A learning management system (LMS) is a great tool for compliance and workforce learning.
But it’s just that. It’s a tool. It’s not a silver bullet, it won’t address every learning challenge your organization faces.
Use it well, and you’ll get lots of benefits. We’ll review some of those for you below.
But don’t think that getting an LMS is the same as having a learning strategy. Because your organization needs to develop, implement, and maintain a learning organization–and an LMS can be a tool that helps your organization act our your learning strategy.
Continue reading to learn more about LMSs and their role in your organizational learning strategy.
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As we mentioned, a learning management system (LMS) is a great took to help with workforce learning.
There are many different learning management systems out there, and no two are exactly alike. For example, an “academic LMS” is better suited for use at an educational organization, such as a high school or college. And on the flip-side, a “corporate LMS” is better suited for learning and development in a corporate setting.
Even within that corporate LMS category, there’s still a wide diversity of features that each LMS will support. Some corporate LMSs try to be all things for all people, leading to an LMS with many, many features that may (or may not) be applicable to all users. On the other hand, some LMSs are designed for more specific organization and/or training needs (compliance, manufacturing, safety, social learning, etc.).
Still, within the category of a corporate LMS, you can generally expect features that will support:
For more insight into the LMS as a product type, feel free to watch the short overview video below of the Convergence manufacturing LMS.
To learn even more about learning management systems, check out our What Is an LMS? article.
A learning strategy is the strategy that your organization creates and implements to use learning and development efforts, including training, informal learning, performance support, performance reviews, and more, to help your organization reach its organizational goals.
So to have a learning strategy, you first need to know what your organization’s goals are. If you don’t know that, you’re operating in the dark.
Next, you need to attempt to align your learning efforts with your organization’s goals. Considered from the most big-picture perspective possible, that’s a learning strategy.
Looking at it in a more granular fashion, your organization’s learning strategy includes all the following plus more:
Stay tuned for more details on learning strategies in future articles.
Sure. And you should use an LMS within your learning strategy.
Just don’t think that buying an LMS means you don’t need a learning strategy, or that the LMS IS your learning strategy, or that it will create your learning strategy for you.
Let us know if you’ve got more questions about learning strategies and please do share your stories about how you’ve used an LMS to further your own learning strategy below as well.
And hey, why not download our free LMS Buyer’s Guide, below?
Learn what you need to know BEFORE you begin your search and get a free checklist to guide you, too.