Your L&D, HR and work-related questions, answered. LMS stands for learning management system and, unsurprisingly, it’s the traditional way organisations have managed learning. Most useful for tick box exercises like compliance training, it largely exists outside of the workflow and drives a top-down, manager to learner approach to development. You might find a learning platform more useful. Sure! A learning management system is designed to make collating learning resources and monitoring who’s completed training easier. In most cases, it’s an external system, where employees head to access courses determined by their managers or L&D team. Today, that’s not exactly the optimal way to learn… An LMS makes managing learning easier for your L&D managers and teams, allowing them to keep track of and report on learning activities in your organisation. However, it doesn’t always make a learner’s life easier – learn a little more right here. Some of the key features and capabilities of an LMS are: The biggest step is defining your learning goals and then using that to guide your search and decisions. You don’t necessarily need an LMS, you need something that solves your problems and helps you complete those goals. Don’t fall into the trap of presuming it’s an LMS you need. It depends on your learning goals and strategy. If you simply want a place to manage resources, learning records and tick compliance boxes, perhaps. If you want to develop a learning culture, find knowledge as you work and allow people to share their experience, a learning platform might be better. eLearning is the activity of learning electronically, heading online for knowledge as opposed to a traditional classroom. The LMS is just one tool that people use to manage resources, somewhere people can go to take part in eLearning. An LMS helps the people who manage learning and the LXP empowers the people who experience it. An LMS is often a top-down external resource where managers decide what people learn, an LXP lets everyone find and share knowledge in moments that matter as they work. Learn more here. While an LMS mean top-down learning, a learning experience platform (LXP) empowers people to find knowledge independently, share socially with their peers and access resources in their workflow. It brings all your scattered resources together, makes it searchable and allows you to create personalised learning pathways and experiences. Here’s a low-down on the differences. Whichever one helps you reach your goals! A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking they need a particular LMS or LXP, but really they just need a solution to their problems. Start by clearly defining your objectives and you’ll find the right platform in no time. Work out all of your goals and objectives and find the platform that ticks the most boxes! For a lot of people, measuring skills, making knowledge accessible, enabling social learning, and onboarding faster are important. It’s also why people pick HowNow! These are the questions you should ask before choosing a learning platform! In a nutshell, you’re empowering people to experience learning on their terms! It’s more than just assigning courses to people (which you can still do, of course), it’s about giving people the tools to find information independently, as they’re working, to share it with their peers and develop new skills. To name a few: We’ve got a guide on this too! Funny you should ask! We’ve put together the definitive guide, which helps you: The all-important first three to six months, in which you need to make new employees feel welcome, give them the tools to do their job well and connect them with their peers. Take them further, faster, by using a learning platform in onboarding! Typically three to six months, but it’s really one of those ‘it depends’ answers. What does it depend on? How effectively you connect your newbies to the right knowledge, colleagues and tasks to help them get up to speed sooner. That’s why so many tap into their learning platform to ramp up faster. Onboarding is like the honeymoon period, it’s those first few months where you’re figuring out your role, the other party and getting settled in. Training is like the rest of your married life, where you’re familiar, but learning new skills to make sure you’re all happy and progressing in the relationship. The simple version? The longer version’s in your free employee onboarding checklist. From an employee’s perspective, a lot should be ready for the moment they join! That means arranging email addresses, meetings, training and tool access in advance. From there, make sure you’re connecting them with the right people, knowledge and skills to feel happy and confident in their role. A tick-box list will give your onboarding experience more structure. The right checklist will make sure nothing’s overlook, that your people are made to feel welcome, given the tools to do their job well and meet all the right colleagues. It looks something like this. Start with your new starter: what’s their role? Who are their teammates? Where do you want them to be at different milestones in their onboarding journey? That’ll help you connect them with the right resources, tools and people, as well as giving them realistic goals to work towards. Here’s a checklist to get you going. You could probably group them into three themes: making people feel welcome and part of the company culture, giving them the tools and knowledge to contribute faster, and connecting them to the right people for a work and social boost. Why not interview them again to ask what they want and need to do the job well early on? Or get them to take the Friday drinks trolley around the office? Maybe give them different buddies for different aspects of the role? Think outside the box and inside your brand! These are real-life examples too, in case you were wondering, find more onboarding tips here. Depends on your onboarding process! If there’s a structured plan, it’ll take less time. Connect them with the right tools, and that speeds up even more. Essentially, if they join a company with a strong learning culture, they learn faster still. A strategy and learning tools are your best friends here. Essentially, it’s creating an environment where people develop the skills and knowledge to do better in their role. For most, that means a culture for continuous learning, one where people develop socially and drive an organisation towards its goals. Because 68% of people value training and development opportunities, so think of L&D as a way to provide progression and engage people. Engaged people stick around longer too, they’re 87% less likely to leave! It also helps people become more productive and develop skills that make them better at their job. That’s why! Here’s how… HowNow? Catchy’s well and good, but wouldn’t you rather have a learning platform that captures your learner’s attention? We’ll do that by helping them find knowledge, when they need it, where they already work. Learn how, right here. Conduct a learning needs analysis. The involves working out the skills you need to progress, the current skills in your teams and the gap between the two. Then, decide how you’ll close it through training and implement that plan. We’re glad you asked because we’ve got a guide on this! Clear goals, ones that align with the business objective! An assessment of all your current learning tools/activities and if they align your goals and learners. Any new tools you need, how you’ll