A Learning Management System (or LMS for short) is a software application that every business today invests in to onboard and train their employees. There are a few reasons why LMS apps are a lot more popular than traditional training sessions.
For one, LMS tools allow businesses to invest in a high quality training program once and this can be made available to every learner who undergoes the program. Also, LMS applications are ‘hands off’ in the sense that businesses can permit their employees to undergo training and assess their learning at their own pace instead of having to compete with the rest of the learners.
The success of an eLearning program however depends on the LMS tool you choose and the features that it comes with. In this article, we provide you with a list of features that are an absolute must to create effective onboarding and training programs for your employees.
Blended learning
Every training program is unique and so is the channel that is used to deliver the lessons. It is for this reason that while some training programs are delivered through textual content, others are best imparted through video-based sessions or even face-to-face classroom programs.
A blended learning tool brings the best of features in one LMS so that you may customize your training session based on the desired objectives. For instance, you could organize a live video conferencing session on the first day of training and then continue it with an instructor-led training program on the second day.
Gamification
The objective of an LMS is not only to impart the desired lessons to the trainee, but also do so in a highly productive way. Gamification is one of the best ways to improve learning productivity. In short, gamification is the use of game-like strategies like leaderboards, badges and trophies to motivate the learner to train themselves more effectively.
Done right, gamification can bring down the time it takes for an employee to get onboarded or trained and also significantly improves their contribution at work.
Microlearning
This is one of the relatively newer learning techniques that is emerging to be one of the most effective forms of employee training. This is essentially the use of short training sessions (that are under ten minutes long) to help employees understand concepts or get trained.
Unlike traditional training sessions, the objective of microlearning is not to explain a fairly new concept to the learner. Instead, it is to help them refresh their memory and get up to speed. Microlearning is thus highly effective for sales training, soft skills enablement, and so on.
Assessments
No employee training is complete without adequate assessment of the outcome. LMS tools come with a number of different assessment tools. This can include multiple-choice questions, surveys, and even exhaustive written assessments.
Pick an LMS tool that also comes with extensive reporting tools that will help the business assess the performance of every employee exhaustively. Some LMS tools also go a step further and make it possible for the trainer to deliver certificates to learners based on their performance.
API Integrations
This is a much-less discussed aspect of an LMS, but is still one of the very important factors determining its effectiveness to an organization. Regardless of how powerful an LMS application is, chances are that your organization has specific needs that are not met by any of the large LMS tools in the market.
With APIs, it is possible to customize your LMS and equip it with features that do not inherently exist. For instance, if you want to convert your video conferencing session into a webinar for prospective customers, you can do so by integrating your app with a third party service like GoToMeeting.
By picking an LMS with API integration features, it is possible to build a powerful system that addresses all the needs and concerns of your organization.
Conclusion
Picking an LMS can be an exhausting exercise. However, this sets the course for the training and performance of all your employees. Investing in a good LMS tool can thus make or break your business strategy.