What is a Learning Management System (LMS)? And How Can It Help My Business?

An LMS is digital, interactive training software that enables businesses like yours to create, deliver, track, and manage workplace education. Whether you’re onboarding new employees, offering compliance training, or providing customer education, an LMS can serve as your centralized hub.

With the constant rise of new technologies and changing business priorities, workplaces are moving faster than ever. When businesses cut through the noise to prioritize learning and development, they see lower turnover, higher productivity, and a more engaged workforce.

Deloitte found that 98% of organizations that implement a skills development program retain top performers, 49% improve processes to maximum efficiency, and 79% report a positive workplace experience for employees.

Implementing a learning management system (LMS) is one of the most effective ways to elevate your training program. Considering an LMS for your business? We’re here to answer your questions!

Are you a trainer at a manufacturing plant? Or maybe you work in the HR department of a major retailer? Regardless of your role or industry, an LMS can benefit your company. Here’s how:

• For HR leaders, an LMS is a valuable tool for facilitating effective onboarding and ensuring the completion of required compliance training.
• Learning and development managers can use an LMS to upskill employees with ongoing professional development that leverages structured learning paths.
• Training coordinators can streamline logistics, manage training schedules, and monitor learner performance easily in an LMS.
• Small business owners who make an upfront investment in an LMS save time, resources, and money in the long term by providing consistent, scalable training to their employees and customers.

An effective learning management system should simplify and enhance the training experience for leaders and learners. Here are the most popular features HR professionals and learning and development leaders look out for.

• Content Builder: Create learning courses that align with your business needs. Look for an LMS that features no-code course authoring software so you can tailor every learning opportunity without extensive IT knowledge.
• Gamification: Looking for a gamified learning platform? Boost employee engagement with features like badges, leaderboards, and rewards that make learning fun and interactive.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Busy leaders can personalize learning paths quickly with an AI-assisted course creator, which you’ll find in some LMSs.
• Analytics and Reporting: Track the impact of learning, identify gaps, and make smarter training decisions with clear, actionable insights generated automatically.

An LMS simplifies training management and delivers measurable benefits for businesses.

Create a Safer Workplace

When employees understand essential regulations and workplace standards, your organization will reduce injuries and lower claims. An effective LMS makes implementing safety and compliance training easy, and built-in progress tracking helps identify gaps and demonstrate compliance to regulators. Ultimately, a safer line leads to more productivity and stable profit margins.

Build Employee Confidence

Set every employee up for success from day one. With an LMS, it’s simple to deliver consistent, comprehensive onboarding to every employee, regardless of role or job location. An effective ramp-up period will lead to more productivity down the road.

Retain More Employees

Employees value professional growth and want to work for a company that supports their development. By offering ongoing learning opportunities through an LMS, you empower your team to develop new skills, stay engaged, and see a clear path for career advancement, reducing turnover in the long term.

Empower Your Customers

An LMS isn’t just for employees. When customers have on-demand access to interactive courses, how-to videos, or product walkthroughs, they’ll learn your products faster, reducing calls to your customer support team and turning them into long-term advocates.

Different LMS platforms are designed for different purposes. Here are a few things to look out for when shopping for an LMS that meets your needs.

Is a free LMS worth it?

While free LMS platforms can be appealing, especially for small teams or limited budgets, they often come with trade-offs. Free solutions may lack scalability, advanced analytics, integration capabilities, and customer support. For organizations looking to grow or meet complex training needs, a paid LMS often delivers better value in the long run.

Want to see how CBord transformed their training and customer engagement?

Download CBord’s Case Study

Should I Use a Cloud-Based LMS Solution?

When deciding whether to use a cloud-based or on-premise LMS, consider the complexity of your company’s data control needs and the extent of your in-house IT resources.

• Cloud-based learning platforms are hosted online and accessible from anywhere. They offer automatic updates, scalability, lower upfront costs, and require minimal IT involvement. They are often subscription-based and include customer support, security updates, and integration with other HR tools.
• On-premise systems are installed locally on your organization’s servers, giving you complete control over data and security. However, they often require more significant upfront investment, ongoing IT maintenance, and internal resources to manage updates and support.

Choosing the right LMS starts with understanding your goals, audience, and technical needs. Whether you want to train employees, engage customers, or track compliance, there’s a solution out there for you.

Need help finding the right LMS? Take a quick, self-paced tour of Propelr’s learning platform.