Chances are you’re on this page because you discovered what a training management system (TMS) is and how it can help your organization streamline resourcing for your learning initiatives that use ILT.
But what exactly do you look for in training management software to make sure that the right platform fits your organization’s needs?
In this post, we go over the top 8 selection criteria training leaders, from chief learning officers to L&D directors, need to know before choosing their training solutions platform for ILT operations.
What’s a Training Management System (TMS)?
A Training Management System (TMS) is an integrated platform designed to help training coordinators handle the administrative and back-office processes for training programs that utilize instructor-led training (ILT).
More specifically, a TMS platform helps training organizations and learning providers quickly schedule and monitor resourcing for in-person training events, skills development seminars, one-time training sessions, as well as regular and recurring training courses throughout the year
A complete TMS is not another name for a training scheduling system but a complete training solution for managing the end-to-end lifecycle of a training program, including:
- Tracking of training budgets and resource costs
- Resource logistics management for training sites
- Data-powered insights for operational improvement
- Task coordination between training teams and stakeholders
- Instructor and trainer scheduling tools
Are Training Management Systems (TMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) the same?
Despite the similarities in names, a training management system and learning management system are two completely different forms of learning software meant to cater to two different forms of learning delivery.
- LMS: eLearning and online training delivered directly to the learner
- TMS: a scheduling and optimization platform for ILT and F2F delivery
Both the TMS and LMS can be used together, especially if an organization adopts a blended learning strategy for one or several training programs.
To get a better understanding of both these platforms, take a look at the guide on differences between the TMS and LMS.
Who uses a Training Management System?
The primary users of a training management system aren’t learners but rather primary stakeholders in a training organization who are responsible for skills development strategies, optimization of training program delivery, and the leading of training initiatives that are centered on ILT or vILT.
Training management systems are not only designed for internal training organizations such as a learning department within a company, but can also be used extensively with:
- Training providers and businesses
- Corporate learning academies
- Associations providing further training
- Extended enterprise training program
When is it time to use a Training Management System?
Training directors and chief learning officers alike should consider integrating a Training Management System (TMS) in their learning tech ecosystem once their organization’s instructor-led training programs grow complex to the point that spreadsheets and other manual coordination methods start creating bottlenecks, errors, and more admin hours.
Common learning administration experiences that can be solved with a TMS
Training coordinators and managers have all been there, and we have too.
Chances are it may be time to consider a training management system if your training team regularly experiences the following issues:
- Spending hours manually scheduling instructors, venues, and resources across multiple training sessions
- Struggling to track training budgets, expenses, and invoicing accurately
- Difficulty selling or offering new training courses to prospective or existing clients due to tech infrastructure
- Losing time on manual registration and enrollment management for instructor-led courses
- Facing compliance or reporting headaches, especially in regulated industries
- Juggling spreadsheets or disconnected tools to coordinate logistics for classroom or blended training
- Finding it hard to scale training programs across multiple locations or business units
- Needing better visibility into training ROI, costs, and utilization for stakeholder reporting
For a deeper overview of how a TMS functions within an internal L&D team and commercial training provider, check out our training management software guide.
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How can a Training Management System help Training Teams?
A training management system is an invaluable asset for training providers, L&D teams, and HR professionals serving a large number of learners who rely on using live, in-person training to deliver learning.
The main benefit that a TMS provides for L&D professionals is that it reduces the amount of administrative time spent on scheduling and planning training sessions that would normally take hours looking at multiple spreadsheets, calendars, and other software tools to get a training program ready to go.
However, TMS software helps deliver value in other areas that L&D teams may not even be aware of.
Managing the cost of training
A common requirement for Training Departments and corporate learning academies is to reduce their budget by “30% over 3 years.” For many organizations, their answer is to do less instructor-led training due to the idea that online training will overtake traditional instructor-led training.
While the idea that instructor-led training is outdated is a myth at best, eLearning works well but only in the short term and is usually best for knowledge acquisition.
Even in the age of AI, eLearning and skills development enhanced with robotic agents has created frustration among learners to the point that most training strategists are actually opting for use of instructor-led training and even virtual instructor-led training to provide upskilling for their teams that eLearning just isn’t great at delivering.
By implementing a Training Management System, organizations can deliver more instructor-led training with less administration time.
Learn more: How Dell Technologies and Wells Fargo Scaled Planning and Resourcing for Skills Development
Filling technological capabilities not provided by the LMS
The learning management system (LMS) and to an extent the learning experience platform (LXP) are the main learning tools used in the modern L&D tool kit.
As great as an LMS is at making learning efficient for learners and organizations, the LMS tends to lack heavily on back-office administration tools for instructor-led training. It’s why many leading analysts have advised against using an LMS to scheduling in-person training.
