What is LMS Ultimate Guide on Learning Management Software E-Learning | MERITEST BLOGS

Students, professionals, small businesses, and virtually anyone who wants to learn can benefit from an online learning management system, or LMS because learning is no longer limited to a physical classroom or course materials ordered through the mail.
LMS is a powerful, interactive, and simple online learning platform that can bring your training into the twenty-first century.
A number of these services offer free trials or other types of demos, making it simple to try them out before deciding which one is best for you.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of what an LMS is and signs you need one and the specific benefits for key industries, who uses LMS, and why it’s such a good idea.

Who uses LMS and why?

Anyone can use an LMS, but the following is a common comparison of who uses LMSs and why:

1. Private Coaching Classes, Colleges, and universities:

   To provide online courses to students who live elsewhere. LMSs are also used by educational institutions to boost on-campus resources or to expand their student population by targeting users outside of their traditional territories.

2. HR departments:

   To train employees and managers. Corporations typically use LMS courses to advance the skills of their key personnel or as a requirement for a promotion.

3. Professional groups:

   Trade societies in regulated industries such as medicine, engineering, and financial services use LMS to meet compliance training for their members’ licence or specialty training.

4. Entrepreneurs:

   LMSs give enterprising people the tools to offer short-term skills-based courses such as accounting, marketing/Internet marketing, writing, and others.

5. Hobbyists and self-learners:

   Hobbyists who want to share their skills and knowledge can use a basic LMS to offer modules on subjects as diverse as photography, crafts, exercise, blogging, gardening, cooking, canning, and carpentry.

What LMS should do?

LMS vary in features, accessibility, price, and dynamics, but they all perform the same functions. Whether it’s a robust LMS for career advancement or an entry-level LMS for learning a new craft, an LMS offers the following:

• Online content or module delivery on time
• Course content that can be scaled or an LMS feature
• Compatibility with various platforms (OS, browser, device)
• Personalization of content
• Administration that is centralised and automated
• Self-service and self-guided navigation are options.

Here are some additional examples of common LMS applications:

• Make corporate compliance training available.
• Create virtual corporate development initiatives by automating new employee training and centralising learning and development resources on a single platform.
• Provide activities for remote team building and brainstorming.
• Courses and presentations can be monetized.
• Users or employees can be certified.
• Gamification and social learning can be used to modernise existing training or learning and development tasks.
• Keep track of your student’s progress.

While that is a lengthy list, it is far from exhaustive! It is entirely up to you how you use an LMS. Consider it a blank canvas, and you are the artist. You can use the technology to create your own customised vision for learning and development.

Learning Management System Components?

There are key learning management system components that make an LMS what it is, just like any other piece of software.

An LMS is made up of two components:

Learner Interface (what users who are participating in the training see)
User Interface for Administrators (what the person creating and administering the course sees)
The interface allows learners to view the course content, register for events and courses, submit quizzes, and track their progress. On the other hand, the administrator interface is where courses are created and (you guessed it) administered. Building quizzes, uploading course content, tracking learner progress, and tracking registrations and fees for an upcoming event are all examples of this.

As you can see, the way you interact with an LMS is determined by your role. The table below compares and contrasts features and components of a learning management system.

Standard LMS features

You can divide LMS into standard and comprehensive features or modules to compare different businesses. Most LMSs include all of these basic features, and some include additional features for specialised fields such as post-graduate courses.

1. Basic features:

Registration: This module enrolls or subscribes students to the courses that are appropriate for them. After payment, they are given a licence key, access username/password, or secure link to begin the course.

Course administration: Course administration is the system that delivers course materials and instructional content. Delivery is more than just sending educational materials; it is also about matching which course content goes to which students.

Progress monitoring: This module evaluates the students’ progress. Tracking can be done in increments (e.g., every week, month, or quarter) or at the end of the course.

2. Comprehensive features:

Reporting and analytics: This module collects data from student progress tracking to monitor the organization’s overall learning curve.

Skills gap analysis: Some LMSs provide a pre-course assessment to help you identify your learning objectives and match them with the appropriate course content. It is also referred to as competency-based learning because it tailors your course and guides your progress based on your knowledge base and learning curve.

Collaborative learning (Eg: Forums): Collaborative learning enables group learners to share applications or documents, participate in discussion threads, and use other collaborative tools to exchange knowledge.

360-degree reviews: This module allows students to provide feedback or suggestions on the teaching dynamics in addition to assessing their performance. The feedback can improve the course materials’ content or delivery.

5 Signs That You Need an LMS

Engaging, effective training for employees in any size organisation can be difficult. To complete the task, you must have the proper tools. Tools such as an LMS.

You already know what an LMS system is, so let’s look at the signs that it’s time to add one to your learning and development toolkit.