roll it out, details on your skills gaps, the personnel – the list goes on. Understanding how your learning and business goals align is a good place to start, part of that involves understanding the skills you’re lacking, people want to develop and will help you progress. A learning needs analysis is a good kick-off exercise. In a nutshell, work out how your business goals can be supported by your L&D strategy. One of the most effective ways is to work out your skills gaps, or the skills you’re lacking in order to reach those organisational goals. That’s your starting point, then figure out the who, what and HowNow of your learning strategy. One of the most effective is learning at the point of need, 49% prefer to do it that way. Why? Because it’s when they’re most motivated and it’s most relevant. Independent learning is a powerful tool, as is learning socially from knowledgable colleagues! Here’s how to do it all… First, take a step back and think about your goals! What type of people do you need to implement your L&D strategy? As a rule, perhaps look for people who can adapt and anticipate how learning is developing, who can harness technology well, help you understand and improve the impact, and offer the people skills to resonate with learners. Learning a new skill that will take you to a new level, typically at work. It’s the process of teaching someone a new skill that takes them from their current level to the desired level, helping close skill gaps in organisations. Here’s some more information. It’s not always possible to recruit new people with the right skills. But when you do, you overlook the potential of your current employees, all the experience and knowledge they have of your company or products. All of which probably makes them a better fit, they just need the right skills. Upskilling is learning new skills to progress in your current career path, but reskilling is developing completely new talents to enter a new role or field. However, both should start by understanding the gap between the current and desired skill levels. Start by working out your current skills and then compare those to the desired level – the bit in between is your skill gap! This process gives you a clear idea of what you need to learn to upskill effectively. Then, find the courses, people and resources to do it! Honestly, the best way is to find a learning platform that connects you with the right knowledge in the moment you need to learn it. It helps you put theory into practice when it’s most relevant, you’re most motivated and when you’re likely to retain it better. Grab some tips and ideas here. Create personalised learning pathways for them and give them the tools to find knowledge independently! Of course, you’ll need to work out the skill gaps in your team to have a clear idea of which talents are lacking. That’s how you create effective paths to upskilling! Learn how to do it here. Creating an environment where people are motivated, appreciated and valued, one where they develop a more emotional connection to the company and their role. Essentially, getting them to buy into the company goals and understand why that affects their personal goals. Learning plays a huge part in this, and we’ve explained why in this guide. For 76% of people, it’s career growth, 68% say it’s training and development – ultimately each person will be different, but generally, people care about their professional development and having a sense of purpose. It’s about connecting that to the overall business objectives. Because engaged employees are more likely to stick around! They’re 87% less likely to leave a company, meaning you can retain talent, knowledge and valuable skills. They’re also more likely to feel connected to your company’s goal or purpose, meaning they can drive performance and productivity. Give people a voice, a platform to share their knowledge, ideas and concerns. Being listened to goes a long way to feeling valued! Investing in someone’s development arguably goes even further, they need to have a vision of progression – otherwise, what’s the point of them getting emotionally invested? Work out what’s important to them, create a connection to the company purpose and create a sense of shared objectives. A lot of people (76%) value career progression and development opportunities (68%), offer those in a way that helps drive tangible business results. For a lot of people, it’s about being listened to or having a sense of purpose, but you can’t overlook the importance of progression. 76% and 68% of employees value career growth opportunities and training and development, respectively, and yet only 29% of employees are very satisfied with their current career opportunities. Empower people and give them the tools to take control of their development. If someone has the power to choose what skills they learn and knowledge they gain, they’ll feel more invested in it. They’ll be more motivated to apply that to work and generally become more engaged in their role and the company. It depends! You can send surveys to directly ask for them to rate their engagement levels, and you can use data from your tools and systems to look at how often they use them, for how long, whether that’s improving their productivity at work and loads more. Speak to your employees! And do it often, a lot of companies send surveys periodically to gain insights, but there are plenty of other data points that can help you understand. For example, how often are they interacting with your learning platform? How often are they logging into other tools and apps that might indicate engagement?
Frequently asked questions
What is an LMS? What does it mean?
Can you give a quick overview of the LMS?
What are the benefits of an LMS?
What are the features of an LMS?
How do I choose an LMS?
Do I need an LMS?
What is the difference between LMS and elearning?
What is the difference between LMS and LXP?
What is an LXP?
What is the best LXP?
How do I choose an LXP or learning platform?
How do you define a learning experience platform (LXP)?
What are the features of an LXP?
How do I build a business case for a learning platform?
What is employee onboarding?
How long does onboarding usually take?
What's the difference between onboarding and training?
What are the steps in new employee onboarding?
What is the onboarding process for a new employee?
What is an employee onboarding checklist?
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What creative ways are there to onboard new employees?
How long until a new employee is productive?
What is learning and development?
Why is learning and development important?
What are catchy names for learning and development?
How to identify learning and development needs?
What should I include in a learning and development plan?
How do you create an L&D strategy?
What's in the learning and development process?
What are effective learning and development methods?
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What does upskilling mean?
Why is upskilling important?
What is the difference between reskilling and upskilling?
How can I upskill myself?
How do you upskill yourself while working?
How can I upskill team members?
What is the definition of employee engagement?
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Why is employee engagement important?
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How do I engage my employees?
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How to measure employee engagement?
