Learning is essential in the modern workplace. New technology and growing internal needs are forcing employees and employers to learn new skills over time. As a result, businesses that invest in education and improvement have an edge these days.
Research shows that business owners who invest in learning innovation enjoy more than 9% improvement in organizational growth, productivity, profit, and transformation. This development is why more organizations have embraced the benefits of using a learning management system to support employee learning – and help their business grow along with them.
Of course, it’s important to understand the intricacies of a learning management system before your business implements and offers one. Let’s break down the basics, benefits, and key features of learning management systems and how they impact your business.
What Is A Learning Management System?
A learning management system (LMS) is a web-based platform or software application used to implement and monitor a learning process. This type of system is instrumental in e-learning and mainly consists of the two following components:
- A server responsible for maintaining the base functionality of the system
- A user interface that students, administrators, and instructors use
In a business setting, an LMS is used to deploy learning strategies across the workplace, facilitate experiential and formal learning, manage compliance training, and enhance sales enablement. These processes are streamlined through online learning functionality like user access, notifications, attendance, calendars, content sharing, and communication.
Previously, LMS technology was limited in its functionality. Today, new technology allows employers to incorporate different activities such as gamification and mobile learning. These features allow an LMS to promote learning, establish a learning culture in the organization, boost productivity, and improve employee engagement.
What Are The Benefits Of Using A Learning Management System?
Learning management technology is beneficial for both the employees and their employer. Here are some of the main benefits of using an LMS for your business.
Reduced learning and development costs
The use of learning technology allows businesses to eliminate a variety of costs. By embracing online learning, organizations can cut out expenses associated with in-person learning.
There are several hidden costs associated with in-person training. For example, businesses may need to account for travel, accommodation, and meals for some employees. Even if workers are nearby, there are costs associated with printing learning materials and either renting or maintaining physical meeting spaces.
Those costs aren’t as necessary if most or all of your employees’ training can be done from anywhere with an internet connection. Learning technology allows your business to limit in-person training and shed costs through online functionality.
Shorter, more streamlined onboarding process
A good LMS is also designed to shorten the onboarding process for your employees and save both you and your workers time. There are a few ways an LMS can streamline employee onboarding.
- Starter Pack – You can create a starter pack for the employees, including a virtual tour of the company and an introductory presentation. When employees have a good onboarding experience, 69% of them are more likely to stay at a company for a long time.
- Content Management – Organizations can also make content easily available for employees. When the employees have educational content at their fingertips, they can learn quicker and better.
- Microlearning – Businesses can create microlearning assets for their new recruits on the LMS. This ability enables employees to learn through bite-sized lessons, streamlining their onboarding process while keeping their attention.
Fewer compliance issues
Regardless of the industry, all organizations need to stay compliant with certain regulations. Businesses can add new compliance standards to their LMS allowing the system to update employees with any change in compliance laws. With just a few minutes of education, businesses can reduce issues and avoid both monetary penalties and reputational damage.
Improved employee performance
Another benefits of an LMS is that it can improve employee performance through multiple means. For instance, businesses can gamify training and create a reward-based learning model where employees can make regular progress.
Certain systems can also enhance employee collaboration, which is paramount in making your team-building efforts a success. Employees can share resources, discuss projects, and benefit from social learning immensely. These efforts help employees personally invest in learning.
Performance tracking
Churning out training material or curating learning resources isn't enough. Businesses also need to track the progress of their employees to determine the effectiveness of their learning initiatives. The majority of LMS options have analytical and reporting tools where employers can monitor learner progress and identify any shortcomings that need to be covered.
Help employees upskill or reskill
Nearly two-thirds of companies commit to reskilling or upskilling employees to address internal changes and new technologies. Besides hard skills, businesses can also teach their employees soft skills through an LMS.
Online technology helps employers deliver, monitor, and track training courses to build essential knowledge and skills in your workforce. The right LMS gives employees unlimited access to learning resources and material so that they can learn at their own pace on whichever device or platform they prefer.
What Are Key Business Requirements For A Learning Management System?
Nowadays, there are several LMS vendors with different systems. As you may expect, some may be better for your organizational needs than others. There are multiple LMS features that your business should consider when selecting a system.
Ease of use and customization
One of the highlighting benefits of these systems is that they simplify both learning and tracking progress. An essential business requirement for an LMS is that it’s equally accessible and easy to use for employers and employees. Here are some features to look for:
- Device Compatibility – The LMS should be compatible with different devices and provide the same user experience across platforms.
- Appearance – The LMS should not have overly bright colors or distracting visuals that make navigation difficult.
- Layout – The layout of the LMS should make it easy for users to find the resources and tools they need on desktop and mobile devices.
- Additional Tools – If you have people with visual disabilities in your workforce, make sure the LMS also adds options for users to listen to content rather than read it. Make sure content is available in different formats so that it’s accessible to as many people as possible.
System customization is another key feature. The right system should make it easy to create courses and offer plenty of room for customization so that you can personalize it for your organization's use. If an LMS is not flexible or scalable, it will only hinder the learning experience and cause headaches when making adjustments to existing learning resources.
Integration capabilities
Like other systems, life is much easier when your LMS integrates easily with other business systems. The ability to connect with customer relationship management (CRM) tools, content management systems (CMS), and other forms of software will help streamline the management process, enable more data-driven decisions, and enhance the overall learning experience. Another valuable integration is single sign on, which automatically signs employees in the the LMS when they are signed on to other integrations such as email or SharePoint.
Tracking and reporting capabilities
LMS reporting refers to a system of data analysis and collection in the learning management system. This information lets you monitor the training process and measure its success. Moreover, you can use the LMS reports to identify components of your training process that can be improved.
It's important for the LMS to have tracking capabilities so that you can assess the progress of your employees and collect feedback to measure their level of satisfaction. Over time, you can use meaningful data to improve training programs, update course materials, and make other changes to course content and other processes to help enable your organization’s learning goals.
Automation capabilities
Automation has become a must-have for almost every business process these days, and for good reason. LMS automation allows employees and instructors to save time on menial tasks and streamline the learning process. These are some ways automation helps your education endeavors:
- Portal Invites – Invites are automatically sent to new recruits as soon as you enter their information in the LMS.
- Enrollment Reminders – The LMS automatically sends reminders to employees, encouraging them to finish the enrollment process on time.
- Calendars – Employees can set reminders for certain tasks or learning sessions.
- Auto-Assign – Instructors can set auto-assign rules based on predetermined criteria, such as an employee’s department or enrolled learning session. For instance, an instructor can set the criteria that certain learning resources must be sent to all employees in the sales team who are enrolled in the summer learning session.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Automation and AI go hand in hand. Modern AI-based learning platforms can create solutions, such as speed recognition, decision-making, translating learning resources to different languages, and more.
AI also helps instructors by giving them recommendations on how to curate and present information in the best way possible for specific users. This feature allows employers to modify training content and make online courses more effective.
Embrace Learning To Help Your Employees Grow
Employee education is a tremendous opportunity for businesses trying to onboard new hires, tap into their workers’ potential, and support your team. An LMS allows employers to streamline and optimize the education process.
Of course, it takes more than just software to maximize your business’ education efforts. GMS is a professional employer organization (PEO) that gives businesses access to cutting-edge technology and expert support so that your employees are set up to succeed.
Ready to save time and grow your business through expert HR management and technology? Contact us now about how we can simplify your business through comprehensive HR solutions and our industry-leading HRIS.