Empowering Animal Welfare: RSPCA NSW’s Journey to Scalable Training With Open LMS

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New South Wales (RSPCA NSW), is a not-for-profit organization in Australia, whose mission is to protect and care for animals by preventing cruelty and empowering communities to value humane treatment through education, advocacy, and support. With five shelters, three veterinary hospitals, and two rehabilitation centers, RSPCA NSW is a vital player in the state’s animal welfare needs.

In addition to its hands-on work with animals, the organization also trains a diverse range of individuals, from volunteers to experienced professionals, on topics such as animal care and welfare. However, as its operations expanded, so did the need for a more scalable and effective training solution. To meet these growing demands, RSPCA NSW partnered with Open LMS to transform its learning and development processes from primarily face-to-face training into a blended learning program.

The Challenge: Geographical Barriers Leading to Inconsistent Training Access

Before 2018, RSPCA NSW’s training programs were primarily conducted face-to-face, which created logistical challenges. The organization had to train over 550 staff members and 3,000 volunteers scattered across a vast geographic region, where traveling between sites could take several hours.

This training is aimed at a diverse range of learners—from staff and volunteers to foster carers—each with different needs and contexts. Delivering the same basic animal care and behavior training to these varied groups, while maintaining consistency, proved difficult.

This approach also limited access to learners in remote areas, such as Council Rangers with a need for specialized courses, like microchipping. These cohorts often had a long wait before a training team could visit their region, leading to a widening knowledge deficit for those geographically challenged.

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The Solution: Blended Learning and Digital Accessibility for All

RSPCA NSW turned to Open LMS in 2018 to address these challenges, implementing a centralized platform that allowed remote learning across the state. The platform enabled RSPCA NSW to convert its in-person courses into online modules that learners could access at their convenience.

For example, the course on microchip implanting for animals, which had previously been restricted to in-person delivery, became fully accessible online.

Moreover, by using Open LMS’s course customization features, the organization was able to provide role-specific learning journeys for each group, ensuring that all learners received relevant and engaging content tailored to their specific roles.

The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the organization's digital transformation. It utilized tools like BigBlueButton for real-time, virtual face-to-face interactions and introduced interactive activities using H5P, which allowed trainers to monitor learners’ progress through quizzes and knowledge checks. The ability to incorporate post-course surveys also provided valuable insights into learner experiences and content quality, helping to shape future training modules.

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The Results: 600% Increase in Participation and More Empowered Stakeholders

The implementation of Open LMS transformed training at RSPCA NSW, leading to significant improvements in participation, scalability, and learner satisfaction.

Since adopting the platform, internal training participation surged by 600%, with enrollments increasing from 200 to over 800 annually. This included both an increase in the number of learners and the number of courses completed by each individual. Also, the scalable architecture of Open LMS allowed the organization to effortlessly manage the growing number of learners without any technical or administrative difficulties.

One of the most significant outcomes was the improvement in training efficiency. Prior to implementing Open LMS, the organization required up to 15 days of face-to-face instruction for its animal care certification program. After moving the theoretical content online, RSPCA NSW reduced the in-person component to just five days, focusing entirely on practical skills. While the theoretical content still takes 10 days to complete, it can now be digested in smaller chunks, at a time, place, and pace that suits the learner.

Managers love it too. Open LMS’s user-friendly interface empowers leaders to take more ownership of their teams’ training. They can easily track and sign off on staff competencies, enabling them to play a more active role in the development of their teams.

Finally, feedback from both staff and volunteers has been overwhelmingly positive, with over 90% of participants reporting that the platform is easy to use and the content highly relevant to their roles. Managers have observed that volunteers and staff now arrive better prepared, with an improved understanding of crucial animal behavior and care practices, which has had a noticeable impact on their day-to-day work.

Looking to the Future

RSPCA NSW isn’t stopping here. Looking ahead, the organization plans to further leverage Open LMS’s capabilities to continue improving its training delivery. One key area of focus is expanding the use of advanced features like the multi-tenancy and Programs features within the platform.

Multi-tenancy is seen as a potential game changer for RSPCA NSW, allowing the organization to better separate its internal training from external fee-paying users, without compromising the learning experience for either group. Meanwhile, the Programs feature, with its ability to automate role-specific training, would help make the learning experience even more tailored and effective.

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