Why is that the case? In the same way hammers are designed to hit nails and not screws. An LMS is best designed to serve the learners’ needs for online training material (videos and modules) that the learner can access from the comfort of their own computer. However, it also has its limits as the platform doesn’t have the capability to address the needs of the training provider to help keep the learner on track. That is procurement of trainers & instructors, managing training sites, and managing training program costs.
An LMS and TMS work best when training managers combine the best of both technologies for an optimized blended learning experience that brings the best of eLearning with the best of instructor-led training.
Productivity Issues
Resources are wasted in performing time-consuming administrative tasks. You may also have issues collaborating across teams, managing disparate systems, and tracking training costs.
Unreliable Data
Many training departments are still using and managing activities with an inconceivable number of Excel files, Outlook, or other calendar apps. Instead, you should be finding the right training management software. Sometimes you even use it partly with the LMS or other systems.
This decentralized approach is not only frustrating for admins, but it’s costing organizations significant time and money. It’s also resulting in data that is difficult to access and put together. Therefore, meaningful action can’t be taken.
8 Criteria You Should Consider When Selecting a Training Management System
Training Orchestra has partnered with some of the best companies in their field to help them optimize their training resources. Building on our two-decade-long experience with more than 600 clients worldwide, we developed 8 key criteria that you should consider when selecting a training management system. These can also be used to assess different learning technologies.
1. Vision & Long-Term Orientation
- The vendor has a deep understanding and commitment to the Training Industry.
- You can upgrade the software without any additional costs, and 100% of clients use the latest version.
- The solution offers advanced configuration but avoids any specific development so that you benefit from a standard solution.
2. Organization
- The solution matches your processes and your organization (e.g. organizational structure and scale).
- If you do business in multiple countries, you need a solution that supports multiple languages, currencies, and local legal regulations.
- The solution enables collaboration and cooperation within the organization.
3. Total Cost of Ownership
- The solution has a flexible architecture and elastic parameters to guarantee your autonomy from the software vendor.
- You can adjust your solution to make it fit your needs as these change.
4. Implementation and Technological Rollout
- Interoperability with 3rd party systems. The solution builds on standard APIs to easily interface with existing and/or future solutions (LMS, Learning Experience Platform, Accounting system, CRM…).
- Tasks are executed on time and within the budget.
- Test and qualification are done in your real functional environment to make sure that you end up with a stable solution.
5. Expertise
- The project manager is dedicated to the solution and has both functional experience in the training industry and technical expertise with the solution.
- You receive a vendor hotline that is accessible and offers expert help.
- The vendor provides personalized training in your functional environment.
6. Usability
- The training management system is user-friendly beyond “look and feel”. This means that workflows are intuitive and actions can be replicated in one click. In addition, information should be easily accessible, dashboards should be personalized by role, etc. Ease of use of the software leads to higher productivity.
- The solution ensures a quick learning curve for teams who are not technical experts.
- It is intuitive from a learner’s perspective and it matches your processes and your organization.
7. IT Implementation
- The solution offers a full web interface.
- It is based on recent and reliable technology.
- The solution provides high security, with consolidated processes and data.
- It meets the required capacity level to guarantee the necessary quality level through the server system agreement.
- It offers flexible models such as SaaS mode and/or a private cloud.
8. Functionalities
- The training management solution helps you maximize the use of resources. You can optimize costs and profitability by optimizing the usage of all resources.
- It helps you monitor, manage, and optimize your financials: forecasting and monitoring of the budget, real-time cost tracking, and profitability optimization.
- It helps you manage and accelerate sales processes.
- The software helps improve administrative productivity. Time saved on administrative issues can then be used on more value-added activities.
- The solution helps you secure sectorial constraints: recycling, and local regulations (Spain, Canada, France, and Belgium are very strict in terms of training regulations).
- It ensures data reliability by centralizing in one place all the data coming from all parts of your company.
- It provides advanced and flexible reporting through pertinent KPIs and best-practice reports.
Dive Deeper: The Top Training Management Software Features ILT Delivery Teams Need
Training Orchestra: The Best Training Management Software for Training Organizations & Providers
The search stops here for the best training management system that meets your organizations training needs.
Training Orchestra has consistently been recognized as the best training management platform for organizations needing to scale ILT and vILT focused learning programs.
As a Strategic Leader on the Fosway-9 Grid™ for six consecutive years and a 2026 Lighthouse Tech Award winner for its analytical capabilities, Training Orchestra has set the standard for instructor-led training operations for mid-market to enterprise scale training organizations.
Ready to see how the best TMS can help solve your training bottlenecks?
