No matter how superlative your training
design is, if accessing it is a challenge, then your learner engagement levels
are definitely likely to dip. A smooth learner experience is imperative especially
at a time when organizations are scrambling to upskill and reskill their employees
so they can meet the evolving demands of the corporate landscape.
It’s not enough to simply put
together well-designed programs without giving your learners the right training
tools where they can access the courses easily. For this, a must-have tool in
your L&D arsenal is a learning management system (LMS) and picking the
right one is integral to ensure great learner experience, and in turn
engagement.
While this sounds easy, it’s hardly
that!
As per a 2020 Brandon Hall Group report,
42%
companies were looking to replace their LMS vendors, with
usability being one of the main reasons.
But there are several LMSs that
are built specially for users and focus mainly on them. With learner-centric
features, these solutions make learning easier and user-friendly with an intuitive
experience that boosts engagement.
Here are 8 must-have
LMS features that help offer a seamless learner experience and augment engagement
rates:
1.Nudge
Nudge, in reference to learning,
can be delivered through mediums like email, text, or via an LMS. Nudging
learners to go for reinforcement learning material on a regular basis is one of
the possible ways to improve knowledge retention. A good LMS should enable you to
send out email and SMS notifications to let your learners know about important
updates with regards to the training. They help keep learners abreast on all
developments within the LMS. Besides, you can have peace of mind knowing your
learners will be reminded to engage with learning.
2.Adaptive and
Self Learning Path
Adaptive Learning is a great way to
increase learner engagement and motivation if used correctly. Your LMS can have
Self Learning Paths that enable to create and automate a structured training
program. A Self Learning Path can also make it possible to set completion
criteria for learners and notify them about updates while allowing you to track
the performance of each learner.
3.Mobile
Learning
In the era of remote working, a
mobile-friendly LMS for on-the-go learning is a perfect fit. An LMS that offers
a complete learning experience with a fully responsive design provides users
access to their learning via PC, laptop, tablet or mobile and gives them the
flexibility to complete their courses anywhere, anytime. Such an LMS can allow your
learners to receive effective training by providing them access to real-time
data, letting them download resources and videos to view offline later, and
syncing everything once they are online to update the progress in the LMS.
4.User Generated
Content
Your LMS will be more impactful
if it encourages user generated content by providing platforms like communities
and discussion boards where learners can learn from their peers. You can create
new communities, add search tags, send notifications to participants to
kick-start conversations while also getting a comprehensive view of trending
topics, users, total number of active communities etc. Such an LMS helps capture
knowledge that is prevalent in the enterprise, going beyond the conventional
view of courseware, assignments and assessment.
5.Easy
Integrations
Your LMS can give you more bang
for your buck by seamlessly integrating with a bunch of apps, tools and systems
while reducing manual efforts in the process. These can be any apps and tools like
web conferencing and virtual classroom experience, virtual labs, payment
gateways, HRMS and HRIS and Performance Management platforms.
6.Localization
and Personalization
As businesses take place around
the globe, diversity in the workplace is a necessary outcome for enterprises. One
way is for your LMS to provide support for multiple languages to ensure that
your learners are able to use their learning platform the right way in ‘their
local language’, thereby increasing user adoption. Another way of offering a
seamless learning experience is by personalizing your LMS as per your brand by
creating custom login pages with complete branding set-up, setting up custom
logos, color scheme and background along with options for user login screen,
portal promotions and SMTP settings. This makes the system familiar to your
learners and reduces the alienated feeling of the LMS being another system to
be managed.
7.Blended Learning
Your LMS should be able to offer Blended
Learning which basically means combining Instructor-led Training (ILT) or
Virtual Instructor-led Training or VILT (more relevant to the current times) with
online training. Blended Learning is a holistic package that consists of guided
learning, classroom training, eLearning, microlearning and mobile learning.
Implementing a Blended Learning approach allows your learners the flexibility
to choose the type of learning that they are most comfortable with.
8.Reporting and
Analytics
An LMS with an inbuilt reporting and analytics feature can track the status of learners’ progress across organization. This can be used to generate progress reports for individuals or groups and can be linked to how active the learner is. Learner activeness is an important factor of Curriculum Completions, CPD Points, and Gamification Points. L&D professionals are now increasingly finding more value in leveraging learning analytics to access learner behaviors to improve the training quality and delivery methods.
In
Conclusion
Enhancing learner experience is important
to increase learner engagement. Offering learning that can be easily consumed
with the help of a user-friendly LMS is a pathway to improve learner experience
and consequently learner engagement.
Vivek Garg