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(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at iSpring Solutions, a leading provider of eLearning software. iSpring was recently named a gold winner in the customer education achievement of the year category at the Globee Awards. Congrats to them and enjoy the article!)
Regardless of what’s going on in the business world, employees need training. Some of that training is compliance related, like anti-harassment training. Companies might also have what they call ‘mandatory’ training. For instance, before an employee can use a certain piece of equipment, they must attend a training session on how to safely use the equipment. And organizations have training that’s designed to improve knowledge and skills, like problem-solving and communication skills.
Organizations that make an investment in learning see positive results. Research by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) indicates that companies with robust training programs can see up to a 218% higher income per employee than those without. Couple this statistic with one from LinkedIn citing that the number one employee retention strategy is providing learning opportunities to employees. Bottom-line, organizations with training strategies outperform.
But I also know from experience that designing and delivering training programs can be overwhelming. That’s why organizations might want to consider using a learning management system (LMS). A learning management system (LMS) is a technology solution that delivers and manages online training programs. If you’re not familiar with what an LMS can do, here are five benefits of using this technology along with some real-world examples.
- Pricing and Scalability
- Automation, Consistency, and Compliance
- Flexibility
- Monitoring and Reporting
- Employee Engagement
To me, the greatest benefit is how all of these interrelate to deliver an efficient and effective learning system.
Benefit #1 – Pricing and Scalability. Let’s put the money conversation out there first. An LMS can help the organization reduce training expenses. First, because instructors and / or participants don’t have to travel. Second, pricing models for LMS solutions are often quoted in terms of active users. This allows the organization to budget based on employee headcount.
This type of pricing structure allows the organization to plan. Let’s say a retail company is planning to open a new store later this year. In their budget for the new location, they can include the cost of adding those new employees to the LMS.
Benefit #2 – Automation, Consistency, and Compliance. An LMS is like many other technology solutions in that it has automation capabilities. Participants can easily enroll in a course and after attending the session, participants can automatically receive certificates of completion.
Automation brings the advantage of consistency, which is especially important when the organization is delivering compliance topics. Organizations can develop a learning session and deliver it multiple times knowing participants are getting the same information.
As much as we might not want to say it, when you have a training program being delivered by multiple instructors, it is possible that participants are getting different information based on who the instructor is. Frankly, even the same instructor might not deliver the program the same way each time. And depending on the topic, inconsistency could become an issue. It’s one thing for one instructor to tell a funny story that another instructor doesn’t tell. It’s another thing for one instructor to mention a safety feature and another instructor to leave it out.
Here’s a real-life example, SIMAC (Svendborg International Maritime Academy) is a recognized educational partner in the maritime business industry. Their training programs are required to adhere to International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards. One of their initial goals in implementing an LMS was to create a user experience that was focused on their compliance related content versus administration. As such, they wanted participants to easily register for sessions.
As they spent more time using their LMS, they realized that instructors were able to record sessions in advance, providing consistency in delivery. Not only did this benefit their training from a compliance standpoint, but it allowed SIMAC to reduce travel expenses and decrease their overall carbon footprint.
Benefit #3 – Flexibility. As mentioned in the SIMAC case study, sometimes a challenge with training can be scheduling participants to attend. Because an LMS is a technology solution, employees can attend training from anywhere and at any time. This is great for organizations with multiple locations or companies that have hybrid / remote workforces. It’s also perfect for organizations that have 24/7/365 operations. Let employees train when it works best for them. Not just when it works best for the training department.
Reig Jofre is a pharmaceutical company based in Spain with operations in more than 70 countries. They’ve been in business since 1929 and the scope of their work is focused in three areas: pharmaceutical technologies, dermatology and osteoarticular care, and consumer healthcare. Because they have a presence in many locations, Reig Jofre hires a lot of remote and field workers. Of course, they want all their employees to receive the same high-quality training. That’s why they decided to implement an LMS. Employees can schedule training when it works for them. The organization can monitor results to ensure that employees are getting the training they need and satisfactorily completing required programs.
One other feature of LMS flexibility is that content can be adapted to accommodate individuals with disabilities. This ensures that everyone in the organization has access to quality learning opportunities.
Benefit #4 – Monitoring and Reporting. Speaking of monitoring results, an LMS allows the organization to track both organizational and individual progress.
From an organizational standpoint, the LMS can report on how many people have attended a specific training program. Let’s say the company has a new procedure for completing expense reports and they are asking everyone to attend a short session on the new procedure. At any given time, HR can view how many people have attended the program.
Another example might be related to how employees are progressing on training in a multistep process. Jitasa is the largest accounting and bookkeeping service provider in the U.S. working exclusively with nonprofits. Because they’re an accounting firm, it was important to ensure that the skills of the accounting team are verified.
By using a checklist feature within an LMS, Jitasa was able to assess, certify, and track employee skills. After five months of employment, Jitasa employees take a 90-question quiz to confirm their knowledge and skills. The monitoring and reporting feature in an LMS allows the company to not only see how many employees have taken the quiz and their score, but they can use that information for future updates to the learning experience.
Benefit #5 – Employee Engagement. All the features we’ve discussed so far: affordability, consistency, flexibility, and monitoring – lead us to the final benefit. Employee engagement.
Employees want training. According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning report, 84% of employees say that learning adds purpose to their work. The good news is people are becoming more accustomed to online learning experiences. In a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), most employees prefer self-paced, online learning because they don’t have to worry about commuting to a class.
And, if organizations are concerned about online learning not being interactive enough, keep in mind that today’s online learning sessions don’t have to be just an employee and a computer. Today’s learning can be social, and instructional designers can create activities that allow for interaction among participants.
Learning Management Systems Help Deliver Quality Training
I know organizations are focused on being more efficient. They always are. One of the keys to being more efficient is having a well-trained workforce. Using an LMS allows organizations to consistently deliver quality training in an efficient way.
If you want to learn more about selecting a learning management system solution, check out iSpring’s article on “The Top 5 HR LMS: Choosing the Best Solution”. While you’re at it, iSpring has a lot of great resources in their knowledge hub you might find interesting as well., including this guide on “The Top HR and L&D Challenges eLearning Can Solve”.
I’ve always worked in industries where employees were a key differentiator in the customer service. That means making sure they received the right training at the right time. It can set your organization apart. It also sends the message to employees that the organization wants to see them succeed.
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