Learning platform: how to choose the right one

Choosing a learning platform is a decision you live with for many years. The right platform makes it easy to build courses, get them to the right people, and follow what happens. The wrong one becomes a system few people use.

This guide takes you through the choice in five steps, from needs to decision.

Start with the task, not the systems. Write down the three to five situations where you need learning today. For example:

• Onboarding of new employees that should look the same every time.
• Mandatory training that must be documentable.
• A new system or workflow that many people need to learn.
• Skills development in specific roles.
• Training of customers or partners.

The situations become your yardstick. A platform that excels at what you do not need will not help.

A learning platform typically has three kinds of users, and all three must be able to use it:

• Those who build the courses, such as HR, a manager, or a subject matter expert.
• Those who follow progress, such as managers and HR.
• Those who learn, meaning the employees.

Many platforms are great for one group and heavy for the others. So ask: Who will build the courses here? Do we have a full L&D team, or is it people who also have another job?

Once the needs and users are clear, you can make a short list of requirements. Keep it to what matters:

• Can we build courses ourselves without outside help?
• Can we reuse material we already have, such as presentations and videos?
• Can we use quizzes, reflection, and certificates?

• Can we assign to groups, departments, locations, and individual users?
• Can we bundle courses into programs and set deadlines?

• Is it clear what needs to be done now?
• Does it work on mobile?
• Can employees sign in with the login they already have?

• Can managers see progress for their own team?
• Can we document who has completed and when?

• How long does it take to get started?
• Is local support available, and how is data handled?

A demo shows the platform at its best. So ask to see it with your own situation. Take a concrete example, such as an onboarding journey for one role, and see how it is built, assigned, and followed.

Also let an employee who does not work with learning try taking a course. If they need an explanation to get started, that is a warning sign.

• Choosing by the longest feature list. More features often mean more setup and fewer people using the system.
• Forgetting the builders. If courses are hard to create, new ones never get made, and the platform stands still.
• Starting too broad. Begin with one area, such as onboarding, and build on once it works.
• Skipping the follow-up. Agree on who tracks progress and what happens when something stalls.

Once the platform is chosen, start small. Build one journey together, test it on a couple of employees, and assign it to the first groups. Follow progress, adjust, and then take on the next area.

Skillflow is a Danish learning platform built for companies where HR, managers, and subject matter experts create the content themselves. See how it is built under E-learning, or read more about what an LMS is.