No one enjoys employee training, especially when it comes to compliance issues. However, keeping employees up-to-date with ever-changing regulations and company policies is essential to running a successful business. One of the best approaches to minimizing pain for your corporate training department and employees is implementing a Learning Management System (LMS).
Compared with live, in-person workshops, training using an LMS is a much more efficient and effective method for bridging gaps in knowledge and improving compliance. A good LMS can save your business money and improve employee performance, but finding one that works isn’t easy.
Here are four questions you need to ask when selecting an LMS for compliance training and the essential features to help answer those questions.
Four Questions You Must Ask When Choosing Your Business’ LMS
Are your people going to be able to use the software without extensive training?
One of the most crucial factors when choosing the proper LMS for your business is understanding how difficult it will be for trainers and learners.
Features that make LMS software more accessible include:
- The ability to bring along your existing content. Many LMSs allow you to import your existing training content in its original format. This feature will save your development and training team from needing to convert PDF and PowerPoint presentations into the LMS’s proprietary format.
- Easy course creation. Training departments that aren’t bringing along their existing training material may want to choose an LMS that has built-in course creation tools. Although these tools are generally not as sophisticated as stand-alone options, they are often enough to get the job done.
- Intuitive navigation. From the point of view of the trainee, there is nothing more frustrating than spending more time learning how to use the training software than actual training. Ideally, a user can instinctively complete the training without assistance from a trainer.
- Off-the-shelf content availability. Depending on the topic and purpose of your training, your trainers may be able to save a lot of time and money by choosing an LMS with an extensive library of premade courses.
How robust is the backend of the LMS when it comes to records and analysis?
Good compliance training requires excellent record-keeping. Of course, the ability to keep track of which employees complete training is the minimum requirement, but LMSs may offer other ways to record, display, and interact with training data.
Features that improve learner management include:
- Visual reporting. Charts and graphs that give a company-wide overview, but can drill down to the individual user level, are helpful when reviewing the training’s effectiveness.
- Automatic employee notifications. The ability to set automated notifications for workers to renew certification frees up a lot of trainer time and ensures employees have the opportunity to complete training.
- Activity logs. Monitoring when employees access the LMS and what they do when they log on. Knowing how learners use the LMS gives trainers an indication of which employees may need extra assistance or encouragement to complete training modules.
- Automatic report generation. On-demand reporting is invaluable if you share training results with others or want a quick training summary.
Does the LMS fit with the established learning culture of our company?
No two companies are the same, and no two companies approach employee training similarly. Therefore, the LMS you choose needs to mesh with what works best for your business.
Features that support a variety of learning options include:
- Mobile access to course content. Most employees prefer to use a mobile device for eLearning, but not all LMS support phones and tablets for remote learning. Companies that allow completing training from a mobile device will need software that allows it.
- Blended Learning. Companies that don’t want to give up entirely on live training can benefit by choosing an LMS that fully integrates webinars and includes live web tools such as virtual whiteboards, video chat options, and virtual breakout rooms.
- Personalized learning pathways. A big administrative time-saver is the option to set up training requirements based on an employee’s role and then automatically push required training material to the worker when necessary.
- Multiple assessment options. Quizzing is critical for determining new knowledge retention. LMSs that offer multiple question types are more flexible. Besides typical multiple-choice, true/false, short answer, and fill-in-the-blank, some LMS allow ordering, drag-and-drop, and audio recording.
Are your people going to want to use the LMS?
For an LMS to have the most significant impact, it should generate higher employee engagement. So while you may never get your staff excited about compliance training, you can include some fun aspects to motivate them.
Features that support increasing employee engagement include:
- Social learning. People learn better when they learn with others, even virtually. LMSs which offer course-based forums, commenting, and polling, let workers feel connected even when they are learning individually.
- Gamification. Just because compliance training is serious doesn’t mean your employees shouldn’t have a little fun learning about it. Adding leaderboards, completion badges, and personal challenges can increase worker motivation significantly.
At the end of the day, an LMS is only one tool in your company’s HCM software suite. If you want to learn how to incorporate a new LMS into your current HCM solutions or find better ways to manage your human resources, talk to us at ASAP Payroll Service.
