Learning never stops, they say.
Yet only 30% of employee learning happens through formal methods. To make learning intrinsic to every organization, a new role emerged.
Yes, your role as a Chief Learning Officer.
A title that entered the mainstream around the middle of the 1990s when General Electric’s legendary CEO, Jack Welch, created this role at GE. Cutting edge for the time, eh?
Well, now the role has gone mainstream. Still, the challenges continue to evolve in this VUCA world: Demonstrating positive ROI, training the organization on emerging technology such as AI, onboarding GenZ, and developing talent at all levels with compelling learning content. As a CLO, you want to spend your energy on tackling the above issues rather than on ‘learning’ the nitty gritty of a learning management system.
That’s where this blog comes in. We promise you that by the end of reading this blog, you will have clarity on the top things to look out for in a cutting-edge learning management system that your team members love to come back to, improves your organization’s learning quotient and helps you overcome challenges that you face across the employees’ learning lifecycle.
What is a learning management system?
A Learning Management System (LMS) is a cloud-based software solution that helps centralize and streamline the administration, documentation, tracking, and delivery of educational online courses or training programs. It helps boost employee productivity and provides upskilling opportunities.
Learning management systems help organizations across the employee lifecycle: be it by conducting onboarding, compliance training, or function-specific training such as sales enablement or product training.
LMS facilitates course creation and organization, content management, user registration, and role assignment. LMS incorporates tracking and reporting features to monitor employees’ progress and assess training effectiveness while also providing tools for assessments, quizzes, and exams with automated grading.
You can integrate your learning management software with other workforce management software seamlessly, fostering customization and personalization to meet organizational needs. With elements of gamification, social learning, and automation, these employee productivity software have become indispensable in diverse settings, including corporate training, academic institutions, and healthcare organizations, providing a centralized solution for efficient learning management.
Using appropriate learning management software can support your organization in reducing employee training costs, improving employee retention rates, and boosting employee engagement. Let’s look at nine things you should consider when investing in a learning management system.
9 things to look out for in a cutting-edge learning management system
Imagine your team is on the cusp of a major project, but they lack the necessary skills. The solution? A cutting-edge LMS that not only bridges the knowledge gap but propels your workforce into the future.
But what makes a LMS really advanced? Let’s dive in.
1. Intuitive User Experience: The Gateway to Engagement
For an efficient learning management system, understand that engagement is key to successful learning. It should offer an intuitive user interface, where navigation is a breeze, and information is at your fingertips.
The simpler and easier it is for learners to use the interface, the more they’ll enjoy learning and engaging with the content, leading to more employee productivity. It will also support the development of a culture of learning at your workplace. A learning management system platform shouldn’t require any navigation. Hence, choose an employee training tool that offers a highly navigable and easy-to-use interface.
2. Adaptive Learning Paths: Because One Size Doesn’t Fit All
In a world where personalization is the name of the game, an employee training software solution goes beyond generic learning paths. It’s like having a personal tour guide through the available knowledge.
Adaptive learning paths tailor the content based on individual progress, ensuring each learner gets a customized experience. After all, why force everyone down the same road when each learner has a unique journey to undertake? This allows learning teams to create learning journeys where content is customized based on the learner’s progress, skill gaps, or role.
For example, if a learner is in a digital marketing position, they should be able to locate all marketing-related training content on the learning management software. Users should also be able to prioritize improvement areas with adaptive tests and quizzes highlighting learner’s achievement throughout a course.
The platform should offer language localization to be able to adapt to different languages, that ensures accessibility and comprehension for employees from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
Having a learning management software that provides a different training module for every skill level and can be customized as per the learner’s needs and aligns with your organization’s goal, fostering employee productivity.
3. Gamified Learning: Make Learning Fun for Your Team Members
Learning doesn’t have to be a dull affair. Gone are the days when organizations used to plan for boring and traditional employee training. A cutting-edge learning management software leverages gamification to infuse an element of fun into the learning process, boosting employee engagement and motivation.
Suddenly, you see that your team is not just learning; instead, they’re now on a quest for knowledge, competing in a friendly digital arena. This encourages business training leaders to design new eLearning solutions that are built to entertain as well as educate.
