An LMS is a tool used to help manage and distribute employee training. While that is one of its main functions, today’s systems do much more. Businesses can gain insight into how their employee training program is performing and what they can do to make it better.
If you don’t have an LMS already, now is the time to get one. These systems are available for companies of all sizes. There is a lot of overlap in the core features, but some offer additional functionality that may be ideal for your industry.
Many organizations fall into the trap of assuming that once they set up their training program, it’s done and requires no further attention. Businesses that build strong teams know that a good training program requires ongoing maintenance and updates. It needs to stay on top of industry advancements, technological improvements, compliance, and more.
An LMS makes this process much easier. Many include features that automatically gather data and deliver it in an actionable format. Are you tracking the right employee training data? Do you know what questions to ask to gain a better understanding of the health of your training program? The right LMS can help.
How Much Am I Spending on Employee Training?
Budgeting is an essential part of any business. Hiring and training new employees is expensive. eLearning provides ways to lower overall costs if you know how to use it.
Your LMS can help you figure out how much you are spending on training and how to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. Your system can show you how much time your trainees and trainers spend on learning and provide tools to streamline their efforts. The quicker trainees learn, the sooner they can become productive members of your team.
Find a platform that integrates with your financial system to gain a better perspective on costs. Many LMSs also include ecommerce tools that give you a way to monetize training. Sell courses to other businesses or individuals to generate income that can offset the cost of training.
Is My Training Content Effective?
How effective is your employee training content? Your LMS can show you.
Look at how long trainees are taking on each course. Identify trends that show which courses take more time and which take less. You can see how many courses were successfully completed and which had more failures. You can also review quiz results to see if some courses frequently have lower scores.
Also, consider the content of the course. Some topics may be more complex and require more time to complete. However, if a course isn’t overly complex and trainees are still taking a long time to complete it, then it may need to be revisited. The content may be confusing or lack focus.
Complex content may need to be broken into multiple courses. This may be a good opportunity to try microlearning.
Completion stats and test scores can shed light on which courses need attention, and which serve as examples of effective training content.
Are Any of My Trainees Struggling?
While an LMS can provide great insight about your entire organization it can also help you see individual progress.
Most LMS platforms include profiles for each learner. They track everything that a person does and records it. If a trainee is having trouble getting through the material, then they may need support.
Managers or trainers can see which areas of learning the individual is struggling with and assign courses that strengthen their knowledge. They can also provide one-on-one attention to get the trainee up to speed.
Training opportunities are important to today’s talent. A worker who is knowledgeable and competent will be more likely to stay with your organization. Someone who feels inadequately trained is more likely to feel unhappy and look for employment elsewhere.
By addressing individual struggles with support, you can build a capable workforce and increase employee retention rates.
Who Are My Subject Matter Experts?
Your subject matter experts are a valuable resource. These are people who have a deep level of knowledge of specific topics and tasks or job roles.
Even if they aren’t directly involved in training, their experience and knowledge can help guide related training content. Find out how they feel about the current training material and how it can be improved.
If possible, you can even get subject matter experts more involved in content creation. Listen to their feedback but be respectful of their time. When you build strong positive relationships with your subject matter experts, everyone benefits.
Your subject matter experts can:
- Serve as mentors for new hires and employees who want to move to new job roles
- Review training content and provide helpful insight into what works and what’s missing
- Help you create realistic training goals for a specific job role, topic, or task
Your LMS can show you who your subject matter experts are by looking at training history and performance. See which workers have had more training with successful outcomes. You can also see their on-the-job performance to confirm that they know what they are doing. This data combined will reveal your strongest subject matter experts.
Does My Team Have Knowledge Gaps?
Knowledge gaps cost your organization money. You may not know that they exist. You can’t fix a problem until you are aware that it is there. Your LMS will show you what your team knows and what it doesn’t.
A knowledge gap is information that your team lacks but is needed to do a job or perform effectively. It can do anything from preventing a task from being completed to slowing down productivity. It can cause conflict when workers don’t know how to handle an issue but must find a solution fast.
Your LMS will show you which topics are well covered by your training content. Make sure all essential topics are accounted for in your curriculum.
You can also use surveys to find knowledge gaps. Most LMSs include learner feedback and survey features. Send out a questionnaire to find out if trainees have suggestions for content that is missing or needs to be improved or expanded.
Feedback should be taken seriously because it will put you on the right path to closing knowledge gaps. Check out online LMS reviews to find platforms that have built-in surveys.
Is My Team Up to Date on Compliance?
Many businesses work with compliance. If you are among them, then you need a good LMS. These systems track completed courses so you can verify which employees are compliant and which aren’t.
Many also include compliance-specific features that let trainers schedule refresher courses that are required by law or oversight organizations. They usually also offer digital and printable certificates as proof of completion. This also builds an ongoing record of compliance.
Staying compliant builds trust in your business. It also allows you to avoid costly fines and penalties for non-compliance.
Am I Nurturing a Culture of Ongoing Learning?
Successful businesses tend to nurture a culture of ongoing learning. That means employees continue expanding their knowledge through training. They have a desire to continue their education.
These organizations offer a broader course list that gives trainees a way to become better at their jobs or to build the skillset to move into other roles.
Your LMS is a central hub of all course content and participation data. Using this, you can see just how broad-reaching your training program is in its current state.
Is there a wide selection of courses that cover all job roles in depth? Are there any topics that could be expanded upon? Do you offer learning paths that guide the trainee toward career development goals?
If not, now is the time to start pushing your training program further. Most LMS platforms make it easy to add new course content. Create, upload, and instantly distribute courses or buy them on third-party platforms and import them into your LMS.
You can also learn how to use eLearning to strengthen your customer training program. A good LMS will serve as the center of your training program. It’s a valuable resource that can help you find new ways to increase profits and productivity this year.
