Planning, organizing, developing, and implementing org-wide training programs isn’t as easy as simply mandating across-the-board training. It’s especially challenging when business leaders have a remote workforce. Most learning & development (L&D) leaders use enterprise learning management tools to help support them in this endeavor.
What Is an Enterprise Learning Management System (LMS)?
Enterprise learning management systems are software products and platforms that aid in automating the process of delivering, administering, documenting, tracking, and reporting training programs across an organization.
Benefits of Using an Enterprise Learning Management System
If you are looking for a cost-effective way to improve enterprise-wide learning in your organization, then consider embracing an LMS platform. Here are some benefits of using LMS software:
Safe Storage
Most enterprise-level LMS platforms are cloud-hosted solutions, which means all your learning content, teaching resources, and learner profiles are stored and protected by higher levels of online security.
With cloud hosting, you don’t have to worry about the lack of storage on your device, ensuring a seamless learning experience. However, if you want to optimize your Mac’s performance, particularly to ensure your online learning runs smoothly, consider ways to reduce Mac memory usage.
Better Engagement
A manually driven learning management system using spreadsheets, email reminders, manually monitored calendar entries, and content stored on local shared drives is a barrier to engagement. Remote workforce participants need training on demand. They crave personalized learning solutions. They thrive on social learning and collaboration. They require learning support ecosystems—and these features are only possible via enterprise learning management systems.
Reliable ROI
Here are some of the benefits that drive up the ROI on your LMS investments: better learner engagement; productivity improvements through learning application on the job; higher learning adoption; quicker learning program deployment; more accurate learning analytics; and increased learning completion rates.
Reduces Learning Costs
Effective LMS reduces training deployment costs, lowers training maintenance expenses, and decreases the cost of monitoring mandated training. Not only that, but it allows for faster onboarding of remote workers and a greater ability to refresh and reuse learning content. These are cost-driving aspects of an enterprise learning strategy that LMS solutions help bring down.
Increased Staff Retention
Research confirms that employees, whether in-office or working remotely, who feel supported through streamlined learning and training support are more likely to remain with the company. Thanks to powerful learning analytics, customized surveys, regular learning content refreshes, and insightful learner analysis, an enterprise learning management solution can help keep staff engaged and committed to growing with the organization.
Key Integrations for Enterprise Learning Management Systems
LMS platforms typically work in concert with other enterprise business and learning support tools. If your enterprise learning management systems don’t “talk” with those other systems, you’ll likely miss out on significant enterprise synergies. These include business process improvement, digital adoption, and operational efficiencies. So, what are some key integration points for your LMS?
Application Programming Interface (API)
Integrating your LMS with third-party APIs extends the functionality of your learning platform. For instance, APIs enable you to tap into the power of Netflix’s vast library of learning content, Google’s YouTube repositories, and analytics functionality.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM software captures and analyzes significant amounts of data on customer behavior, sales interactions, purchasing habits and preferences, likes, and dislikes. A CRM-LMS integration shares those data points with in-office and remote learners so employees can learn from them.
Collaboration Software
The crux of an enterprise’s work occurs through its enterprise collaboration tools. By integrating those interactions with an LMS, learners can tap into invaluable learning opportunities through shared experiences and insights from coworkers, peers, and management teams.
eCommerce
Instead of using assumed products or sample pricing structures, eCommerce-CRL integration can help learners train on actual products and business terms. This gives them more relevant experience during their training.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
By integrating your CMS tools with your LMS platform, you’ll ensure your learners, especially remote employees, have access to the latest enterprise content—including policies and procedures, user manuals, success stories, and use cases—all of which are critical to effective learning experiences.
Single Sign-On (SSO):
An effective SSO-LMS integration gives enterprise learning management platform users quick and seamless access to resources, such as data analytics, CRM, sales systems, online training videos, document sharing, collaboration, and more. Without such integration, learners must log on and go through multiple authentication points. For remote staff with less than optimal mobile or home networks, this can be an especially frustrating experience.
One of the overlooked benefits of an integrated (with CRM, eCommerce, CMS, APIs, etc.) enterprise LMS is it adds value to corporate data. Using a non-LMS system or relying upon manual training processes can’t leverage those data points as effectively as enterprise learning management systems do. By tapping into data from other corporate systems, learners receive a more realistic learning experience. Additionally, the LMS helps learning leaders assess learning needs, and it assists L&D teams to create more relevant and engaging content.
Choosing the Best Enterprise Learning Management System for Your Organization
In today’s digital age, the abundance of enterprise learning management systems (LMS) can be overwhelming.
With numerous options available, finding the perfect LMS solution tailored to your organization’s unique needs and goals can seem like a daunting task.
However, with a strategic approach and careful consideration, you can confidently select the ideal enterprise learning management system for your workforce growth.
Here are the key steps to choosing an LMS for your enterprise:
- Define what you wish to accomplish by implementing a learning management platform.
- Evaluate it for technical compatibility with your needs as well as your existing IT infrastructure.
- Assess whether your in-house team has experience with the product and, if not, what training and support they’ll need.
- Don’t forget to factor future growth needs into the evaluation.
- Check for the reputation, experience, and track record of the platform and the vendor.
- Insist that the vendor shares their product roadmap and future vision.
- Attend a product presentation and demonstration.
Most importantly, don’t aim for the ideal—or you’ll never get your LMS implementation off the ground. Try to differentiate “needs” from “nice to haves,” and choose a system that can—at minimum—meet all those “needs” with the room (and a technical vision and road map) to grow into the “nice to haves.”
Enterprise Learning Management Systems Suggestions
Selecting and implementing a corporate enterprise learning management solution is a big decision. Not only are there financial and timeline impacts (some systems are easier to implement and require less time for staff to learn than others) but the decision has far-reaching implications on organizational training strategy. Before making that decision, therefore, it’s good to have a birds-eye view of what’s available.
Here are some top LMS platforms and supporting enterprise learning management systems worth reviewing further:
Your choice of an enterprise learning management platform can have far-reaching consequences—both positive and negative—on how you train your in-office and remote employees. Right-sizing and right-sourcing those training tools can bring efficiency, effectiveness, and engagement to your training strategy.
It’s time for you to discover the top Learning Management Systems (LMS) for the remote workforce and make informed sourcing decisions about the enterprise learning management software you implement within your organization.
