not as a customer, but to understand what they were doing with AI and how it could be used with learning technology and systems.
I brought up the Impact of Learning.
They asked what that was. I told them it was tying learning to business outcomes.
I could see a few folks writing it down.
The point here is that tying learning to business outcomes – i.e., Impact of Learning is something everyone can understand and leverage. Even with AI.
Flip Two
What’s the Problem?
We are lost here. I’m not referring to the industry itself; I’m referring to the folks who are purchasing the system, in this case, the LMS.
They are not thinking from the learner’s standpoint; they are looking at it from their own perspective, which is the problem.
I see use cases after use cases, and have yet to see a “WHOA, that is something new.”
Hence the problem.
Nobody truly thinks about the learner (the employee or customer) who is using the system or is about to use it.
The buyer thinks of today, not tomorrow, not three years down the road (which, for customer training, takes three years to build sustainable mass).
Today is today – so scrub that right now.
Hence, what is the problem?
What do ‘we’ (i.e., your business, association, etc.) want to get out of their LMS?
If you say compliance or regulatory, then no, that isn’t the problem. If you say onboarding, well, that is a benefit, a staple that you want and need, but it isn’t the problem.
If you say ‘we want to generate revenue’ again, that’s the outcome. But what is the problem? For the downturn, some folks say the LMS is out, not needed, and we can go here.
Analogy
When cars rolled out, they could do 15 mph at some point.
Why did we need cars?
Was it because horses were dropping dead on the street, or the smells?
Was it to get somewhere quicker?
Did nobody realize that these cars didn’t have anything to stop someone from going through the car as a human projectile in an accident, because nobody knew how to drive?
Somebody said, “Okay, let’s put in a glass windshield.” Problem solved.
Forgetting that when an accident happened, the person could either go out the window or shards of the glass would go into the person or others.
Next up, a form of plastic. Same problem.
The cars got faster, but uh, nobody still knew how to drive. This little thing called a license didn’t exist.
Accidents and deaths occurred at an alarming rate.
Going back more than a hundred years, who knew that the mass production of cars would lead to so many problems, without anyone thinking to themselves, ” What is the problem we really want to change?”
Nobody said, “Windshield needed. Better than plastic, teach people how to drive, create a driver’s license, and oh, something called a seatbelt.”
What they said was ‘we need cars’. We need to get somewhere quicker, wherever and whatever that place is to be.
They saw one problem – or said to themselves (Ford in this case), we need transportation, without thinking through potential scenarios – like uh, teaching someone how to drive a car.
An LMS must be able to address the scenarios that the initial problem presents in the use case.
Look, ask yourself (as the vendor), what other scenarios or situations could exist if we go down this path, and can we do it in such a manner that we can adapt, adopt, and move quicker without pushing out something that solves several use cases (we see and we hear from clients)?
The client isn’t thinking about those other situations/scenarios; they are thinking now, so you must do it for them.
Flip rather than backpedal or do nothing.
Flip Three
Adaptability, but in a different way.
Nowadays, people overseeing a learning system (LMS Administrator Guide), regardless of type, lack the basic skills and knowledge of either L&D (with OD – Organizational Development) or Training (usually seen in external, but can also be used with internal).
Even folks who are running L&D and Training are lacking the skills necessary to deliver ongoing success, relevant metrics aligned with their target objectives, and even the basics.
The premise that people will go deep to find and learn this information is falling by the wayside.
That’s just reality.
With the flip, you, as a vendor, must recognize and adapt at that stage to meet that audience.
It’s not just about Gen AI here; anyone can do that.
It’s about changing the way.
Two versions.
One version (based on a discussion with the client/prospect) is simplistic (use verbiage that doesn’t imply streamlined, because either version can do that).
Simplistic is the meat (vegan version too – ha) of the platform.
It is all about plug and play – it takes away the ‘fear’ factor of using a system with a lack of skills around learning and training.
It embraces the new reality.
Version two – sophisticated.
See the wording? Complexity is a scary word, and can confuse folks – sophisticated, however, implies that level of going beyond – sure it is complex, without the instictiveness that shows a system that overwhelms.
It goes further than just plug and play (which can still be done), but offers an expert in L&D or Training or even a CLO: (no offense, but a lot of them are stuck in the old ways, and believe a system should be complex to validate the whole L&D experience).
You want a deeper, more sophisticated dive into analytics.
Do you know code? Sophisticated.
You want to push the system as far as it can go?
