Cornerstone LMS Reviews

“You can shape the platform”

Pros

It stands out for how customizable it is. You can really shape the look, feel and overall user experience to match what works best for your company. Admins have a lot of flexibility to build the kind of experience they want.

Cons

A few features clearly haven't been updated in years and it shows especially tests, evaluations and certifications. We still depend on these in our business but the user experience in those areas doesn't feel consistent with the rest of the system.

“Gives us freedom to be creative”

Pros

Using this application has made it much simpler for us to deliver content to our audience. It's user-friendly and also gives us the freedom to be creative, both in how we engage our users and how we work internally.

Cons

One issue I've personally run into since implementation has been with delegates. For a system of this size, that part really should be revisited to make things easier for admins.

“Automated Compliance training”

Pros

The reporting in the learning suite goes incredibly deep and it's left me walking out of meetings feeling like a superhero because I can confidently say, "yes, we can do that." Compliance training can be automated which saves a huge amount of time that would otherwise be spent checking who completed what and when. Once the reports and training are set up, it becomes really quick to spot business trends within minutes.

Cons

At times, there are just too many buttons users have to click through to complete training. That can be a real turnoff for older employees who struggle more with digital literacy especially when the process takes more than a click or two.

“accessible courses”

Pros

Our employees can quickly find the courses they need and the calendar makes registering for them very convenient. The new Learning Assignment tool has also been a really nice addition.

Cons

Loading a course still requires going through several different sections and then I also have to update the catalog information separately. It would be much better if this could be done with fewer clicks. We've also been running into buffering problems with MP4 videos lately which wasn't an issue before and we're still waiting to hear back from support about it.

“Great for smaller companies”

Pros

Being able to offer learning opportunities to clients, prospective clients and even the wider public has been one of the most rewarding parts of using Cornerstone. It is especially meaningful for smaller companies that cannot justify the cost of their own learning platform and instead look externally for training. Seeing how much value we can provide through Cornerstone Learning and Extended Enterprise regularly leads to really fulfilling conversations.

Cons

At times, certain product functions create downstream effects in other parts of the system that are not identified early and are not always simple to correct. One issue we have run into is in the learning suite when cancelling a session that has a dollar amount tied to it. Even after we withdraw all users and take care of their registrations by moving them to another session or issuing training units for future use, the system still automatically refunds anyone who had previously been enrolled. Because of that, we cannot actually use the cancel button if a user was ever enrolled. Instead, we are left keeping extra sessions in approved status, removing availability and just writing "Cancelled" in the Session/Training ID for reporting purposes which ends up skewing the data in the system.

“wide range of configuration options”

Pros

It offers a wide range of configuration options that can support a broad and varied group of users. The automation features and the consistent database structure are definite advantages.

Cons

For a smaller organization like ours, with fewer than 1,000 employees, managing it effectively is almost impossible without someone dedicated to it full time. We ended up bringing in outside help, Bluewater in our case, just to uncover some of the obvious opportunities we had missed while essentially rebuilding the system ourselves. It's in a much better place now but a more wizard-style setup process would probably help a lot so you wouldn't need expert-level knowledge just to find the exact configuration setting you need.

“Super cool visibility controls”

Pros

I really appreciate how customizable the system is which makes it easier to adapt as our needs continue to change. It's also very useful to be able to control what users can see based on their role or organizational unit.

Cons

The part I'd like to see improved is making it simpler to connect tests with learning content. If my GPS support tickets had been answered more quickly, I would have rated it a 9.

“helpful learner pages”

Pros

The Welcome Page and Learner Home Pages are really useful and users can quickly locate the information they need on them.

Cons

Some of the administrator features are frustrating because they feel too restricted and it would be better if we had the option to delete certain errors when necessary.

“easy to manage curriculam”

Pros

Creating and uploading content into the catalog is very simple. From there, it's simple to build and manage curricula that match the training needs of employees. The dashboard functionality is also a big plus since business units get real-time data they can track and act on without having to rely on their HRBP to pull reports.

