When it comes to training employees, onboarding and continual learning programs are the seeds that grow forests of productivity. Companies have spent decades trying to engineer their own learning materials and techniques… with varying degrees of success.
There have been all sorts of methods of teaching workers what they need to know for their jobs, including VHS training videos, worksheets, and even in-person classes. As we advance deeper into the digital age, however, the education process has become much more centralized through something called Learning Management Systems.
Learning Management Systems, or LMS’s, hold collections of educational material that teach information about countless different jobs and sectors. Whether your onboarding employees need to learn more about sales strategies, financial tips, or OSHA rules, a good LMS will be flexible enough to cover almost any learning goal.
Your LMS’ educational chapters will generally come in three formats: video, textbook-style writing, and interactive lessons. At its core, an LMS aims to thoroughly improve the old method of teaching employees skills without diverting too far from what works. They don’t even have to be new hires – there’s always new information/perspectives for your current team to learn.
Even if you already have teaching materials for your staff, investing in an LMS is a great way to update your company’s content and increase your workers’ productivity. Here are some of the benefits to using an LMS:
Keeping Your Staff Engaged and Productive
Not only will a good Learning Management System teach employees new quantifiable skills, but it will also promote productivity and engagement.
Many companies make the mistake of committing to archaic training lessons with the idea being, “at least it’s something”. The difference between having outdated educational material and a finely tuned LMS is actually quite large. Gallup found that 54% of employees don’t feel engaged in their workplaces, which means businesses can’t be complacent – they’re fighting a losing battle.
LMS’ turn that around. A worker will be more interested in a brand new LMS that brings them fresh information with a learning experience they can customize. The system can update with new videos and lessons that not only teach your staff the newest possible skills, but prioritize their personal career development.
A good System is built to engage; with a dynamic combination of videos, writing, and interactive lessons, the program naturally draws you in to learn more, just like a great professor. They’re engineered by experts in their field to make you an expert in your field.
Your team will recognize and appreciate the investment you put in them. Give them the best possible training to both arm them with skills and keep them engaged for the long run.
Flexibility and Accessibility
We’ve all sat down at work and watched training videos created in the 90’s, serving as time capsules for what was prioritized decades ago. Outdated information can not only be a waste of time for your staff, but can confuse them when contrasted with what they’re told in the present day.
Since LMS’s are now internet and cloud based, they can – and will – be updated consistently as time passes. Whether workplace programs receive new features, regulations in your industry change, or new business strategies are developed, educational materials can be modified and created at any time.
Knowing the newest changes to your industry is a guaranteed way to stay at the forefront of your field, just like a System that notifies its users when content is updated with these changes is a guaranteed way keep your employees up to date.
LMS’s aren’t just flexible in their content, but the way it’s absorbed. The newfound popularity of hybrid workforces has often resulted in complications with educating employees, with stark differences arising between the education of remote workers vs on-site ones. LMS’s offer the solution – you can take interactive lessons, compliance programs, and watch training videos from home just as you would at work.
In the past, companies didn’t often believe their training packages were comprehensive enough for the whole experience to be adequate remotely. With the flexible programming that an LMS offers, however, that worry has been quelled.
Learning Efficiently
There’s a balance you should consider when onboarding new staff: Should you sit them down for a week and teach them everything there is, or should you give them a quick overview and get them straight to work?
It’s tough to train employees at a high speed without leaving anything out… unless you’re using an LMS. Everything a worker needs to learn is sorted accurately and taught thoroughly. The training process no longer becomes a hassle for management, instead, it’s simply up to the employee to complete the task.
Thanks to the capability to track their progress through the curriculum, you don’t have to hawk over their progress. Once a video is watched or a test is taken, you’ll be able to see it in reporting on your end of the site. After onboarding a high number of workers, you might even be able to see trends when it comes to what quizzes they struggle on, and you can infer what needs further teaching. Sit back, sip your coffee and let the System do your job for you.
Since LMS’s are modular, you could also change up what lessons are taken from employee to employee. Perhaps you’ve hired someone with five years of Hubspot experience on their resume; you could have them skip the Hubspot lesson to save a bit of time.
I apologize for just sharing “pros” – if there were any “cons” I’d let you know. LMS’s are simply a great solution for onboarding new staff and reinforcing the skills of current staff. Whether you’ve got new employees that need skills and compliance training or veteran workers that crave a more robust skillset, an LMS will help you get there. Educate your team, keep them engaged, and give your company a competitive edge.