Let me get straight to the point, why hire a Learning Management System (LMS)Administrator (admin, hereafter)? You think about doing admin work without it. Or do you think the LMS provider will support 24/7. Or you think, even more, that you or one of the managers handles it as and when necessary.
No Organization For An LMS Administrator!
Without an LMS administrator, you barely manage your eLearning activities, no more than 10 percent. You can bet on it!
Having a full LMS administrator is like hiring a dedicated vehicle driver so he can take you whenever and wherever you want. Likewise, the LMS will take care of all activities related to your Learning and Development (L&D).
So, let’s understand the role of an LMS administrator.
LMS Administrator Role
What does an LMS administrator do? He runs an LMS! That simple. So it helps to know exactly what an LMS does for you.
As you may know, an LMS is a software for training people using eLearning products. This means that some functions need to be serviced every now and then.
An LMS administrator usually, but is not limited to, does:
- Keep your LMS
- Create eLearning programs
- Document everything
- Reports
- Collect and send training feedback
And many of these tasks, depend on the need.
Now let’s see what an LMS administrator does within the LMS.
- Responsibilities of an LMS Administrator
- The responsibilities of an LMS administrator are segregated into three parts.
- What does it do inside the LMS
- What does it do with the LMS
- What does it do, connecting to the LMS
- What does it do inside the LMS
Any organization that has an LMS means there will be a handful of work for its administrator. Here are some of the tasks that the LMS administrator performs:
- Define roles, departments, etc.
- create users
- Create learning modules like e-Learning, Classrooms, Learning Paths, Programs, etc.
- Collect and send personal feedback from your friends
- Prepare badges and certificates
- Update the training calendar
- Edit LMS settings
And these tasks are just some of the most important ones. There will be many such tasks for the LMS head.
What does it do with the LMS
Like any other system, your LMS also needs maintenance and other regular maintenance tasks. This is to keep your system running smoothly. Therefore, you need an LMS administrator who knows everything about an LMS.
In-depth knowledge of the LMS will help you troubleshoot issues quickly and smoothly. therefore,
- Good analytical skills of LMS admin are helpful to fix things in LMS
- Configuring the LMS
- Maintain LMS documentation
- Update the LMS as and when recommended by the LMS vendor for security reasons
- Suggest usage improvements as and when feasible
- Keeping an eye on the latest LMS trends and technologies to implement them in your system
- Monitoring system performance and more.
One of the ways the above points sound like an LMS administrator’s responsibilities. Therefore, the responsibility lies with the administrator to put the LMS to optimal use to effectively execute its L&D strategies.
Otherwise, your LMS is likely to be a white elephant. That’s sure.
What does it do, connecting to the LMS
With respect to LMS and L&D, the LMS administrator will act as a nodal point. He will be the point of contact for several jobs. Let’s see them:
- Coordinates with the LMS vendor’s technical team regarding the technical aspects of their LMS
- Servers as a point of contact for your students for any issues about course inaccessibility
- Collaborates with training managers and others at various levels of the organization
- Receives information from instructional designers in case there is a problem accessing courses
- Collects student feedback on training, instructors, and courses
- And the points add to the above list as and when needed. That’s all about the responsibilities of an LMS head.
In case you enjoy being an LMS admin, you better have these skills listed here.
- Clear communication is everything. Because you have to deal with a good number of stakeholders at various levels.
- System network. Since you are the point of contact, you need to be good at systems and networks.
- Analytical skills. You have to identify and troubleshoot the LMS. So this skill set is crucial.
- Coursework drawing. It’s helpful if you know how to design courses.
- Knowledge of LMS trends and social media.
It’s a few skill sets that make you an effective LMS administrator worthy of a handsome salary.