Important Features That Learning Management System Should Have
Learning management system software is an LMS solution used by companies to organize and deliver learning opportunities to learners. Similar to the many pieces of software we all use every day, like Google Docs for drafting content or QuickBooks for accounting, the best learning management systems should help drive an organization’s training programs by simplifying these two critical functions:
A server that allows Learning and Development professionals to perform these core functions: the creation, management, and delivery of courses and other eLearning material, and a data storage for crucial information on a learner’s journey and performance.
It’s essential to come prepared when sourcing the best LMS vendors to get an ROI and build a better business case within your organization. That includes a good understanding of your company’s training goals and how you can help achieve them. For L&D pros eager to solidify a better learning experience for your teams, let us list down some of the essential features that our learning management system includes to achieve the teaching and learning objectives effectively.
Table of Contents
LMS Integrations
Having a Learning Management System that seamlessly integrates with other systems enables L&D pros to supplement learner information with important course completion data. These include association management software or talent management systems.
Data Tracking
Having a Learning Management System that seamlessly integrates with other systems enables L&D pros to supplement learner information with important course completion data. These include association management software or talent management systems.
Learning professionals can categorize training content and tag them by skill to provide a more individualized learning environment.
Personalized User Experience
To encourage wider adoption, a capable Learning Management System should provide content based on a learner’s history within the software, as well as their role. For instance, if a learner is in a sales role, they should easily find more sales-related training content in the LMS. Adaptive assessments and quizzes that reflect a learner’s performance throughout a course will enable users to prioritize improvement areas. If an LMS is more personalized to users’ learning preferences and job functions, they become more invested in the process.
Offline Learning Trackers
For roles that require training and assessments in a real-world setting, like those that involve manual and technical activities, learning professionals may find it challenging to track and store learning data. To bring this offline learning back online, an Learning Management System should allow L&D pros to capture offline assessment results. They can capture the offline assessment results through electronic record creation and edit and personalize assessment checklists that suit specific capabilities or skills that require evaluation.
Automated Alerts and Notifications
Even with the use of a feature-rich learning management system, managers and L&D pros cannot correctly identify a learner’s needs without the necessary oversight. Automated alerts and notifications are a necessary LMS feature to ensure trainers and managers are aware of how their learners have been engaging and completing course materials. By sending auto-alerts to learners about their training deadlines or notifying trainers on a user’s completion rates, an LMS can provide feedback to the right people at the right time.
Centralized Learning Materials
An LMS isn’t just for eLearning. It should be capable of housing videos, slide decks, written instruction, and various other learning materials in a user-friendly, centralized location. Centralized learning materials allow users and L&D pros to stay organized and provide consistency, two foundational elements of increasing learner engagement. Having a space for different types of learning materials also gives way to blended learning, which is a valuable tool for L&D pros working with a distributed team.
