Cornerstone LMS Reviews

“Supportive implementation specialist”

Pros

We're currently rolling out Cornerstone across our organization and the experience has been very positive so far. From the beginning, the sales rep, implementation specialist and support team have all stayed highly involved and responsive. Whenever a question comes up or we hit a snag, they get back to us the same day. We're also going through training modules on how the system works and the quality of that content has been excellent. Having access to those materials has been especially useful as we continue through the implementation process.

Cons

One drawback is that Cornerstone charges extra for some features I would normally expect to be included. For instance, setting up and managing a certification process where users complete specific modules and then receive a certificate feels like a basic LMS capability. In Cornerstone, though, that functionality requires an additional cost.

“Leading LMS”

Pros

Having used Cornerstone and its LMS cloud for years, I can say it's simple to use and simple to get up and running. Companies that have switched to this platform have really been able to take advantage of everything it offers. Cornerstone feels far ahead of other options in the market and the product keeps getting updated with new and exciting features.

Cons

If I had to point to one downside, it would probably be the reporting.

“proactive team”

Pros

Cornerstone has been very organized and well prepared from the start. I reached out based on a recommendation and their response was almost immediate. They also have a broad support team in place, covering everything from sales and implementation to ongoing customer service. I'm still in the early stages of my design project so I haven't had the chance to work with the full implementation team yet. Even so, every question or concern I've brought up has been handled quickly and in a way that left me fully satisfied.

Cons

One challenge is the fairly steep learning curve when it comes to using the product. They did give me a sandbox environment to test things out which was helpful but I still had a hard time figuring out certain parts on my own.

“Top-notch learning and performance module”

Pros

The Learning and Performance modules are tough to match. There are plenty of options to help you get where you want to go and the interface feels user-friendly which makes the platform feel top-notch overall.

Cons

New major features only come out once per quarter. It would be better if those releases happened more frequently.

“Solid modules”

Pros

Its solid set of features and modules makes it well suited to a practical, well-structured business process.

Cons

Some important areas are not documented well enough. The online help covers how to use many parts of the system but when it comes to highly technical or specialized topics like compensation calculations, SCORM 2004 reporting logic and certifications, there is very little documentation or support explaining the intended functionality.

“all-inclusive platform and standout support”

Pros

Cornerstone feels like a truly all-in-one system. It has outperformed several other platforms I've worked with throughout my career and the customer service and implementation teams have been outstanding from start to finish.

Cons

One thing that could be improved is the training content. The videos could be a bit shorter and having a PDF with quick step-by-step instructions would be really helpful for those of us who are limited on time.

“Flawless reporting”

Pros

Putting together and tracking training in Cornerstone has been really effective. Building large curricula is simple, setting up annual compliance training is simple and even adding something like a YouTube video as training is no problem. The reporting is one of its strongest points since it delivers useful data without needing much extra work outside the system.

Cons

Getting enhancement requests approved can be a little frustrating. That said I understand it's partly because not every requested change can be handled as a unique preference since it would impact all customers and the code only allows limited customer-specific customization. It can also be tricky in certain cases to report on what hasn't happened yet such as identifying people who still haven't completed a required compliance training.

“Top LMS”

Pros

It has remained one of the leading learning management platforms in the industry. The Learning Cloud is user-friendly and highly customizable which gives learning administrators the flexibility to make full use of the system based on their specific needs.

Cons

The interface often feels outdated. Although updates have been introduced over time, the improvements seem to roll out pretty slowly across the different clouds they offer.

“Versatile learning delivery platform”

Pros

It is an engaging, user-friendly platform that gives organizations a solid way to deliver, monitor and evaluate development activities across online, webinar and in-person formats.

Cons

Although the product is user-friendly, it also has a very powerful set of features. I would have preferred temporary access to the full feature set so I could better judge which ones would be valuable for our organization.

“Outstanding support from day one”

Pros

Right from implementation and continuing afterward, the support around our new Learning Management System has been outstanding. Our Client Success Manager helped make the transition feel manageable and worked closely with us to set everything up around the way our business actually needed to use it. On top of that, there are multiple training modules available that helped us learn the different parts of the system. They also hold daily office hours which has been really helpful whenever questions come up. We've only used Cornerstone for Learning but the reporting has continued to impress us especially how detailed and targeted the course assignment options are, including dynamic registrations, proxy registration and approval workflows.

