5 Benefits of an LMS that Go Beyond Cost Saving

An LMS can do many things, including save your company money. This is because most eLearning courses are cheaper to run than traditional training that takes place in a classroom, with no physical venue costs, travel expenses, or in-person instructor salaries. 

Also, eLearning delivered through an LMS saves administrators time that could be spent generating revenue by streamlining training processes and trains an unlimited number of employees.¹ A flat-fee LMS is particularly economical as it doesn’t charge per user, but allows unlimited learners to access the system for the same cost. But that isn’t all an LMS can do for your business.

Beyond Cost Savings: 5 Lesser-Known Benefits of an LMS

While an LMS is effective at reducing costs related to training, it can do much more than just raise your business’s bottom line. Here are a few other ways an eLearning system can benefit your company:

1. Helps meet compliance regulations -- Compliance training can be difficult to manage, especially when a company has many individuals to certify. An LMS helps organizations fulfill compliance regulations more easily by delivering compliance training and tracking certification and course completion.  

This can be a big plus in specialized industries like healthcare. Often, these organizations adopt a healthcare LMS to help standardize employee training and ensure all staff are on the same page with compliance requirements.

2. Delivers external training -- It’s common knowledge that an eLearning system manages staff training, but an extended enterprise LMS can be used to deliver, track, and report on external training for individuals such as paid members, subscribers and customers.

External training can educate customers about your products and services, or it can provide professional development opportunities for association members. This is an LMS benefit that is often overlooked, but can promote growth and customer loyalty.   

3. Motivates employees to learn -- An LMS motivates workers to learn and take ownership of their training experiences. “(eLearning) is self-service training which learners can personally subscribe to without intervention from trainers or line managers, and can boost understanding around the paths individuals must take to improve their performance. It is...available 24/7, so it encourages independence among employees,” wrote a contributor to Training Zone.²

4. Provides specialized training -- In a Glassdoor survey, 72 percent of employees said they value specialized training at work over earning a degree.³ An LMS can deliver specialized training that not only satisfies a desire for more and better learning opportunities, which may increase employee satisfaction, but also develops talent and boosts productivity.⁴ 

Specialized training can also help attract new talent and increase employee retention since many top staff members value professional development opportunities.

5. Connects employees -- Thanks to technological advancements, an increasing number of people are working remotely or becoming more isolated at work as companies spread out geographically. An LMS helps unify workers by connecting them via social learning tools such as: 

• Online communities
• Chat
• Video conferencing
• Forums
• Calendaring

These tools open up lines of communication, make employees more accessible to one another, and promote peer-to-peer learning.

Saving Money is Just the Beginning of the Benefits of an LMS

The advantages of using an LMS are broad and go beyond cutting costs. Consider reduced training costs as you look into an eLearning platform, but evaluate the other ways an LMS can help your business as well.

Comparing the well-known and lesser well-known benefits of an online learning platform can be a daunting task. We've created an LMS comparison tool to make your decision making process easier.

References:

1. Better Buys. How can an LMS improve my bottom line? Top 5 benefits. https://www.betterbuys.com/lms/top-benefits/. 

2. Training Zone. Six hidden benefits of a learning management system. https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/develop/business/six-hidden-benefits-of-a-learning-management-system. 

3. Inc. Glassdoor survey: employees want more training programs, not degrees. https://www.inc.com/laura-montini/glassdoor-survey-employees-want-more-training-programs-not-degrees.html. 

4. eLearning Industry. The hidden advantages that an LMS will bring to your business. https://elearningindustry.com/hidden-advantages-lms-business.