LMS : An Introduction

The initial segment is an administrative interface training managers utilise to organise their learning programs through various back-office tasks. This includes designing, administering, and disseminating courses, managing learners, analysing reports, and automating notifications, among other functionalities.

The second component is an eLearning module, serving as a visually appealing user interface. Like a mobile app or web-browser platform, similar to popular applications like Gmail or Facebook, the eLearning module is the gateway learners encounter when enrolling in or being assigned to a course.

So, what are the exact functions of an LMS?
Let's delve into the precise capabilities of an LMS. An LMS empowers you to:

- Generate: Develop online lessons ( eLearning content) that can be combined to create comprehensive courses.

- Assign: Automatically assign or provide access to your employees, partners, customers, or the general public.

- Track: Monitoring and managing your training audience is crucial. You can effortlessly track their progress and maintain evaluation reports.

An LMS is utilised by a diverse range of organisations involved in delivering eLearning courses, extending beyond educational institutions.

Here are several examples of entities that leverage a learning management system (LMS) for training purposes:

-Enterprises of all sizes, ranging from prominent global corporations to small and medium-sized businesses

-Healthcare organisations, financial institutions, customer service and contact centres, among others

-Government agencies, both national and regional, including the United Nations and local government offices

-Non-profit organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

-Consulting firms providing specialised services

-Academic institutions such as schools, universities, and colleges

-Online educational platforms and eLearning-based institutions

-Independent coaches and teachers

The versatility of a Learning Management System becomes evident in its ability to cater to diverse training requirements. Subject matter experts can employ an LMS to deliver online courses, train internal staff, and consulting firms can effectively educate their clients on various subjects.

An LMS serves a wide range of learning activities, as implied by the "L" in its acronym. Consequently, it has emerged as an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes.

Here are some typical applications of an LMS platform:

Training employees:
Continuous employee training is essential regardless of your industry – insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, or government. Whether compliance training or upskilling existing staff, a corporate LMS enables employees to learn at their own pace, eliminating disruptions associated with traditional learning methods.
By utilising an LMS for eLearning, you can save time and money on staff training instead of hiring professional instructors for conventional seminars. Integrated monitoring and reporting features provide valuable insights into employee growth.

Onboarding new hires:
Streamline and automate the critical onboarding process with a corporate LMS. While personal greetings and office tours remain essential, most necessary information can be conveniently accessed and referred to in the learning material at the new hires' convenience.
New employees often need help remembering details about a company's history or compliance procedures. However, an online onboarding course ensures constant access to relevant information.
Your LMS effectively educates new employees about employee conduct codes, privacy policies, and anti-discrimination/harassment policies within your organisation. Additionally, it can provide insights into job responsibilities, career advancement prospects, and rewards.

Preserving your employees' knowledge:
Nurturing your staff's skills is undeniably vital, but it's equally important to learn from them. Retaining critical skills, techniques, and information within your organisation becomes crucial when employees depart or retire.
Rather than allowing essential knowledge to languish in an overlooked document management system, an LMS platform is the perfect solution. It is a knowledge repository that can train new employees and facilitate a smooth departmental transition.

Training your customers and partners:
Your LMS doesn't have to be limited to internal purposes alone. You can extend access to your customers and external partners as well.
For instance, you can utilise an LMS to onboard new clients to your product. If you provide services to enhance employees' soft skills, you can even design and distribute courses through your LMS to your clients.

Equipping salespeople with essential tools:
Frontline employees like salespeople and customer service representatives must continually upgrade their knowledge.
Online training is the most efficient way to keep them updated on new products, services, industry developments, and sales techniques. Additionally, companies can leverage online onboarding programs to deliver digital training to new hires, resulting in accelerated productivity.

Enabling remote learning:
Traditional training often faces challenges due to geographical limitations. Multinational corporations and organisations with multiple locations need help to gather everyone for training sessions.
By transitioning your training to an online platform, all team members can access training content and even participate in live webinars from wherever they are. This shift can save significant time and resources.

Promoting learning:
A learning management system (LMS) is beneficial for corporate training and highly suitable for broader educational applications.
Here are a few examples: It can support online lessons in schools, enhance classroom-based courses in traditional educational institutions, educate customers for businesses, or even assist government agencies or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in providing education to the general public.