What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
By 07 Jun 2019
A learning management system or LMS for short is a software platform that is used to deliver online/offline digital training programs. The platform allows you to host and assign e-learning courses to learners and then track the completion of these courses across an organisation. Employees are given access to the courses relevant to them and can then login and complete these from anywhere using their computer or smartphone.
The LMS tracks the progress of each individual learner, enabling an organisation to quickly review who has completed what as well as this the platform can also send reminders to staff who are yet to complete compulsory courses and automatically notify when a refresher course is required. Additional to individual staff reviews, LMS offer sophisticated reporting software that creates relevant customisable reports which can be segregated according to training programs, departments, branches and even regions. These reports are further analysed to provide actionable insights that can be used to improve future training programs.
LMS’s can support anywhere from a few learners to several thousand at any point in time meaning that they are of value to businesses of all sizes. The progress tracking tool becomes very particularly valuable to small business that may not necessarily have an employee dedicated to overseeing the learning and development within the organisation. It also provides a source of proof that training has been provided and completed which is fundamental to mitigating risk.
In the case of conglomerates and organisations that have global employees training and keeping track of various programs becomes a mammoth task. An LMS platform allows information to be uploaded at one central location and then immediately distributed to relevant staff members around the globe for completion.