Reasons Why an LMS is a Good Starting Point to Do eLearning for the First Time

What is an LMS?

LMS stands for Learning Management System—a software application that enables organizations and businesses to administer, assign, track, monitor, and report on various educational/training materials. An LMS acts as a supplement to traditional classroom training along with distribution of courses that are available exclusively online. Many corporate organizations have embraced Learning Management Systems for effortless employee compliance, licensure, and to help employees improve their skills.

But, why does a corporate organization need an LMS as a starting point to do eLearning for the first time?

In corporate organizations, new employees are often given training on various policies, management subjects, product training, and skill management topics at the time of joining. These are mostly conducted in training or conference rooms which sometimes makes it difficult for employees to attend due to location or time constraints. To overcome these constraints and save repetitive efforts of trainers to train employees, an LMS comes into play in the following ways:

1. A Learning Management System can be used by different types of businesses.

   

   An LMS is built in a manner that it allows businesses to conduct in-house training with a variety of course that are designed to meet multiple learning needs of the employees. For example, an organization that deals with IT products needs to ensure that their employees are trained well on the product’s features and specifications, various other popular software programs, safety issues, etc. Hence, irrespective of the number of subjects and topics, corporate training is provided to employees, that is available at all times.

   Often, companies that try using an LMS at first, end up using an exclusive LMS for all their training courses. In fact, many government organizations are switching to eLearning and providing training materials online. This too is a point that would attract corporates to embrace eLearning training methods with an LMS.

2. Company size doesn’t matter. An LMS works for all!

   

   Another distinct benefit of an LMS is that it is effective and efficient for all companies, irrespective of the number of employees. An LMS is designed to adjust with all team sizes. Whether you begin with a team of 20 employees and extend to maybe 200 employees, or vice versa, the same Learning Management System can be used to provide online training. Its use is not limited by the number of trainees and it works steadily for all.

3. A Learning Management System can address numerous issues.

   

   An LMS enables corporates to not only provide online training courses to many trainees at a time, but also provide training on different aspects for different departments or teams based on the requirement of the department. Corporates can seamlessly administer different courses to employees in various teams/departments at the same time. For example, Human Resource department can be given training on payroll techniques while the administration department employees are upgrading their skills on the latest version of Microsoft Office Tools. Likewise, it can be done across departments in the company as it leaves endless possibilities of training employees and giving them the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills on diverse topics. Apart from this, online training can very well complement the company’s employee handbook during the induction process of new employees. 

4. A Learning Management System provides effective on-site training.

   

   Gone is the time when employees had to travel to attend seminars and training workshops. An LMS allows employees to stay close to home/workspace while still getting the training they need. Employees get all the information they require in a hassle free and convenient manner, without having to travel, hence, ensuring better utilization of time. 

5. No more excuses!

   

   With access to the internet at all time, technology has eliminated every excuse to avoid learning on the go. Like we access social networking sites anytime, anywhere, an LMS is also accessible invariably. All that is needed to get the training is a device with good internet speed and training can be done anytime, day or night. So, in case employees miss the scheduled training session due to prior business commitments, they can always get back to the courses/training materials available online.

Conclusion

An LMS is beneficial for both, corporate organizations as well as the trainees. This system ensures that corporate organizations save money that they normally would spend on off-site training seminars and workshops. It also saves the time and effort of the trainees who normally have to travel long distances to attend trainings. In addition to this, an LMS allows training supervisors manage training courses and also track progress of learning among employees.

So, when are you making the switch?