If your organisation does staff or customer training and learning programs, and you’ve been exploring the latest industry developments in the rapidly-evolving online realm, chances are you’ve already heard about Learning Management Systems (LMS). In a nutshell, the modern LMS is a highly sophisticated, all-in-one platform that empowers organisations of every stripe to easily produce and deploy advanced online learning programs and experiences whilst tracking and analysing the results – and so much more.
Depending on which LMS expert you ask, they’ll all have their own take on what makes these platforms so powerful as they enrich staff, managers and even partners and customers with their skills and knowledge. Perhaps it’s the easy and powerful digital metrics, reports and analysis. Others like the opportunities for collaborative training, or the ease of use for trainers and trainees, or the cost benefits, the scalability, the customisability.
Time and time again, however, as organisations weigh up the different options out there with a diligent LMS comparison, one favourite benefit keeps cropping up time and time again: Accessibility.
There are a lot of ways in which organisations all over the world have adapted and changed as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but arguably the biggest is the way highly efficient and reactive businesses have explored the ways employees can work so effectively from home. Incredible accessibility is perhaps the biggest benefit of an LMS in our current times, with all the courses, programs and materials available all of the time in up-to-the-minute freshness no matter where you happen to be on the planet – and whether you’re wearing your work gear or your pyjamas.
An LMS turns the platform itself, as opposed to the traditional office itself, into the beating online heart of an organisation. Online learners can do their programs, seek support and access materials, and even interact with one another as they make progress, gain deep insights, and even suggest future improvements – all from the comfort of wherever they happen to be, day or night.
So when you’re doing your forthcoming LMS comparison of the various platforms out there, let’s break down precisely how the one you select should optimally support working from home and remote learning:
1. It has to be flexible
Covid-19 may seem like it’s been around for a long time now, but the truth is that organisations are only just starting to tap into the opportunities of remote working and learning. Therefore, you want to make sure the LMS and any related technology you select is truly flexible as you implement programs and figure out what needs tweaking and improving – constantly.
2. It has to be powerful
While a great LMS platform will future-proof your business by being flexible and updateable, it also has to be powerful enough to put more traditional learning programs truly in the shade. It should be capable of face-to-face and group sessions; it should be fully social media and smart device-integrated; it should embrace webinar and live video offerings; help you easily set up and track your online events; empower you to create courses and upload materials and then adapt them as time goes on – including special resources for those adjusting to a covid-safe world of remote working.
3. It has to be communication-based
If communication at work is crucial, just imagine the critical importance of communication for remote activities. No more popping around the office corner to a colleague or manager, the best LMS platforms fully recognise and embrace the power of communication, enabling chat systems, online communities, virtual meetings, personal channels, sharing, performance check-ins, and dedicated support and materials for better remote collaboration than ever before.
To some, it’s a truly shocking statistic that only the minority of organisations intend to go straight back to the former in-office ‘normal’ once the pandemic really is done and dusted. For the 85% which recognise the opportunities of dividing duties between work, home and other remote locations, the future has arrived and it’s here to stay – and a powerful LMS is at the heart of it all.