Sign #1: Your training materials are distributed.

As previously stated, implementing good training for your team is not always easy. You can have the best plans and ideas in the world, but if you don’t have the right tools, learning and development can be time-consuming and stressful tasks to complete.
Disorganization of training materials is a problem in many organisations. You may have PowerPoint presentations on a variety of USB drives, as well as videos on DVDs and online, and possibly some quizzes that you can only find as a paper copy laying around the office.
That sounds stressful just writing it! Let alone attempt to communicate that disjointed information to your employees effectively, easy-to-understand manner.

An LMS allows you to do the following:

• Keep all course materials in one place.
• Courses can be easily updated as materials change.
• Distribute courses in a consistent manner throughout the organisation.
• Track user progress and manage user transcripts.

Combating training resource fragmentation by centralising it all in an LMS is one way to ensure that employees receive the benefits of professional development and training on a consistent basis.

Sign #2: You Can’t Track Training: 

Assigning training to your employees is one thing, but seeing how they progress and perform is quite another.
In traditional training settings, someone is required to facilitate the training and track, mark, and record employee progress. This can consume a significant amount of time and valuable resources. And, with the average employee receiving 65.4 hours of training per year, that’s a lot of training to keep track of.
With an LMS, you can easily check attendance, automate reports, track users’ progress, and store transcripts. Powerful reporting can provide insights into what works and what doesn’t for your audience. All of this can be accomplished with a few mouse clicks rather than hours of manual labour. Furthermore, an LMS allows your audience to participate in a social learning environment and see how others are progressing on the leaderboard.

Sign No. 3: You Need to Train Remotely

Working remotely has certainly been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it doesn’t appear that we’ll be returning to the office in droves in the near future, either.
According to a 2022 survey, over 40 million people in India expect to have fully remote jobs within the next five years. This projection has risen by about 5% since the last survey in 2021.
Having a virtual toolkit in your back pocket that allows you to create engaging learning content is critical to remote training and learning now and in the future.

But how do you spend your time and money?

Of course, an LMS!

You can provide engaging virtual training for remote employees by using an LMS.

Sign #4: 

Employees Aren’t Involved in the Training Process You devote hours to creating excellent content to educate your audience. You make entertaining presentations and videos, but you can’t seem to get people interested in learning and development.
Maybe you’ve been here before, or maybe you’ve always wondered if your employees actually benefit from your professional development time. In either case, you must ensure that the time you invest in employee training is worthwhile.
The key to gaining employee buy-in is to transition them from observer to participant by incorporating interactive elements throughout the training. Gamification, or the application of video game elements and principles in non-gaming contexts, is one method of increasing interaction.

While the term has only recently become a buzzword, gamification is a simple concept that is effective in everything from education to the business world.

Gamification was found to increase motivation in a survey of employees who were asked about it. It discovered that 83% of employees who completed gamified training felt motivated. In contrast, 61 percent of employees who received training without gamification reported feeling unmotivated, distracted, and bored while completing the training.

Based on those figures, it’s no surprise that many businesses are embracing gamified LMS features such as:

• Checklists
• Leaderboards
• Badges
• Certificates

Each of these features allows your audience to interact with the content as well as with one another, fostering a social learning environment that benefits both the participant and the administrator.

Sign #5: Industry Compliance Is Required

Did you know that non-compliance costs businesses in India $14.82 million per year?
That’s a lot of cash and a lot of blunders.

Industry Compliance Is Required

Compliance requirements for employee training and professional standards can be difficult to manage for small and large organisations in finance, healthcare, and human resources. To avoid losing out and facing non-compliance issues (and costs), you must provide your employees with the appropriate training.
An LMS enables administrators to not only provide compliance training to employees in a timely and consistent manner, but also to:

• Control their employees’ certifications.
• Maintain a training log.
• Course content can be easily updated to reflect regulatory changes.
• If necessary, provide a quick report on overall compliance training.

Benefits of LMS by Key Industry

With some learning management system fundamentals under our belt, we know that it’s not a question of whether or not organisations in various industries benefit from an LMS, but of how they benefit.
And, while the goals of implementing a learning management system may be similar from industry to industry, the specific benefits may vary depending on the type of business you’re in.

1. Healthcare

Training is critical for healthcare workers, but delivering that training to employees can be extremely difficult due to long shifts and challenging hours.
Using an LMS allows you to provide healthcare workers with flexible access to training modules and classes. As a result, your employees will be able to attend training at a convenient time.
Other advantages of using an LMS for healthcare include:
Simple compliance management: Information and training documents are securely stored but easily accessible for later use if compliance checks are required.
Easily communicate updates: Keeps your employees up to date on regulatory changes that they should be aware of, and allows you to easily modify training in a changing environment.

