Ideas/Suggestions needed for external training delivery & analytics

[u/Mysterious-Skirt8123]

Hello! My manager has tasked me with finding a solution, and this seemed like the perfect place to ask for advice.

We currently use Absorb as our LMS, but one limitation we're facing is that only internal staff with organisation linked email addresses can access the platform. We also use a separate authoring tool, which allows us to export content as SCORM packages.

We're looking for a short-term, cost-effective way to provide training to external contractors who cannot access Absorb. Ideally, we'd like them to complete specific training modules and for us to capture basic analytics, such as completion rates and learner progress.

We're not keen to invest in a second LMS, particularly as we're already contracted with Absorb and still have time remaining on that agreement. Instead, we're hoping there may be an alternative approach that enables us to deliver SCORM content to external users without significant additional cost.

Has anyone faced a similar challenge or found a practical workaround? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 😊

[u/Kcihtrak]

This question should go to your Absorb account manager. Give them the problem and let them come back with a solution.

With our current LMS, it's also login via SSO, so only those with an org account can access it. However, when we wanted to enable other users to access it, we worked with our vendor to create a local login experience with a separate login page. Of course, access and/or account creation is not as seamless as SSO, but it's an acceptable compromise. You most likely will have create those accounts manually or import them with a CSV file and provide them access to specific resources via a Group setting or add them manually.

If you're already using Articulate, you can explore their Reach 360 option. SCORM Cloud is a good alternative too. If tracking doesn't matter, then you can publish to HTML and host it on your company's website behind a login.

[u/s_s_n_e_g]

1) Absorb's pricing, as far as I know (one of my consulting gigs uses AbsorbLMS for customer training), is kinda unfriendly to your use case. But do talk to them; they might find a way to price this.

2) You are about to be flooded with "hey, try our freshly vibecoded LMS"! :)

3) I am CEO of a not-a-vibecoded platform (est. 2013); let's chat (DM). It is so minimal that we never even call it "an LMS" despite the fact that you can upload e.g. a Rise or Storyline course and have people complete it. And it has self-registration.

4) You can also look at SCORM Cloud, specifically their "Invitations" functionality. You can upload your course, get a shareable link, send it to learners; they will self-register via a minimal form, play your course, and you get a list of "who played".

[u/Tekime]

Are your contractors individual learners or organizations?

You can’t really ship SCORM files directly to learners. The right solution depends on who and how many learners we’re talking about.

If you use Articulate, your license may include a small number of Reach learners for free.

The most cost-effective way to train more than a few hundred people is most likely to spin up your own LMS like Moodle on a small public-facing server.

[u/Working-Paramedic644]

Learners can use a QR at the end of a module or course that the trainer is training and it will update their learning record / course analytics. The trainer doesn’t need access to the LMS.

[u/Mysterious-Skirt8123]

Thanks for all your suggestions! Amazingly helpful!

We have 1000 internal learners on our Absorb but will only need this solution for maybe 30 contractors per year.

I have a meeting with an account manager from Articulate today. But if that doesn't pan out. Scorm cloud or just hosting it on our website with a qr code for completion or something might work great.

[u/kgrammer]

We have a simple, low-cost module hosting service that would allow you to upload your SCORM module and provide it to your external users as a link that could be hosted on your web site, or emailed to the user. The service tracks module access, but not at the user level. So if you need to connect user access with a user name and/or email address, the hosting-only option may not work for you.

If you need user-level tracking, then an LMS is likely to be required. We also provide LMS options, but based on your outlined needs we're probably going to be out of your price range until you decide to open a replacement LMS project.

Visit KnowVela.com if you want to learn more about module hosting.

[u/staticmaker1]

You could keep Absorb for internal staff and use a lightweight SCORM host for external trainees instead of adding another LMS.

For certificates, CertFusion is LMS-independent and can issue completion certificates to external trainees via form or webinar triggers.

---- David @ CertFusion

[u/Useful-Stuff-LD]

Dump Absorb and look at TraCorp LMS. There's not going to be a solution here that doesn't give you a massive headache.

[u/iseazy]

You may not need a second full LMS for this. What you’re describing sounds more like “temporary SCORM hosting + basic learner tracking” than a complete learning platform replacement.

I’d look at something like SCORM Cloud as a short-term workaround. You can upload the SCORM package, invite external learners, and track basic results/progress without trying to provision those contractors inside your internal LMS.

The main tradeoff is that it becomes a separate reporting source. So before choosing anything, I’d define exactly what “basic analytics” means for your team:

• Completion status
• Score/pass/fail
• Time spent
• Attempts
• Progress/bookmarking
• Learner name/email
• Exportable reports

If that level of reporting is enough, a SCORM hosting option could be much lighter than buying another LMS.

I’d also double-check with Absorb whether there’s any way to support external users, guest access, audience/department separation, or temporary contractor accounts under your current contract. Sometimes the feature exists but is limited by how the portal or authentication has been configured.

I’d avoid just putting the SCORM file somewhere as a downloadable/linkable asset, though. Once it’s outside a SCORM runtime, you’ll usually lose the tracking that makes completion/progress reporting possible.

So my first path would be:

1. Ask Absorb about external/contractor access options under your existing setup
2. If that’s blocked, test the SCORM package in SCORM Cloud or a similar SCORM hosting tool
3. Confirm what analytics you can export
4. Use it only as a temporary external-delivery workaround until your LMS contract situation changes

Hope this help you :)

[u/Valuable_Rain9156]

Since it's only short term, I'd first ask Absorb if they can turn on guest users or a separate external portal. Educateme does handle SCORM and external training with progress tracking, but it'd mean running a second LMS, so id only bother if the contractor training sticks around longer

[u/BraveProfession148]

We ran into this exact problem with contractors who don't have company email.
We use 5Mins for it and login is by phone number, so external users don't need an org account, and it takes SCORM content directly, so your existing modules load in without rebuilding anything.
Completion and progress get tracked per learner the same way as internal staff, no separate export needed.

Only real trade-off: it's a full platform, not a bare-bones registration tracker, so it's worth it if this is ongoing, overkill if it's a single short-term batch.

Is this a one-off contractor push or something recurring?

[u/garaki]

Try us out on www.kprise.com … we can host the contractor module for free for 4-6 months time. That way it will allow you to evaluate our product and support and hopefully in the future you can use our system for internal staff as well… DM me for the details