With the use of animations, quizzes, scores, and game-like features to convey the training material, trainees will strive to become better at their job tasks partly just to beat their own high scores while incidentally absorbing and actively using the material that was important to teach.
4. Robust Analytics: Data-Driven Insights for Smarter Decisions
In workforce management’s universe, data is king. An efficient learning management software doesn’t just deliver training content. It provides a treasure trove of analytics.
Track learner progress in real-time, identify trends and measure the effectiveness of your training programs. With robust analytics and data, you’re not just guessing what works; you’re making informed decisions that propel your workforce forward. Explore data-rich, customizable dashboards for comprehensive insights on learner activity, department-level progress, course evaluations, completion rate, and content engagement.
Make sure all the data and analytics can be integrated with other workforce management tools, allowing managers to overlook their teams’ progress and goals.
5. Mobile Accessibility: Learning on the Go
A learning management software recognizes the importance of mobility. Whether on a train, airplane, or sipping coffee at a local cafe, your team should have access to learning materials anytime, anywhere. In today’s world, mobile accessibility isn’t just a feature; it’s necessary in a world where the traditional office is evolving into a digital, decentralized space.
A mobile training platform allows trainers to impart knowledge from the office or their homes and provide the remote hires or remotely located with the same training modules everyone else receives. Also, frontline workers are out there on the field and on the move and getting them to participate in skilling initiatives becomes a challenge. Having access to learning on mobile screens is especially crucial to skilled frontline workers.
A multi-platform accessibility creates a smooth and seamless experience for learners to learn and enjoy without technological barriers or even with slow bandwidth. As organizations are getting remote first and hybrid, opting for learning management software that can be accessed from tablets, laptops, and mobile devices is vital.
6. Social Learning: The Power of Collaboration
Learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Enter social learning, the secret sauce, which is transforming solitary education into a collaborative experience. A learning management system integrates social features, enabling learners to interact, share insights, and learn from each other. It’s like having a virtual water cooler where knowledge flows freely, creating a dynamic learning community.
LMS should also offer a company feed that employees can scroll to get information about upcoming courses and training initiatives. The feed can also be used to invite feedback for past sessions and expectations from the next session and drive engagement amongst trainers and fellow trainees.
Training and learning in collaboration boost positivity as you can track each other’s progress, engage and interact, have daily quizzes, and much more.
7. Microlearning Modules: Small Bites, Big Impact
Who said learning has to be a marathon? Enter microlearning, the sprint of the education world. A good learning management system recognizes the value of short, focused bursts of information.
With bite-sized modules, learners can digest information quickly, making it ideal for the modern, fast-paced workforce.
8. Integration Capabilities: Seamless Workflow Harmony
A learning management software doesn’t operate in isolation and should seamlessly integrate into your existing workflow management universe, creating a harmonious symphony of productivity.
From HR systems to project management tools, employee training software should be the glue that binds your digital ecosystem. It’s not just about providing information; it’s about enhancing your overall workflow for maximum efficiency.
9. Multimedia content authoring capabilities
Authoring tools within an LMS empower instructors and trainers to generate, design, and present compelling and interactive multimedia educational content. The learning management system should have features to edit content, embed multimedia content, and create randomized assessments.
Authoring tools often come with templates and pre-designed elements, making it easier for educators to develop professional-looking content without needing advanced technical skills.
The platform should also enable real-time question feedback to improve assessments.
Ready to unleash the learning revolution in your org?
In the fast-paced world of workforce management, a cutting-edge Learning Management System isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic asset for every CLO. It transforms learning from a chore into a dynamic, engaging experience, propelling your team toward success.
Intuitive interfaces, adaptive learning paths, gamified brilliance, robust analytics, mobile accessibility, social learning camaraderie, microlearning marvels, seamless integration, and AI-powered personalization – these aren’t just features; they’re the pillars of a thriving learning ecosystem.
Go-Better’s Learning Management system fits the bill for organizations of all sizes to craft their learning and development programs. So go forth, embrace the cutting edge, and let the learning revolution reshape the future of your organization.
