Must-have learning management software RFP template in 2025

Learning and development isn’t just a “nice to have” anymore — it’s a competitive advantage. The right learning management system (LMS) helps employees grow their skills, ensures compliance training gets done on time, and gives leaders visibility into workforce development. But the wrong system? Endless manual enrollment, poor adoption, and zero insight into whether training actually impacts performance.

Most legacy LMS tools live in silos. HR has to manually enroll new hires in required courses. Compliance training gets tracked in spreadsheets. And because data lives separately, you can’t connect learning to employee performance, engagement, or retention.

Modern LMS software should change that. It should automate enrollments, provide high-quality training content, connect directly to HRIS data, and show you whether learning programs actually move the needle. Even better, it should sit in the same system as your HR, payroll, and performance management — so training is always connected to the employee record.

This guide outlines the most important areas to evaluate when running an RFP for LMS software, with key vendor questions to ask. Plus, you’ll get a downloadable template with all of the questions so you can start evaluating ASAP.

1. Compliance training automation

Compliance training is the foundation of an LMS. Your system should provide pre-built courses for mandatory topics (like harassment or cybersecurity), automate enrollment based on employee attributes, and generate audit-ready reports for regulators.

Rippling LMS comes with pre-built compliance bundles that cover U.S. and international requirements. Enrollment can be triggered automatically by attributes like location, department, or role, and reports are always audit-ready.

RFP questions to ask vendors:

• Do you provide pre-built compliance courses (e.g., harassment, cybersecurity, DEI)?

• Can training be auto-assigned by role, location, or department?

• Do you send automated reminders for incomplete courses?

• Are audit-ready reports available on demand?

2. Automated enrollment and workflows

The best LMS platforms don’t require HR to chase employees down. Look for systems that enroll employees automatically based on attributes and events, such as onboarding, promotion, or a new project assignment.

Rippling LMS automates enrollment by employee attributes like level, department, or manager. For example, when someone gets promoted to a manager, Rippling can automatically enroll them in leadership training and send reminders until it’s completed.

RFP questions:

• Can enrollment be triggered automatically by role, level, or events (e.g., onboarding)?

• Can workflows assign new courses when employees change roles or departments?

• Are reminders automated for employees and managers?

• Can enrollments be updated dynamically if employee data changes?

3. Course content and libraries

A great LMS should give you high-quality course content out of the box while also letting you create your own. Look for systems that include a course library, partnerships with providers, and built-in authoring tools.

Rippling partners with Go1 to provide access to 80,000+ prebuilt courses, covering compliance, technical skills, leadership, and more. HR can also create custom courses in Rippling with video, quizzes, and multimedia.

RFP questions:

• Does the platform include a prebuilt content library?

• Can we author our own courses in the system?

• Does the LMS support multimedia (videos, quizzes, documents)?

• Are third-party content providers integrated (e.g., Go1, LinkedIn Learning)?

4. Personalization and learning paths

Not all employees need the same training. Your LMS should support dynamic, personalized learning paths tailored to roles, skills, or career aspirations.

Rippling LMS lets you build custom learning paths based on employee attributes. Employees can also self-enroll in elective training to drive their own development.

RFP questions:

• Can we create role-based or department-specific learning paths?

• Can the system personalize training based on performance review outcomes?

• Can employees self-enroll in courses outside of mandatory training?

• Does the platform support career development tracks?

5. Integration with performance management

Learning should tie directly to performance. If someone gets constructive feedback in a review, they should automatically be enrolled in the right training.

Because Rippling unifies LMS with performance management software, review outcomes can trigger learning enrollments. For example, an employee flagged for communication skills can be automatically enrolled in a related course.

RFP questions:

• Can performance outcomes trigger course assignments automatically?

• Can managers assign courses as part of performance reviews?

• Does the system track completion alongside performance data?

• Can reports combine training data with performance or retention metrics?

6. Employee experience and adoption

Training only works if employees actually do it. Your LMS should provide a seamless, mobile-friendly experience with reminders built into the tools employees already use.

Rippling LMS is fully mobile and supports self-enrollment. Employees get reminders in email and in Rippling itself, making it easy to stay on track.

RFP questions:

• Is the LMS mobile-friendly for phones and tablets?

• Can employees access and complete training in one app with their other HR tasks?

• Are reminders integrated into Slack, email, or other tools?

• Can employees track their own progress and certifications?

7. Global and multilingual support

If you have global teams, you need training localized to multiple languages and regions so everyone around the world can stay on top of their courses.

Rippling LMS supports multi-language courses and ensures compliance training is tailored for specific jurisdictions.

RFP questions:

• How many languages are supported in the LMS?

• Are compliance courses localized for different regions?

• Can employees access region-specific training automatically?

• Can progress be tracked globally and locally?

8. Reporting and analytics

HR leaders need to know not just who completed training, but whether it made a difference. Your LMS should provide real-time dashboards, drill-down reports, and integrations with HR and performance data.

Rippling LMS provides audit-ready compliance reports plus custom analytics that combine training with performance, engagement, or attrition data.

RFP questions:

• Can the system provide real-time dashboards of course completion rates?

• Can reports be filtered by department, role, or manager?

• Can training data be combined with performance or retention data?

• Can reports be scheduled and shared securely?

9. Security and permissions

An LMS handles sensitive data like certifications, compliance completions, and sometimes even government-mandated training. It should support role-based permissions and enterprise-grade security.

Rippling LMS is built on the Rippling platform, with dynamic permissions that update automatically when employees change roles. Security certifications include SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

RFP questions:

• Does the LMS support role-based permissions that update automatically?

• What security certifications does the platform hold (e.g., SOC 2, ISO)?

• Can access be scoped to employees, managers, and executives?

• Are training records permanently stored for compliance purposes?

How Rippling helps enterprises

Rippling LMS isn’t a bolt-on training tool — it’s built directly into the Rippling platform alongside HR, Payroll, Performance, and more. That means every learning outcome is connected to the employee record. 

Compliance training is automated, development paths are personalized, and performance outcomes drive training automatically. With access to 80,000+ prebuilt courses and the ability to create your own, you can cover everything from compliance to leadership development.

With Rippling, enterprises can:

• Automate compliance training across global teams

• Eliminate manual enrollment with workflows tied to HRIS data

• Provide employees with 80,000+ high-quality courses plus custom options

• Connect learning outcomes directly to performance and retention

• Empower employees to own their career development with self-enrollment

• Track compliance and development in real time with audit-ready reporting

Learning no longer has to be siloed, manual, or compliance-only. With Rippling, it becomes a strategic driver of employee growth and business outcomes.

Rippling RFP for learning management software example

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This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of September 12, 2025.