Cons

Setting up ILTs became somewhat easier with the copy feature but there still wasn't a way to print rosters for every session at once. Instead, each roster had to be printed individually from each session.

“impressed with it”

Pros

After using it for the past three years across two different companies, I've stayed consistently impressed with the system and everything it can do. The more modules you add, the stronger the analytics and data integration become but even just using the Learning and Performance modules gives you a very capable tool for talent management, learning administration and reporting. Over time, the interface has become much more user friendly and with the newer Universal Profile updates, it now has a familiar social-style feel that makes it much easier for users to learn and move around in. I also really appreciate the shift toward a more visual, image-driven interface even if a few pages are still being updated to make the whole system feel fully consistent. Reporting is one of the biggest strengths for me. Custom reports take a bit of practice at first because you need to understand how the system pulls information but once you get comfortable with the data structure, you can generate a wide range of useful insights. The addition of graph-building in custom reports has made that even better since it cuts down on the need to export everything into Excel just to create visuals there. One thing I can say confidently is that admin navigation is very manageable. While System Administrator responsibilities can get more complex when it comes to permissions, security roles and backend settings, the people you assign as training coordinators or instructors can pick it up quickly. It's simple for them to run reports, enroll employees, add sessions and events, manage rosters and handle day-to-day learning tasks. The custom pages feature has also been a huge plus. I didn't come into it with much HTML knowledge but when we decided to build parts of our performance management program inside Cornerstone instead of SharePoint, I ended up taking that on myself. Even with limited experience and a lot of online searching, it was very manageable to create functional, attractive pages that connected to other parts of the system, like class registration. The Data Load Wizard has also been a big help for bringing in large amounts of information without entering records one at a time. Overall I've genuinely enjoyed working with Cornerstone and with the people behind it. Attending Cornerstone Convergence last year made that even clearer, seeing how all of their products connect, along with newer capabilities like predictive analytics, showed that the company has a strong vision and is staying ahead in Talent and Learning Management.

Cons

That said while the reporting tools are excellent overall, there are times when the data can be misleading if you don't fully understand how it's being pulled on the backend. You really have to know what you're looking at before assuming a report is fully accurate. I've seen cases where an employee completed a class but the report showed otherwise because the system was pulling the most recent record instead. For example someone might register again for a session by mistake and then withdraw after realizing they already completed the course and the report ends up showing the withdrawn status instead of the earlier completion. The information is still in the system but it does mean you have to review results carefully and apply some judgment. There have also been moments when we've hit a gap between what we hoped the system would do and what it can actually do, along with occasional issues that needed Cornerstone to investigate on their side. Things like emails not triggering correctly or parts of the system not behaving the way we expected have come up from time to time. Still, whenever I've contacted Global Support or our Client Success Manager, they've been very helpful. Global Support may not always have an immediate answer but they consistently follow up with either a fix or a clear explanation and the Client Success Managers I've worked with at both companies have always gone the extra mile to troubleshoot problems and help us find workarounds that fit our needs.

“Valuable reporting for retail teams”

Pros

Cornerstone OnDemand Learning Cloud gives our retail organization a simple LMS for managing employee training and offers solid built-in reports. Those standard reports cover what most retail teams need but the real value comes from being able to customize them yourself. The native report builder is a big plus since there's no need for Crystal or another third-party reporting tool unless you want to overcomplicate things. It lets admins build reports using nearly any data field available in CSOD. As long as the information coming over from the HRIS is accurate, the built-in custom reporting can turn into an extremely useful source of strategic insight.

Cons

A big advantage of CSOD is that the company keeps enhancing the product over time. That said constant innovation can be a double-edged sword. It can lead to meaningful improvements but it can also get in the way of usability when updates are not rolled out in a timely way for a specific user group. The platform has a lot of promise and while it works well enough as a retail LMS, many of the product changes being introduced at this point in time (12/7/2015) do not really seem designed with retail organizations in mind.

“frustrating learning curve”

Pros

It comes across as a very capable learning management system. It offers a broad range of features that cover just about every kind of training component my organization needs. The reporting tool is also a strong point because it gives a lot of flexibility.