Sophisticated.
Do you understand how headless technology works without IT touching your system or treating it as an ERP?
Sophisticated.
These are folks that punch the system, and ‘get it’. They may not have all the skills needed, but they have more than enough to leverage beyond what most can do.
AI plays a role in both the entry version (perhaps a better word than simplistic), and the more advanced.
Each offers content creation, assessments, the ability to do voice input for inquiries, prompts, and objectives with content (a severely lacking capability I see with a lot of systems – BTW, it is no more than three, and you never say “You will Learn.”)
Each factor into plug and play.
Each offers integration with HRIS, HCM, and other types of platforms.
However, when it comes to MCPs, the advanced version shows off all the available MCPs and dives deeper into them.
At the entry level – a basic understanding – heck, not even that – again, plug and play – using the analogy of the universal remote.
Don’t go into the nitty and gritty about the whole – your company has an LLM and wants to use that in the system – that goes into confusion.
If the prospect asks, you respond.
The same with Tokens – and that is only if you are offering it on the learner side, where you either eat the fee or provide a bucket of token credits.
Remember, lack of skills and knowledge here.
These are the folks who are going with templates and basic content, with a push to get it out quickly.
They see content as I have to do this.”
And who are the folks I tend to see with this?
People who have been tossed the LMS (often an HRIS) because the company has gutted L&D/Training.
If the system is for marketing – let’s be honest – these folks are not going to understand the whole L&D skills, they are going to use it for either sales training, or definitely an external audience.
I highly doubt they are going with an internal audience, let alone an internal and external one.
I can see an extension market – with the icons (let’s say Survey Monkey) if someone is in the marketing department.
This is all-around knowledge here.
Skills libraries are in both versions.
Adding AI with skills makes perfect sense.
“You can add skills tied to job roles tied to content, easy to do – let me show you how.”
Skill mapping wordage they won’t get.
In the advanced
Skill mapping is big. Taxonomies are big. Skill creation tied to job roles and content is far bigger than in the entry version.
Both versions include a library of skills, but push around AI.
Simple – easy to do.
Flip Four
Embrace knowledge management.
Many people see KM as a replacement for an LMS.
Hit it, rather than back away from it.
Flip Five
Suggestions and Prompts.
Those versions I mentioned?
You include “suggestions” in the ask questions/learner AI assistant side – ditto on the admin side – again, focus on the knowledge and expertise of the folks that are not just the admin, but also run the show.
Suggestions work.
A prompt library works – Include common prompts that someone can click and go.
More robust prompts are in the sophisticated.
People need prompts – because here is what happens when you fail to do so
a. People tend to go ambiguous – this increases token costs
b. People start using AI far more and see it as not a tool, but ‘all knowing.’
Flip Six
Add AI content.
Huge with entry – give them learner and admin here (because they do want to learn), content around AI literacy. What is AI? Understanding how Gen AI works: the basics.
If someone wants to not just learn but apply – include it.
You will have people who are interested.
Do not have all text content, or just someone talking into a screen.
I talked to numerous HRIS folks, including execs who were handed off the Learning System, and they hated the all-text thing.
Heck, nobody, not you, not me, not Fred at the Grocery store, likes all text when it comes to AI, or even learning – a huge problem with content creators out there.
Have content on the admin side that shows how to use the system – plug in a ‘show me, let me do it’ angle – AI is perfect with this.
Flip Seven
Go. Go. Go.
Fast modifications. Constant updating. Live for Learning.
This is for the vendor.
UI/UX updates – every other year, ideally yearly if you can afford it.
Flip Eight
Take on the challenges and resolve them.
The bogeyman, the lies vendors tell folks, the folks who think an LMS is just about compliance and regulatory – this is all due to misinformation.
Again, don’t hide from it, or use the wording that sounds as though this is the first time you have heard of this.
Push back (nicely) and show off the wonders – your system isn’t just about compliance – yeah, it offers it (depending on feature sets), and it isn’t just about compliance content.
We think differently about the direction of learning and training.
We understand the challenges we all face (uh, onboarding, customer training, or whatever the segment is), and how to take you, whether you are new to an LMS or experienced, to the next level in the industry for L&D/Training or whatever they are using the system for.
Flip Nine
People are all about skills management capabilities.
Show off what you have, and how you can add.
People who have an HRIS system want to know if you can integrate it.
If you have experience, tell them. I’d find at least one client who has integrated their HRIS (the same one they have) with your system with great success.
