Perhaps A Virtual Learning Environment Took Over
After the rising popularity of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) during the pandemic, using them does not seem to be the trend anymore. Concerns are rising that LMS providers don't cater to the broader spectrum of learning and training requirements. So what is better than a Learning Management System these days?
I started studying this question, trying to figure out what potential clients want to hear from my sales pitch. Our company approaches each client differently. Our demo starts by us asking a few questions, such as:
- Which systems have you looked at and compared?
- What are your concerns about these systems?
- What are the tools you feel no one has for you?
- Describe your dream Learning and Development system?
So this has helped me in the past, to see exactly where other companies are falling short. It also gives me the opportunity to dive in and fill the gaps. It's almost like taking care of a wound: finding solutions that will work for your client without the inconvenience of migrating to a whole different system. See, what others are missing is urgency. Time is money and we understand that. That is why we automate everything as far as possible, starting from implementing your system to onboarding your users!
What Are You Willing To Pay For And What Do You Consider "Expensive"?
There are companies that are happy to continue their daily training and activities on multiple systems, which may seem unorganized and inefficient. Training and development lay the foundation for work performance going forward. This should be organized and optimally function so that continuing education can be done, which will boost overall employee rates and save costs.
In the past, we have assisted companies to do health and safety training. This training requires a health and safety officer to ensure that these programs educate and protect the workforce. If this training is not done correctly, it could mean a rise in fatalities, also resulting in the company paying millions on medical bills and lawsuits. However, imagine this scenario: the health and safety training has been completed successfully by each worker/contractor. This has been supported by a certification that the system pushed out once the user completed the minimum requirements for the training. This would also mean progress was tracked, storing all data on the cloud.
Considering the serious scenario above, it's a mystery to me that the number of LMSs within the health and safety sector has not increased nearly enough since the EdTech industry started getting more traction. Sure, with the EdTech industry booming, Learning Management Systems are becoming an integral part of continuous education, but I still fail to see that people truly grasp the value and potential of implementing proper systems that cater to all their requirements. And this gets us back to the point...Perhaps it's time to look at a virtual learning environment (VLE) and what makes it different. A VLE and an LMS have similar functionality, however, it is said that a VLE is ideally suited for educational purposes, whereas an LMS is more geared toward corporate training environments.
Software companies should focus on each client individually and that includes their different needs. If you need to track employee performance, a system should be able to do detailed reports for business intelligence. If a client would rather focus on bringing a fun and interactive learning environment to boost educational retention, then the approach is to focus on that part rather. So what do you need? The common requirements that both a VLE and an LMS share include user-friendliness, white-labeling, and reporting, all of which should be offered as a standard.
Why Do You Deserve More Automation?
We take automation seriously. The whole nightmare with looking at other systems is the migraine that goes into the migration process. Too much work and not enough time, right? If the system supports automation, developers can easily and effortlessly migrate all your training over to your new virtual learning environment, without the headache of losing data. New users can be onboarded by adding them to the system (unless you prefer to start over) and sending them their login details. User "how-to" guides can be tailored for clients who need to work with the system.
