Solutions for the 10 Top Challenges L&D Managers Face

Learning and development (L&D) managers are facing new challenges regularly. With the digitalization of learning, training, and technology as a whole, it can often feel like a race to keep up—let alone excel.

AI, machine learning, increases in automation, and overall advances in digital technology are transforming the workplace. Still, some companies have yet to update their learning and development programs to reflect these innovations. Harvard Business Review reports that these systems improve efficiency and productivity. Digitalization is no longer a nice bonus—it’s essential to your employee’s productivity, learning, and workplace satisfaction.

Training can be problematic in the modern digital era, as outdated legacy platforms don’t allow for interactive learning or are simply cumbersome. Employees now expect to be engaged throughout the training process, and outdated platforms don’t provide an adequate level of engagement. Additionally, courses are sometimes irrelevant to the learner’s actual needs, or the recommendations aren’t personalized enough.

If your company’s L&D initiatives aren’t meeting the modern standards of digitalization, your employees are left with a disjointed experience, and you are left scrambling to track which employee has taken which course. This makes it hard to get a full picture of an organization’s training status. In industries with strict compliance standards, if you do not meet the training requirements, your company receives fines. Training data needs to be available and actionable on both a granular, individual level and an organizational, big-picture level.

So, let’s talk about some of the complexities L&D managers face consistently and how to best alleviate them.

10 Challenges L&D Managers Face

1. Not knowing how to author or create engaging courses

The normalization of remote and hybrid work has permanently changed learning and engagement for companies across industries. Many L&D managers are wondering how to get the most out of the virtual experience and struggle to craft meaningful content for their employees.

The first step is to create truly engaging courses. Infuse your program with fun, impactful activities that engage learners and make memorable experiences. This can look like the inclusion of context-based activities, such as quizzes and games, to test comprehension. Micro-learning is another useful tool that divides your learning content into bite-sized videos, making the material easier to consume and engage with while on the go.

2. Low training engagement

Employees want a training program that feels tailored to their needs, and learners need targeted training pathways that facilitate engagement. One major way to increase training engagement is through LMS gamification.

Gamification can combat low training engagement by motivating learners to earn certain awards for sections or activities completed within the program. Learners get points for collaboration, activity, and compliance, and these points are redeemable for badges within the LMS platform. Gamification encourages a healthy level of competition among learners and allows users to show off their accomplishments.

Another easy way to help with low participation? Set up automated emails (and craft individualized emails) to remind your learners to engage with training and meet deadlines.

3. Determining which information is essential to create better learning opportunities

LMS platforms provide your company with essential data outlining where training is lacking and how you can adjust accordingly. For example, LMS reporting and analytics tools can show training managers which questions or quizzes learners struggle with, and they can provide real-time statistics so L&D managers can better understand how users are engaging with the platform.

Managers and instructors will only benefit from easy, on-demand access to reporting tools, which will help determine how employees perform and how programs should potentially be adjusted to maximize learning potential.

4. Creating cost-effective learning strategies

Investing in a new, next-generation, digital LMS platform can seem costly on the front end (especially if you are replacing a legacy platform), but this doesn’t mean you should stick with your existing, outdated technology.

Let’s look at it through a big-picture lens. A digital LMS platform saves you time and money long-term because it helps create a more effective learning environment (meaning your dollars are going to good use), and it reduces the risk of errors or fines due to compliance issues. It also offers a more functional way of learning because learners can train anytime, anywhere. This breaks down time constraints and hindrances to learning. A digital enterprise LMS platform will also provide you with app integration (like Slack and Salesforce) to help you streamline workflows and connect learning to sales.

5. Making coursework interactive

Knowing when to add interactive elements to a course can be challenging. But a good point of reference is to add interactive elements whenever learning needs to be hands-on (or involves something technical), when the course is long and can be broken up into sections, and whenever the end goal involves earning a certification (giving you a great opportunity to implement knowledge checks along the way).

6. Combatting steep learning curves

New team members often need a little more time to get familiar with your L&D landscape. This is where personalization is key.

Managers should tailor the learning experience to their new hire’s needs, as employee onboarding is the gateway for your employees’ happiness and success within your company. Investing in a digital LMS with extensible apps can make the process more efficient and enjoyable. Because your new hires are likely familiar with apps like Slack LMS and Salesforce LMS already, providing training in these familiar platforms will help make onboarding smoother and less stressful.

Related post: New-To-Role: Onboarding In the Digital Age

Programming for new hires can include integrated messaging options, so managers can follow up directly, or meeting features for one-on-one training sessions. Live, synchronous meetings within your LMS can also help connect new users and advance their training. These additions make the experience feel personalized and convey a sense of intentionality for users.

7. Ensuring learners aren’t overloaded

Digital LMS platforms also prevent learners from getting too overwhelmed by the sheer amount of course content available. Managers can divide training into digestible, targeted bites of training content to provide clear learning pathways that are more manageable. Personalization (through the use of AI) also does this — providing learners with targeted courses that are aligned with their needs (more about this next). Because of these features, learners can focus on their specific needs and better manage their time.

8. Personalizing the learning experience

It’s easy to create a blanket course that seems to address every employee’s needs but doesn’t dive into personalization. But these, often lengthy, courses can feel like a waste of time to learners who only benefit from a small portion of the overall course. Shorter targeted courses ensure that each learner only takes the training required of them or the training that they have an interest in. This helps reduce seat times so staff can spend more time doing their actual jobs, and increases engagement and enjoyment since learners aren’t being made to review irrelevant material.

Digital LMS platforms can further assist with personalization through the use of AI, which helps recommend courses based on the learner’s experience, job title, completed courses, and what their peers are learning.

Individualized home pages help highlight the learner’s immediate training needs and remind them of their progress, upcoming deadlines, certifications, critical learning paths, and other training elements. These directives help each user better organize their experience.

A digital LMS platform will also offer one-on-one interactions through the Meetings features, which are recorded for the employee’s personal use, and depending on their subject matter, could later be integrated into training videos for other team members.

9. Choosing the best learning technology

Next-generation digital LMS platforms focus on the learner and provide them with the tools they need to succeed and get the most out of training in today’s digital age.

When selecting a digital LMS platform, look for one that is focused on performance versus offering the most features. A focused and more personalized approach to learning is better than one overloaded with bells and whistles. Additionally, look for an LMS platform that integrates into your existing technology, so it’s easier for your employees to use. These types of systems deliver value to your entire organization, as they’re focused on the quality and replication of the experience.

10. Getting your employees excited about training

So, let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. Learners want to grow in their careers, and training should always provide value to your employees rather than bogging them down with unnecessary information. A dynamic, personalized learning environment with interactive elements will reach a new level of depth with your employees and make your investment worth its weight. Perhaps even more importantly, the right training strategy will get your employees excited about training—increasing engagement and retention, and improving morale for the company as a whole.

After you’ve spent some time considering your industry and employee needs in the modern training landscape, you want to select a digital LMS software that will function as a partner in your long-term growth and development. Ready to dive in and see how we can help? Try our free demo.