Measurable Benefits of Learning Management Systems

If you’re a business that needs to deliver training, a learning management system (LMS) has a number of measurable benefits to help structure this in a way that works for both you and your learners.

An LMS is a software-based or SaaS platform to store course materials and information that users can then access efficiently and conveniently. Training assets are uploaded and organised in the server component of an LMS, then accessed through a user interface, typically on a web browser. It’s one of the best ways to create, organise, deliver, and report on training systems and programs.

In this blog post we’ll be exploring:

The measurable benefits of an LMS
The difference between standard and custom LMS
The advantages and disadvantages of an LMS
The benefits of an LMS for both your organisation and your partners
Considerations around outsourcing your LMS to a third-party organisation

The Core 8: Baseline Benefits Every Modern LMS Must Deliver

As a company who creates training programs for commercial impact, we’ve seen first-hand the many benefits there are to using an LMS. These include:

Accessibility
Organisation
Tracking and reporting
Cost-effectiveness
Engagement
Scalability
Continuous learning
Flexibility

Benefit 1: Easy Accessibility to Course Materials

While face-to-face training can be great for engagement, it’s not the easiest to organise from a practical point of view – especially if learners are scattered across countries and territories. So one of the biggest benefits of an LMS is that online access to educational materials makes it easy for students and employees to learn from anywhere, at any time.

Learners can also learn at their own pace, which can be especially beneficial for those with busy schedules, who prefer to learn independently, or who work remotely or in distributed teams.

Benefit 2: Organisation of Educational Materials

Removing any friction points in accessing materials means learners are far more likely to engage with and learn from content. One of the huge benefits of an LMS is that it allows for the centralisation of all educational materials: learners can find what they need when they need it, with all the information at their fingertips.

There’s a benefit for organisations to this type of centralisation, too. From a management perspective, everything is kept in one location, making updates and changes quick and simple.

Benefit 3: Progress Tracking and Reporting

Knowing how your training program is accessed and engaged with is core for tracking its success and ensuring a good return on investment.

This is where the integrated monitoring and insight tools of an LMS come into their own. LMS usually offer a variety of reports available, often customisable to the needs of any organisation, providing practical feedback, insight, and the ability to spot knowledge gaps.

Benefit 4: Cost-Effective Implementation

While there is an initial outlay, an LMS can actually help save money in the long run.

Organisations implementing an LMS reduce the need for physical classroom space, textbooks, and other materials.

If you train external audiences, such as channel partners or customers, money is also saved on travel and hotel expenses, which is especially relevant for businesses looking to scale across different countries and territories.

Benefit 5: Engagement With Course Materials

Engagement is at the heart of learning: without it, no information will be properly taken in. An LMS allows inclusion of interactive elements such as quizzes, knowledge checks, discussion boards, and multimedia content. This makes the learning experience more engaging and boosts knowledge retention.

An LMS also allows for collaboration and communication between learners, managers, and instructors, as well as among classmates, which can enhance the learning experience.

Benefit 6: Scalability of Course Delivery

Delivering training online via an LMS allows for rapid scalability. An LMS can be used for a wide range of training programs, from a single course to a full curriculum, and is easily scalable to meet the needs of an organisation.

This is especially helpful if your business is frequently onboarding new partners or employees, particularly across different countries and time zones.

Benefit 7: Facilitating Continuous Learning

Perfect for continuous learning, the learning process never stops with an LMS, making it easy for learners to stay up to date with the latest updates, trends, and skills.

This is particularly important for channel partners who are generating revenue: it’s crucial that they’re aware of any developments within a product or service, and feel motivated to be an ambassador for it.

Benefit 8: Adaptability for Custom Learning

Everyone learns differently, so it’s important that training materials reflect this and help people get the most from it.

An LMS allows for the creation of custom learning plans tailored to the needs of individual learners. This is especially important to keep learners engaged in training that has been designed to be relevant to them and their roles.

What’s the Difference Between Standard and Customised LMS?

Feature	Standard LMS	Customised LMS
Design & Interface	• Set interface • Predefined course presentation • Can feel cumbersome or unclear to some learners	• Tailored to meet the specific needs of an organisation
Features & Scope	• Pre-built software solution • Offers basic general features (course creation, registration, tracking, reporting)	• Built to order • Includes additional features or integrations not found in standard versions
Cost & Value	• Less expensive initial development • Standard pricing structure	• More expensive due to additional development costs • Higher costs are balanced by many advantages

What are the Advantages of a Customised LMS?

A customised LMS allows users to:

Modify the platform’s visual and structural design
Integrate optional modules and other systems that extend its functionality
Alter the way content is delivered
Assign specific roles to different users, granting varying levels of control and access to the platform.

It’s distinct from standard LMS that restrict customisation to simple elements such as uploading company logos and changing colours, with providers having majority control over what their platforms can do.

Some of the benefits a customised LMS can bring to your organisation’s training program include:

Stronger Brand Identity

Training is as much about imparting knowledge and developing skills as it is about introducing and instilling company values. Such values are expressed both directly and indirectly through a company’s branding.

