The Future of Corporate Learning Rests on This Type of Tool: App-based LMS

Work looks different in 2021 than it did a year ago, five years ago, and decades ago. Of course, right? Things change and we improve processes. But our workforce habits changed dramatically in a single year because of the pandemic, and they accelerated tech adoption and industry changes much more than ever before.

With such extreme changes in the workforce landscape, companies and employees adapted quickly, putting remote and hybrid structures into place. This was a great survival tactic in the last year, but it has created some unintended—though not negative—results.

Employees want work to look different because they have become accustomed to a new type of living due to the pandemic. They value flexible schedules and working from home, or having the option to work from home. Now, employers need to make moves to meet employees where they are, to provide solutions for a unique style of working, and to keep employees engaged so that they stick around.

Employee onboarding, training, and upskilling are significant parts of the employee experience. Companies need LMS tools that encourage employee engagement with learning materials, cater to their unique lifestyles and work styles, and can be operated in a variety of locations. App-centric training tools are the solution for companies looking to increase engagement, retain their employees, and cater to their team’s unique needs.

Reduce Complexity, Promote Efficiency With LMS Apps

Employees don’t need more complicated lives, especially after the last year of balancing work-from-home schedules and pandemic challenges. Most legacy LMS platforms don’t function well for modern workforces because they were not designed with flexibility in mind. Now, it’s essential that companies prioritize highly functional, easy-to-use employee training platforms that cater to their employees’ needs. 

Modern training tools should coincide with common workplace apps so that team members can meet training expectations, continue their education, and upskill as part of their daily work processes. The future of learning is contingent upon a company’s ability to meet employees where they are already working. 

But according to Statista, even small organizations (with less than 50 employees) use an average of 16 SaaS apps. Context switching is a huge problem in the workforce and contributes to productivity loss. When employees are required to use multiple applications or platforms to complete a variety of workplace tasks—all simultaneously—they are less likely to perform at highly productive rates. Companies have been easily swayed into buying the newest, latest, greatest workplace product in order to cultivate a more efficient office. Well, those investments may not yield the return employers are hoping for when they pull employees’ focus by adding more confusion, more steps, and more distractions to everyday tasks.

This is why companies should invest in training tools that integrate with the platforms they already use in the workplace. App-centric LMS training tools empower employees to stay engaged with content on whichever platform they are already using.

Prioritize Employee Training Tools That Work With Popular Workplace Apps

Companies are not finding success with their LMS platforms because they do not integrate with popular apps. According to statistics, Slack and Salesforce are some of the most popular workplace apps (data from 2020). Here is the first clue to employee training success, select training tools that correspond to the apps you already use in the workplace.

One of the benefits of working within an enterprise LMS like ExpertusONE is that it incorporates with Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams. Learners can start a course or explore the catalog within any of these apps. From there, learning objectives are more easily met because employees have access to the materials within the apps they already use daily.

This also promotes a more collaborative and efficient workplace. Context switching is reduced, and employees can take training courses, suggest them to their peers, or even correspond with managers or leaders about training content—all from the same platform. This is the key to success for large-scale training initiatives because collaboration and ease of use increase the likelihood that employees will complete their training. 

Streamline Employee Onboarding and Provide Customer Training

One of the benefits of an integrated, app-centric training tool is that it can streamline the employee onboarding process for new team members or those changing roles. With extensible apps, new employees can come into an entirely new workforce, take the necessary training courses, and start adjusting to new workflows all within apps they are likely familiar with. ExpertusONE functions within Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams, three apps that are commonly used in a variety of industries and across experience levels.

Unfortunately, onboarding is often cumbersome and includes learning numerous apps and systems alongside learning the actual functions of the job. Onboarding training becomes overwhelming when it includes context changing, unclear instruction, and the urgency that accompanies any new role. For new employees (and their managers) accessibility is critical to success in the first few weeks. It’s essential that common workplace practices are streamlined, that they are clearly communicated so that employees are set up for success from the start of their tenure at a company. 

Apps solve this problem. Onboarding and new employee training can be handled through extensible apps so that employees can focus on retaining the content, not learning how to operate a new system. The focus is on successfully understanding how the company runs, instead of focusing on how the tool runs. An integrated LMS training system reduces the burden of having to learn another technological tool. Plus, it is highly likely that most new hires will have some experience with Slack, Salesforce, or Microsoft Teams from their previous jobs, so centralizing training amongst these apps further simplifies it.

In a similar way, app-centric training tools empower companies to provide customer training resources. For B2B companies, this is a critical opportunity to provide customers with an extra level of care to solidify the trust and dependency in that relationship. Customers are likely to communicate using standard apps like Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams, so providing customer training programs on these LMS systems makes it easier for companies to reach their clients without requiring communication on a separate learning tool (unless the client prefers it). 

Support Employees, Sales Teams, Customers, and Partners Everywhere with LMS Integration

The meaning of the word “workplace” has changed significantly in the last year. It’s time that we also adjust the meaning of the word “training.” In 2021, employees are looking for opportunities to grow, advance, and upskill. Customers want resources, and partners want to understand the industry more comprehensively. Training is no longer a simple set of required courses for employees to take. Now, training is about providing resources to promote success among employees, sales teams, customers, and partners.

App-based training tools help companies focus on the learner. When complexity is reduced and accessibility is magnified, the learner is able to experience the content more directly. Companies must invest in impactful tools that meet the needs of the employees where they are in 2021, not where they were pre-pandemic or even decades ago. It is time for companies to set aside legacy learning management systems—the ones they’ve used for years without question—and embrace technology that corresponds with our rapidly changing workforce world. Learning technology will be most impactful when it is most accessible for the learner. That means companies must invest in learning tools that are not riddled with complexities, distractions, or outdated materials. LMS apps are the future of workforce learning because they cater to our varied, ever-changing workplace needs. Companies will yield the highest ROI from their learning management systems when they choose to work with applications that are easily integrated into existing work processes and practices.