6 Reasons You Ought to Use an LMS for Your Employee Training Software

Anyone who has spent time doing carpentry knows that sometimes, there’s nothing better than the tool built specifically for the job at hand. Sure, sandpaper and some elbow grease can get the job done, but sometimes you just need an oscillating spindle sander. And the tool built specifically for the job of employee training? That’s an LMS.

What is Employee Training Software?

Now it might not be obvious to you what the difference is between a Learning Management System and Employee Training Software, so let’s define them. Employee Training Software is a tool typically used by a company’s Human Resources department to manage employee credentials and qualifications, to assign certain individuals to teach and others to be taught, and to administer training when needed. In a lot of ways, it is for back-end users who know the ins and outs of the system, and not necessarily for the everyday employee.

Is Employee Training Software Different From An LMS?

Yes, no, and sort of. Any given Employee Training Software is likely to have a lot of similar features to any given Learning Management System; but on the whole, the two are distinct in two ways.

First off, an LMS typically has more features than Employee Training Software does, like granular data reporting, training gamification, and different ways of administering lessons through various content mediums.

Secondly, an LMS is a more specific tool; the spindle sander compared to the sandpaper. Because most LMS’s are built from the ground up with the trainee in mind, they tend to offer a better user experience and have more in-demand features.

The Big Six Reasons To Use an LMS for Employee Training

You’re going to be better off choosing the tool specifically designed for the task at hand when it comes to training your team, and here are the reasons why.

Price

An LMS (like Academy of Mine) offers up-front pricing and detailed information about what your money is buying. Price can vary depending on which LMS you choose, but a company that isn’t afraid of telling you what you’ll be paying (and what that money is going to get you) tends to be pretty easy to work with.

Flexibility

When you choose a Learning Management System, you’re getting more than just a way to send your employees pop quizzes: an LMS can fill any number of roles your company may have. The COVID-19 crisis provides a great example: if you need to make sure everybody in your company knows how to access the remote desktop so they can work from home, you can quickly use an LMS, set up a quick course on the matter, and send a company-wide email letting your staff know. Or alternatively, you could use that LMS to make sure each staff member who is going to be working on the front lines gets trained on the cleanliness best practices.

Integrations & API’s

A high quality LMS can plug-in to existing systems that your company is already using, so your poor HR department doesn’t need to juggle six different pieces of software and the logins and passwords for each. Keep an eye out for this when you are choosing your training administration software: you want a piece of code that plays nice with what you are already using (or that can take over for the various bits you’ve collected over the years and administer them all at once.)

Ease of Management

An LMS tends to be more comprehensive than your average Employee Training Software, and not just in the content department. Typically an LMS is built for both the managers running it and the employees; so the HR team in charge of managing the rest of the staff is able to sigh with relief at the quality an LMS brings. No more clunky test-administration windows and badly aligned grading scales: with a good quality LMS, both the tester and the testee get a quality experience.

More Client-Side Control

An LMS is typically a customized product compared to the more general Employee Training Software you might get. Going back to our tool analogy, an ETS is like an off-the-shelf saw with a lot of versatility, while an LMS is one custom-designed for carpenters working with hardwoods. Both are good, but when you use an LMS, you get more control over exactly what you get. Especially if it’s completely custom, like an Academy of Mine LMS.

Versatility & Usefulness Beyond Employee Training

The final benefit to using an LMS is that it can often be used for more than just training. An LMS is useful as an employee onboarding tool, a retraining device, and even as a way to track compliance training if your industry needs that.