2. Technology

In the technology sector, where businesses grow quickly, and employees are frequently dispersed across the country, it is critical to ensure that training reaches each and every employee with consistency and ease.
An LMS can accomplish this while also benefiting a technology company in the following ways:
Provides remote employees with access to high-quality training: According to a recent survey, tech workers who have gone remote due to COVID-19 want to stay that way, with 95 percent of surveyed employees who can work remotely permanently planning to do so. Remote is the present and future, so providing employees with engaging training will only become more important.
Scalable in parallel with your company’s growth: Tech companies are known for their rocket-like trajectories, and this isn’t just a cliche. According to one study, in order to avoid failure, technology companies must grow at a rate greater than 20% per year. That means a lot of communication changes and a lot of employees to train.
Improves retention by: With a turnover rate of more than 13%, it’s no surprise that retention is at the top of the priority list for tech firms. Fortunately, research indicates that implementing solid learning and development to keep employees happy and motivated is good. According to LinkedIn, 94 percent of employees say they would stay with a company longer if it invested in their learning and development.

3. Government

From the highest to the lowest levels, governments can benefit from the use of an LMS.
When you gather employees for traditional training, you incur labor costs, transportation costs, catering costs, and the productivity cost of employees missing work.
You save money by using an LMS to deliver government training. With no in-person training required and fewer company resources required, you can provide excellent training to employees without the hassle of hosting a physical training session.
Furthermore, using an LMS is secure and safe, allowing sensitive information and data to remain private and employee training records to be safely stored, which is frequently a concern for government organisations.
The cherry on top of the LMS sundae is that you can provide consistent training to all employees in the organisation, regardless of how far they are geographically dispersed. That way, you can be certain that every member of your team, no matter how large or small, is receiving the same level of training.

4. HR

Human resources professionals are another group who can benefit from using an LMS.
HR professionals are frequently striving for goals that have the potential to transform the organisation. Their work has an impact on the success of employees at all levels.
Implementing an LMS can assist HR professionals in achieving the following objectives:

• Keeping up with industry compliance requirements
• Creating a learning and development culture that is consistent throughout the organisation
• Managing a successful new hire onboarding process
• Employee participation in company events and meetings is being tracked.

Common LMS Issues and Solutions

We wish to tell you that all LMS platforms are equal, but that is not the case. You may already have an LMS system in place but aren’t reaping the benefits you believe you should.
Problems that arise due to implementing the incorrect LMS are common, so you are not alone.
The following are some of the most common issues that businesses face when implementing and using an LMS:

1. The LMS you’re using is difficult to update.
2. Your current training is incompatible with your LMS, such as having a partial or complete library of training materials that cannot be uploaded to the platform.
3. It takes too long to implement an LMS, so it never gets done.
4. Your LMS’s interface is not user-friendly or simple to navigate.
5. The LMS you selected does not support video conferencing or meetings.

What is the key to overcoming these obstacles? Finding a solid, user-friendly, modern LMS like MERITEST.

MERITEST has many satisfied customers who have shared how our #1 ranked LMS has helped their businesses. Simply reading a few of their testimonials will show you how challenges like those listed above can be avoided, and online training can become painless for your team.

FAQ

What Exactly Is an LMS Platform?

A learning management system (LMS) platform, such as MERITEST, is an online learning platform where businesses and organisations store and administer e-learning content and training to their audience. An audience can consist of students, employees, or members of the general public.

Where Can I Learn About Learning Management Systems (LMS)?

If you want to learn everything there is to know about our LMS platform, MERITEST has a knowledge base that can help you answer questions you or your team may have with helpful videos and articles explaining our features and how to use them.

You can also look through some of the most frequently asked questions or contact our support team for assistance.

What Exactly Is LMS Training?

If you’re wondering what LMS training is, the good news is that you’ve most likely already completed some training through this type of platform! LMS training is simply learning or training that has been completed through the use of an online platform.

Where Can I Find Out About Learning Management System News?

Keeping up with learning management system news can be beneficial for business owners and organisations that want to keep their fingers on the pulse of learning and development trends and tools. MERITEST‘s blog contains the most recent learning management system news, trends, and insights.

Conclusion

Last Thoughts

What exactly is LMS?

In the end, an LMS is useful as a tool. There are practically no limitations to your methods to create, administer, track, and report on online learning from your audience.

There are also significant advantages to implementing an LMS that can make life easier for professionals in all industries while also improving employee training.

Companies that do not implement an LMS for training are missing out in every way and will only continue to fall behind as time passes, losing time, employees, and money along the way.

So, if you’re ready to put the first stone in your organization’s LMS path, watch our demo to learn how our software helps businesses like yours take learning to the next level.