Cons

The HTML formatting options for ILT descriptions are somewhat limited.

“enabled company-wide learning”

Pros

Cornerstone's learning platform has really helped our company launch training and development efforts across the entire organization. Even though we're still fairly new to the system, the client experience has been excellent and we're excited to keep using it to support and grow employee development.

Cons

My only real concern is that I'm not yet as familiar with everything the system can do as I'd like to be. That said attending the User Group sessions and Convergence made a big difference and helped close that gap quite a bit.

“Multiple ways to handle learning”

Pros

Having multiple ways to handle different parts of learning and track completion for large groups has been really helpful. The Upload Tool works well and the On the Job Training option is especially useful for recording observations my company needs for Safety inspections.

Cons

One challenge has been explaining the product's limitations to my manager since there's a strong expectation that I can build something fully tailored to the unique needs of our Safety program at PSE. Even so, the available configurations get us pretty close to what we need.

“Has a lot of potential”

Pros

It is great how capable and adaptable the system is. We use it for a wide range of learning materials and it handles that variety well, with plenty of room for even more innovation going forward. It's rarely a matter of whether the platform can do what we need, it's more about deciding which approach works best to deliver it.

Cons

At the same time, we still hear that the system isn't very user-friendly for users especially when it comes to ILT registrations. That may be tied to the fact that many of our users work in retail or don't spend much time on screens.

“user friendly transcripts”

Pros

Assigning learning is really simple and the transcripts are very user-friendly.

Cons

A few things seem to have been missed from the development side especially the fact that you can't preview a test after creating it unless you assign it to yourself first. I built a test with image files and there was no way to check the final size or clarity beforehand without assigning it.

“comes with a lot of self-service tools”

Pros

CSOD comes with a lot of self-service tools and resources that really help you get more value out of the system. Another big plus is that the training goes beyond just showing product features and also teaches broader market best practices which makes it much more useful.

Cons

The reporting feature could be more user-friendly. I've seen other LMS platforms deliver many of the same capabilities in a less convoluted way.

“Simple to understand”

Pros

The interface is very user-friendly so it's simple to understand and move around in. Switching between the online platform and the mobile app feels smooth and it supports all the necessary standards.

Cons

Its support for the life sciences industry leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, the assignments feature doesn't meet our needs and the way versioning works especially when triggering assignments based on version, really needs to be reworked.

“allows us to add links in email”

Pros

It offers a lot of functionality and one feature I really appreciate is being able to add a link in an email directly to an online course. That's something our previous LMS didn't have so it feels like a big step up.

Cons

With so many options available, it can be difficult to figure out where to go to find exactly what you need to see.

“helps us stay compliant”

Pros

Being able to assign all kinds of learning content to employees is a big plus and it really helps us stay compliant with regulatory requirements.

Cons

The biggest frustration for our growing organization is that groups still can't be edited properly.

“Time-saving integrations”

Pros

Having the option to use additional applications directly within the system saves a lot of time and cuts down on extra reporting.

Cons

Courses have to be deactivated one at a time which becomes especially difficult with LinkedIn Learning since they offer around 17,000 courses.

“Plenty of automation features”

Pros

I appreciate how many features it includes for setting up automated processes. Automated emails, approval workflows and scheduled report delivery all help keep things moving without a lot of manual effort.

Cons

At the same time because the system offers so much functionality, managing processes from an administrative side can get complicated and feel less user-friendly than it should. It also seems like Cornerstone is slow to respond to feedback shared in the Success Center since suggestions with hundreds of votes still remain unaddressed.

“employee monitoring made simple”

Pros

The dashboards help our company stay on top of all required training and keep us compliant. They also let supervisors monitor their employees much more efficiently.

Cons

Setting up certifications has been difficult. We currently have our CPR certifications working correctly but we haven't had success with other certifications we've tried to build.