Cons

One thing that has been difficult is the system's naming conventions. Some of the terms are unclear and they feel very different from the ones used in the last two systems I worked with. I also do not care for the font color and overall the interface is not very visually appealing. It feels like one of those powerful, highly technical platforms that never really got much design attention and Cornerstone OnDemand fits that pattern. Both as a learner and as an administrator, adjusting to the system has been frustrating. The learning curve is definitely steeper than with the previous platforms I've used.

“easy to get used to”

Pros

Getting up to speed with it happened quickly because the platform offers a large training library that all administrative users can access. I had to learn the system in a short amount of time and the user-friendly layout along with the available tools helped me build a solid understanding of how to use it effectively for my organization. I also really appreciate my representative, Leigh H., who has been very supportive throughout this transition and learning period.

Cons

Honestly there is very little to dislike. That said I would love to see more built-in tools added to the application such as a basic presentation creator within the platform itself. It would also be nice if the system refreshed its overall theme from time to time or at least allowed users to choose a different one. A more user-friendly interface with pop-ups, hover tips and helpful guidance would make the experience even better.

“Complete enterprise-level LMS”

Pros

It includes everything I'd expect from an enterprise-level LMS. Its overall look and feel can be customized extensively and the interface is user-friendly for both learners and administrators. After many years of working with learning management systems, this is the strongest reporting functionality I've come across.

Cons

The data import tool does have some limitations especially since it doesn't support every learning object type when trying to load historical data. File formatting and data validation can be somewhat frustrating as well although it's still a very appealing alternative to paying the vendor extra to handle data loads. Another downside is that observation checklist items can't be unchecked once they've been submitted.

“Client-driven talent management”

Pros

It keeps pushing to improve every part of Talent Management and that's something I really appreciate. They genuinely listen to client feedback and shape their roadmap around what customers are asking for. It feels like they truly want to partner with their clients to build user-friendly modules that work well in real situations. Another big plus is how much they encourage customers to connect, collaborate and share ideas with each other. Whether it's through the annual conference, quarterly offsite client meetings or the Client Success Center, they create plenty of opportunities for networking and learning how others are using the different modules.

Cons

At times, it can take a few releases before a newly introduced feature feels fully developed enough to understand the complete picture and decide whether it's ready to roll out to a broader audience. In the past, getting tickets resolved through Global Product Services has also been somewhat frustrating. CSOD has made major improvements over the last year which is definitely noticeable but every now and then we still run into issues that require additional follow-up and support.

“Amazing user guides”

Pros

The online help and user guides are really well done. Another thing I appreciate is how the system looks and feels to end users since it makes the whole experience more approachable and user-friendly for them.

Cons

At times, when something does not work the way you expect, it can be a little hard to pinpoint where the actual problem is coming from.

“Quarterly updates are brilliant”

Pros

Every quarter brings something new to the platform, whether it's brand-new functionality or useful improvements to features that were already there. One thing I really appreciate is that CSOD gives customers a place to suggest features they'd like to see and with each release they actually seem to use that feedback to make meaningful updates.

Cons

Getting started as an administrator came with a pretty steep learning curve. That said their train-the-trainer resources are much better now than they were when I first began using the product.

“handles a wide range of learning management requirements”

Pros

It is flexible enough to handle a wide range of learning management requirements. It can be customized extensively so it can be kept simple or built out further based on the audience and the needs of the business. The level of customer support from Cornerstone is outstanding. Between the online community, weekly Success live sessions, our success manager, the regional user group, the annual conference and the global tech support center, I feel confident as a client that our needs are covered and our expectations are regularly surpassed. On top of that, Cornerstone actively gathers product enhancement suggestions from customers and actually puts many of those ideas into practice.

Cons

There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to understanding the system and figuring out how to use its features and settings in the best way. Having a dedicated admin is really necessary. While someone can be trained on the basic administrative tasks and functions, it takes a committed admin to stay on top of the built-in complexity of managing such a powerful system that is continually evolving with updates and improvements. Cornerstone is a dynamic platform and it needs ongoing attention to fully deliver its value to the organization.

“Flexible course assignments”

Pros

The customization options for assigning courses and handling reporting are really useful.

Cons

I haven't come across any issues yet.