Guest Post: How to Use an LMS for Employee Skill Development

This week we feature an article by Ehsan Memari, a blogger for SkyPrep. He writes about how using a learning management system (LMS) expedites employee skill development in your organization.

We are in the middle of a skills gap crisis. According to a study from the Society for Human Resource Management, 83% of HR professionals noticed a decline in the quality of job applicants, with one-third citing a lack of technical abilities.  

On the other hand, around 40% of workers who leave companies voluntarily list poor career growth as a key factor. Therefore, teaching employees new skills is important as it can help improve retention and turnover rates as well as ensure better productivity.  

Using a learning management system (LMS) is a cost-effective, more feasible way to expedite employee skill development in your organization. Here’s why: 

Offers Collaboration Tools that Improve Teamwork 

Most online employee training software includes collaboration tools such as file sharing, discussion groups, and virtual meetings. These interactive features provide a forum for employees to discuss requirements, work schedules, and other project needs.  

Most LMS platforms also enable workers to collaborate from a distance, so groups that are dispersed can still work as one unit. Relying on one another builds trust and helps every team member learn how to achieve multipart goals with others. 

Inspires Creativity via Discussion Forums and Feedback 

Creativity is a key quality that makes you stand out in your industry. Many employee training platforms include features such as whiteboards that allow users to build off of one another’s ideas with the help of notes, sketches, and diagrams.  

By taking the conversation beyond verbal words or written text, workers can explore new options and ideas by fostering creativity through visualization and inspiration. Moreover, they can share feedback with one another and brainstorm ideas together. 

Improves Critical Thinking with Simulations  

Many LMS also offers features that support simulations and on-the-job training situations. This allows the learners to put themselves in a realistic situation that needs critical thinking without putting clients, resources, or other workers at risk. 

Critical thinking empowers employees to evaluate the pros and cons of possible outcomes to select the best path toward their objectives. As their critical thinking skills become better, they will be making good decisions for themselves and the company. 

Encourages Good Communication with Social Learning 

Communication is essential no matter which industry you belong to. Regardless of the size of your workforce, workers will need to communicate with others at some point.  

An online training software can improve communication skills via social learning. It is equipped with features such as news feeds, user-generated content, Q&As, chats, ratings, and reviews. As a result, an LMS provides several ways for employees to interact and practice good communication irrespective of their physical distances. 

Assign and Track Performance Goals  

Goal setting is only the first step for a successful employee skill development program. You must also have a way to track progress to ensure that your efforts stay on track. An employee training software also has performance-related features that allow managers and supervisors to assign milestones and measure progress.  

For example, you can create tests and surveys with automated grading and also see visual reports that are easy to understand. You can even generate user performance profiles and course performance profiles, and award automated certificates to learners who successfully complete their training. 

Simplify Employee Skill Development  

There’s no denying the power of an employee with good skills. If you want to build a successful business, you should start by focusing on the learning and development of your employees.  

By using online training software, you can implement an effective and inclusive training program to guarantee the effective learning of your workers. Start your free trial now! 

Ehsan Memari is a blogger for SkyPrep, a provider of leading online training software for organizations to train employees’ partners and customers. 

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes article: Keep Your Customers Close And Your Competitors Closer