And offer the client – your prospect – a connection with that client.
If Nancy has a use case that requires blah, blah, and blah, find someone with the same specifics who used your system to wonderful success, loves it, and would buy it again.
Make sure the audience is the same – i.e., number of users – or close to it, and ideally the same industry.
People like others like them (it is called the bandwagon effect).
Connect.
Flip 10
AI is evolving, but recognize that not everyone is ready to keep up.
If you can add users to the system using your Gen AI, without someone having to do it manually, show it off.
If you can add content to a learning journey (avoid saying ‘curriculum path,’ since someone new will have no idea what you are talking about), show it with your AI.
Ditto on job roles and the skills tied to them.
Focus on the problems they face and are concerned about, by solving it with the AI.
Again, plug and go, type in and go, fast and simple – anyone can do it.
Flip 11
Everyone gets a concierge – someone dedicated to them.
Onboarding the customer is free, as much as they need.
Make sure it isn’t just the admin, but the person overseeing the system, because they may be doing it themselves or driving this and lack the knowledge or the full power of the system.
The majority of calls an admin makes to a vendor have nothing to do with system bugs.
The days of the admin validating what an end user says is an issue are long gone.
They just push it up to the vendor.
That costs you money.
This is BTW why I like the ‘show me, let me do it’ aspect of icons, rather than just integrating your help or FAQ, which nobody reads.
Point out how this works when they ask how to do it, and then have them type in or do what is needed.
I once read years ago that admins, on average, use only 20% of the system.
I can guarantee you that number has dropped.
Flip 12
Remember that AI literacy?
Add Mental health to it, around AI.
It is becoming a big problem, and remember this learner is going to use the system outside of the workplace (unless they are hourly, union, etc.)
I can guarantee you that at least one of your employees, in let’s say 5,000 or more, sees the AI as more than just what it is, – a tool, and no, it is not sentient or a human – it makes mistakes.
Here is a study conducted by Mercer that I think shows what I am talking about and why it is relevant.
1,000 CEOs were sent a survey (in the United States), and the data is frankly frightening. I can tell you: a lot of folks in L&D, Training, heck, even within their own company, are clueless about it.
- 99% of respondents said they expect AI to lead to layoffs within the next two years
- 98% of respondents are expecting to have significant organizational changes around AI
- In the latest survey, Mercer found that 44% of employees are thriving in the workplace, which is down by 22% from 2024
- 49% of HR professionals say incorporating worker sentiments with behavioral data will become critical to managing labor on the job. On top of that, 43 to 44% said the same of AI chatbots (Mercer study 2026)
- Mercer found that in some cases, managers who responded to the survey are using AI chatbots to decide whom to fire
While there are two camps on whether AI will impact the job market and employees specifically, the data above shows that, based on the survey, employees are indeed worried.
For the record, as many of you know, I have always been in the camp of significant job losses.
This is why mental health is so relevant to today’s workforce around AI.
Bottom Line
Adapt. Speed. Modify.
Accepting the challenges, rather than hiding from them, and solving the Big Problem will flip the LMS on its head.
Understand the audience of today – the admins, the folks overseeing the whole e-learning experience, which includes the learning system – and in this case, the LMS – are not as knowledgeable as you might think, especially the admins.
Recognize that there are plenty of people at the head of e-learning, who want a system to go further, and do more than before, who have either an understanding of MCPs or want to know more, and why it benefits them to have it.
Plug and Play.
Have an MCP? Person enters their username and password, and bam, it works.
Watch out for talent development systems that skim close to HCMs and don’t refer to themselves as an LMS.
Counter it with your sophisticated version.
Need a mix of simple with some sophistication – doable with a couple of tweaks – after all the versions are ready to go.
Which one do you show? Based on the conversation you will have with the person overseeing the department, the decision maker.
Use Cases are usually similar; if you do enough of them, you will see which version to show.
If you find out that Sammy, the admin, is no longer at the company and that Sarah from HRIS has taken this over, resolve it, work with them, and show them how easy it is to do.
This means, if needed, you’re stepping in to administer the system and help them get it up and running.
You do it for free.
This taps into their job now.
Engage.
And flip the LMS,
Not just on its head
But realizing those folks who see the LMS as passe
Are wrong.
And here’s why.
E-Learning 24/7
Bonus fact: people are starting to add typos to show or imply they are not using only AI. Again, learn, learn, and learn – share with your customer – become the expert.
Or find someone who is.
