There’s nothing more frustrating than leaving the house feeling like you’ve forgotten something. You wonder: “Should I go back and double check, or just forge ahead and potentially worry all day?”
When it comes to training and people development, life can feel the same – especially as businesses wrestle with new ways of working and extra regulatory requirements associated with the COVID pandemic. You barely have time to ask: “Are all of our contractors onboarded? Are our training modules up-to-date? If I received a request tomorrow, could I prove we comply with current occupational health and safety and training requirements?” If those questions leave you feeling worried or with the sudden need to go and double check, then it might be time to invest in a learning management system (LMS).
A comprehensive, well-integrated LMS has become a top priority for businesses in 2022’s COVID-recovery environment, and so COVID has fast-tracked need for LMS. A global study by LinkedIn reported learning and development budgets on the rise, with 57% of talent developers planning to spend more on their online learning programs and systems this year, far outstripping traditional instructor-led training approaches.
LMSs are being employed to not only track people and their qualifications, skills and training progress, but to deliver all training and induction programs; schedule training reminders; identify skill gaps and opportunities; and evaluate people management programs. Most importantly, they provide a centralised place to track and report compliance, while also helping businesses build an efficient, thriving workplace.
Here’s how…
Communicate and engage with staff
As more and more people work remotely, and learn remotely too, an LMS – with automated learning reminders, discussion boards and pre-scheduled training modules – can keep employees engaged and remind them they’re not forgotten at a time they might be feeling isolated. In the current climate, having technology in place that can improve communication with staff and continue employee development is more imperative than ever.
Retain skilled staff
According to the LinkedIn study, almost 95% of employees said they would stay longer at a company that focused on learning and development. So, when planning your COVID recovery strategy, professional development and upskilling should be at the top of the agenda to retain your skilled staff. An integrated and engaging LMS is a great way to keep your workforce motivated, educated and satisfied.
Streamline learning and induction
Ditch the Excel spreadsheets and forget disparate databases, drives and devices, an LMS stores all training and induction materials in one location. This reduces duplication, disparity between materials at different locations and the risk of losing data. An LMS organises all learning content in one place, so modules can be kept relevant and up-to-date, with the assurance the updates will carry across the organisation.
Save time and costs
An LMS can often pay for itself over the long term, as you do away with training instructors, printed materials and venues, as well as the time spent scheduling and rescheduling training sessions. On top of that, the time staff have to allocate to in-person or bespoke training processes can also be reduced, as induction and training programs can be directed in a highly customised way. Employees can also have access to a rich archive of training materials that they can refer to at any time.
Upskill in the right places
A 2019 CEO Survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) reported 79% percent of CEOs worldwide were concerned a lack of essential skills was threatening the future growth of their organisation. This compares to just 63% in 2014, which is assumed to correlate to rising concern over skills and the advent of new technologies.
An LMS enables you to efficiently manage staff competencies through real-time reports. You can drill down into key data to see where online learners have successfully completed training and where they have not. You might need to allocate more budget or develop better resources. Employees can access details of their progress and proactively identify personal strengths and weaknesses. Armed with this constructive information, you can both improve the training approach moving forward.
Manage and track compliances
At no other time in history have compliance rules, regulations and requirements changed so rapidly. Using a LMS you can add new compliance standards to your online training courses and draw up reports when you need. Importantly, you can demonstrate all employees have received information when it comes to expectations and company policies. You can also create reoccurring, automated reminders to manage compliance and regulatory needs.
While road ahead in the world’s COVID recovery remains uncertain, an LMS can deliver a level of certainty and assurance that you have your training house in order, so you can stop worrying and focus on other tasks at hand.
INX offers an industry leading Training and Competency Solution, including LMS, which offers all of these features and more. If you’d like to learn more about it, download the brochure or get in touch.