Branding is best when it is omnipresent, so it sticks in the mind of people who interface with it regularly.

With a customised LMS, training material to the overall visual design of the entire platform can carry the company’s brand.

Branding doesn’t end with having a logo stamped on top of a training course. It also covers the more visible aspects, such as the platform interface, plus the more subtle elements such as tone and messaging.

A customised LMS ensures learners absorb a brand’s culture whenever or wherever they undergo training.

Increase in User Adoption

The ability to customise your courses and tailor them according to the user’s needs benefits both the learner and the administrator:

User	Benefit
For Learners	The foremost benefit of having a customised LMS is that it lets organisations improve usability via visual design modification. In the process, users are more likely to participate in the training as it is relevant to them. By customising the visual and structural design to better cater to the users’ specific needs, they will have an easier time interfacing with the platform and following the learning pathway set for them.
For Administrators	Administrators can take a top-down view of how learners engage with training. One of their central duties is to understand how effective a program is, which is done by setting metrics, collecting data, and presenting such figures in a manner that establishes pathways for learners to make progress. A customised LMS provides admin tools that can refine their reports, tracking methods, and mapping capabilities, making an administrator’s job much easier. Customised LMS providers can also offer a comprehensive managed learning service so that administrators can offload more minor tasks to the providers and focus on other, more urgent matters.

Cost-Efficient in the Long-Term

The upfront cost of a customised LMS may be higher than your standard LMS, but the freedom you gain from paying a premium will pay for itself in the long run, especially if you’re looking to sell your training courses.

The cost-efficiency mainly comes from the improvements in the training program across the board brought on by using a customised LMS, so fewer time and resources will be spent trying and failing to engage learners with a restrictive system.

This kind of platform accommodates varying learning styles, as the LMS can be modified to fit the specific needs of learners.

Whether it’s implementing a particular set of functions that learners find useful or designing the interface in such a way that learners find appealing, the tailored experience that comes with a customised LMS makes the whole process of learning smoother and more engaging.

Agile Course Delivery

In this fast-moving work climate, contingencies have to be in place if the main plans aren’t followed. Sometimes, companies have to pivot quickly to face unexpected challenges.

When it comes to training, there may be a need to roll out updates for course materials as soon as possible to reflect shifts in business strategy or prepare for projected trends. Some industries frequently add to their product line and have to train constantly on new products.

A customised LMS allows organisations to deliver course updates whenever it’s necessary, instead of following a strict training roadmap laid out by a vendor with a standard LMS. Changes can also be large-scale or granular, depending on what needs updating, without upending entire training programs.

Flexibility for Longevity

No matter the field or industry, organisations are not static entities. They change over time, growing and diversifying their staff, increasing their competencies, and widening their range of offerings to survive and thrive. Any organisation that hopes to keep its members well-equipped with the skills and knowledge to face new challenges should have a customised LMS.

A customised LMS has the flexibility to be moulded the way its users prefer, anticipating the possibility that it might have to undergo multiple transformations to adapt to the organisation’s evolving needs. Such a system is built to last instead of having to be discarded the moment a fundamental change occurs, which is exactly when a stable training foundation is required.

Nail the Transition to Online Training with an LMS

Taking training online with the help of a standard, out-of-the-box LMS is no longer enough. The control and flexibility provided by a customised LMS make realising company training goals much easier.

The transition from face-to-face training to online training can be daunting, but it also has the potential to be extremely beneficial, with online training offering flexibility and convenience that traditional in-person training can’t match.

With the right tools and strategies, the benefits of online training can far outweigh the challenges of transition.

Learn more with our blog post ‘Everything you Need to Know About the WahooLMS‘ and discover how it can help take your training program to the next level!

Ready to Get Started? Contact us today!

FAQs on the benefits of LMS

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of LMS?

There are so many advantages to an LMS for your training. As outlined in this post, it provides easy access to training and engagement, the ability to track and monitor progress, the facility for continuous learning, and a simple way to scale up training.

The disadvantages are that an LMS can have a large upfront cost, particularly for a customised version, but the benefits vastly outweigh this disadvantage and you should see a clear return on investment.

What Are the Benefits of LMS to Students?

The biggest benefit of having an LMS is that it lets students access the materials they need, at their own pace and at their own time. This means they’re far more likely to engage in your training and your business will reap the benefits.

A customised LMS takes this even further by allowing students to have training materials tailored to their exact needs, making it even easier for them to engage with the program.

Should I Outsource LMS Management?

Delivering training at scale is a major challenge when it comes to creating high-quality training materials. Many organisations lack the internal resources to create, update, and optimise training content, but the demand for it never stops.

If you’re wondering whether you should outsource your LMS, it’s a good idea to start by assessing your internal resources and see if you have capacity. It may be that the burden on staff and resources is too much, and turning to an external company is the more cost-effective option.

If you want to know more, we go into this topic in more detail in our post The Benefits of an Outsourced Channel Partner Training Solution