Employee competency is beyond valuable. Especially in today’s global workforce. Without a capable, competent workforce, a corporation has little hope of growth or long-term success. Now, more than ever, standards of competency are crucial. Companies need to ensure that those standards be met by each and every employee. A company’s existence and legacy depends on this.

According to Training Magazine, employee competency can be defined as "A cluster of related knowledge, skills, and attitudes that affects a major part of one’s job (a role or responsibility), that correlates with performance on the job, that can be measured against well-accepted standards, and that can be improved via training and development." In the articleThe Importance of Employee Competency Development, Employee Performance and Talent Management staff wrote, “The actual number of competencies an organization may choose to use varies widely from one organization to the next, but a good rule is between 10 and 20. Some examples of competencies organizations might use would be business acumen, emotional stability, interaction with others, problem solving, use of software tools, and work ethic. Notice that they are a combination of both skills such as ‘business acumen’ and ‘use of software tools’ and behaviors such as ‘emotional stability’ and ‘work ethic.’ How the employee competency is defined should be determined by how each organization chooses to define it to fit their current work culture or the way they want it to be.”

<img alt="LMS competency based employee training"src="https://topyx.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/image.jpg"/>

4 Ways an LMS Facilitates Competency-Based Employee Training

It is the rare employee who enters a company fully competent to perform his or her job well. Even those individuals who already possess both the hard and soft skills needed for professional excellence still must acquire company-specific competencies. Corporations can impart these skills and values effectively through training.

There is a variety of types of training that organizations use to get their employees up to par with organizational and professional standards. Traditional, classroom-style training was widely used in the past, and in some cases is still being used. Blended learning is another type of training that can be useful. It combines traditional learning with eLearning, or online learning. Mobile learning, social learning, and collaborative learning are often vital aspects of blended learning. Another common type of training utilized by companies is pure eLearning. This type of learning is administered via an online learning platform called a social learning management system (LMS). All of these models of training are used in the workforce today. But, many companies are now turning toward blended/online-only learning. For these corporations, a learning management system often proves to be an invaluable resource. A resource that facilitates competency-based employee training.

Here are 4 ways an LMS facilitates competency-based employee training:

It allows employees to pace their training – People are more likely to become competent in a skill when they have some element of control over the pace of their training in it. An LMS makes this possible for employees. With an eLearning system, online instructors design training courses, and users decide how fast or slow they want to learn.

It promotes collaboration – Corporate leaders understand the importance of collaboration. They know that the welfare of their companies depend on it. An LMS is ideal for promoting collaboration because it is usually equipped with collaborative learning tools such as customized schedules and alerts, and social learning features, which are especially helpful at creating a collaborative culture.

It facilitates knowledge sharing – The most successful corporations usually have employees that freely share knowledge with one another. This happens naturally when an organization launches a full-featured learning management system. A social learning management system allows peers to easily give and take knowledge via social media, engage in video conferencing and calendaring, and chat online in realtime. Each and every employed individual, from the bottom to the top of the corporate ladder, has valuable things to share. An LMS helps them offer their gifts of experience and knowledge to fellow employees.

It offers learning paths – Some companies require employees to become certified in specific competencies. This is an ideal way to ensure that workers fully meet organizational standards of conduct and performance. Companies that want to manage certifications efficiently should consider implementing an eLearning system with learning path functionality. Learning paths enable instructors to create a customized order of delivery for the courses and materials required for a certification.

Do you want your company to grow? If so, your organization must develop competencies. You company will need to supply employees with the tools they need to become proficient.

How can an LMS help your employees become more capable, skilled professionals?

Debbie Williams

Debbie Williams

Director, Marketing