Can you name the number one reason why good employees leave a company?
Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with a higher salary or better benefits. According to a recent LinkedIn survey, 94% of workers would stick with a company if it invested in helping them learn and grow.
As a business owner, no doubt you’re interested in retaining your best employees. If you’re on a tight budget or have limited resources, though, employee training can easily fall by the wayside.
It doesn’t have to be that way. These days, you can use learning management technology to give your employees exactly what they want. Keep reading to learn all about learning management systems and why they’re the perfect solution for your company.
What Are Learning Management Systems?
Just in case you’re new to the concept, let’s briefly outline what learning management systems (LMS) are.
In a nutshell, LMS are tools to educate your new hires and current employees. It creates a virtual setting for your employees to log in and complete any courses you assign to them. You can also track employee progress, generate reports, or take corrective action from one centralized location.
This is a great solution for small to medium-sized businesses because it eliminates the need for traditional training methods. You don’t have to invest in a physical classroom, live experts, or costly training materials. Instead, everything your employees need to learn is right at their fingertips.
You can create a custom onboarding quiz or any other content to meet training or compliance needs. To save even more time, you can also choose from ready-made courses on a variety of topics. Our training videos show just how easy it is to create and launch your own LMS courses.
Signs Your Business Needs LMS
If you’re like 78% of companies, you still use the traditional in-person, classroom model for training your employees. This approach has its place, but there are more effective ways to teach nowadays.
Here are three sure signs it’s time to modernize your training methods.
1. Lack of Time
The same study cited above reveals that making time for employees to learn is the second-biggest HR challenge companies face. To be sure, it can be difficult for employees and managers to take time out of their workday to attend a training session.
Over time, though, this excuse can create a host of internal problems.
Team members who do the same work may have inconsistent training or skill gaps that are never addressed. High performers may get frustrated by the lack of opportunities for growth or advancement. Meanwhile, older employees may get overlooked, while part-time workers could miss out on training altogether.
2. Outdated or Irrelevant Content
Have you heard of the “Forgetting Curve?” Research shows that at least 80% of what we learn we also forget within 90 days.
Think of the billions of dollars companies spend on learning and development each year. How much of that time, energy, and expense simply gets wasted? Another report found that only 12% of employees use and apply new skills they learn during company-sponsored training.
If your training content isn’t highly specific and relevant to your employees’ roles, they’ll forget the information as soon as it’s presented to them.
3. Compliance Concerns
Compliance and regulatory reporting are a headache for every business, no matter the size. For example, your employees may need annual workplace safety training. Meanwhile, healthcare professionals may need to complete continuing education or renew their licenses or certifications.
If you’re trying to keep track of everything manually, it can become a logistical nightmare. Payroll software can help with compliance concerns, but LMS takes everything to a new level. Even better, you can offer your employees the exact courses they need to remain compliant and do their work effectively.
Benefits of Learning Management Technology
Can you relate to some of the challenges presented above? If so, consider how LMS solutions can solve all your training problems.
1. Freedom & Flexibility
With LMS, your employees are free to log in from any device and complete their training at any time. They can complete their courses on their lunch break, late in the evening, or even during their commute to the office. You can also make it available after their training is complete so they can revisit the material anytime.
2. Streamlined Onboarding & Training
Today’s employees expect to receive login information to internal resources shortly after being hired. With LMS, you can customize and speed up the onboarding process so your employees have the knowledge needed to get to work. You can also easily upload and share relevant presentations, white papers, or webinars.
3. Save Time & Money
Say goodbye to rented facilities and equipment for in-person training sessions. You also don’t have to worry about overloading your servers with data-heavy video conferences. Learning management systems help you save valuable time and money while boosting your employees’ performance.
4. Create New Content on Demand
Did your company adopt a new policy? Was there a recent update to HIPAA or OSHA compliance regulations? Are you rolling out a new product or service? Any time you need to update your staff on important changes, you can do so seamlessly through your LMS.
5. Incentives to Make Learning Fun
Some LMS solutions offer gamification features to encourage participation and nurture friendly competition. You can set up your courses to award bonus points, unlock extra training, or be entered into a raffle or prize drawing. That way, your employees aren’t just learning valuable new skills — they’re having fun too.
Where to Find the Best LMS Solutions
As we’ve discussed, LMS can completely change your approach to business management. It streamlines every part of the onboarding process and helps your employees to gain new skills.
Best of all, learning management systems are affordable for you and effective (and enjoyable) for your employees.
Here at Staff Wizard, we offer more than just payroll services. Our learning management software is customizable to suit the needs of any business — including yours!
Contact us today to learn more about our LMS solutions and how we can help you retain happier, more knowledgeable employees.
