7 Benefits Of Using ILT And An LMS To Achieve Your L&D Objectives

There’s something to be said for taking the path that’s already been paved. However, you should also be open to change if you want to succeed in the corporate sector. This is why so many organizations now take the hybrid approach. ILT still takes center stage, but an employee development LMS is a powerful support tool. Is a learning management system really worth the investment? Or should you stick with your traditional training program that’s already been tried and tested? Let’s explore the many benefits that ILT and LMS can bring to your L&D initiatives.

eBook Release

Merge Face-To-Face With Learning Tech: How ILT And LMS Can Bring Employees The Best Of Both Worlds

There is still a case to be made for face-to-face sessions that offer one-on-one support. However, blending it with learning technology can help you enhance personalization and stretch your L&D budget even further.

7 Tops Perks Of Using Instructor-Led Training Along With An LMS

1. Provide Flexible Training To Every Member Of Your Organization

ILT sessions usually involve a single topic or discussion point. There’s the curriculum and printed manuals, followed by a final exam to test comprehension. But that doesn’t account for individual schedules or preferences. For example, some members of the team might need more visual aids as opposed to instructor-led lectures. An LMS allows you to personalize your approach and provide greater diversity so that every employee can train when it’s most convenient and access online resources that align with their goals.

2. Reduce ILT Costs

ILT costs can get out of hand. Especially if you need to pay an instructor to travel to your site and print materials or pay for trainee accommodations if you’re hosting a remote workshop. An LMS can reduce these costs by supplementing your training and facilitating live events. Employees can access online tools via the LMS to fill in the gaps so that they don’t have to attend as many ILT sessions. Or the instructor can use video conferencing tools to host live online events, such as webinars, that don’t involve any travel fees.

3. Offer Real-Time Support To Your Remote Team

L&D objectives involve every member of your team to some extent; even the remote staff who are unable to attend ILT events. You can use the learning management system to deliver real-time support wherever they are—whether it be a tutorial that helps them perform a task or a podcast that imparts sales tips. They can address areas for improvement right away instead of waiting for the next live event. Or, worse yet, making mistakes that violate compliance and tarnish your brand image.

4. Cut Down On Training Seat Time

ILT can eat up a significant portion of the workday. Especially if it’s a compliance training topic that involves rules and regulations that are more complex. A learning management system reduces seat time by making the information easier to digest. For example, employees take part in simulations or scenarios that tackle real-world challenges. Instead of merely reading about the subject or listening to an instructor, they can immerse in the situation and learn by doing. As a result, they absorb the ideas more rapidly because they’re putting them into practice. This also allows them to learn from mistakes so that they don’t repeat them.

5. Improve Employee Engagement

Employees are more engaged in online training with a learning management system because it personalizes the process. But it also enables them to focus on their own objectives and gaps, as well as go at their own pace. All this translates into higher participation stats and employee engagement. They’re more motivated to train since the L&D program is interactive and customized to their needs. For instance, the ILT session might feature a half-hour presentation, but the online training component includes scenarios and serious games, which are more enjoyable and real-world-centered than a face-to-face session.

6. Gain Better Oversight Of Your L&D Strategy

Chaos is the enemy of L&D. You need complete oversight of your objectives, employee performance, and instructor involvement. A compliance training LMS features built-in reports that allow you to track every activity, module, and emerging gap. You can even view charts and graphs to detect trends that compromise ILT success. For instance, the LMS assessment reports reveal that 75% of your employees are still unaware of recent law changes even though they just attended an ILT workshop on the topic and should know every policy in place. In response, you can adjust your ILT curriculum to improve understanding and knowledge retention.

7. Identify Rising Stars And Facilitate In-House Sharing

Lastly, ILT and LMS can help you spot your top talent, rising stars, and underperformers to facilitate peer-based support. Your top talent can become mentors or coaches to those who fall below the benchmark, while rising stars can get the personalized resources they need to advance within your organization. LMS reports, such as progress, completion, or assessment scores, highlight employees’ strengths. There are also gamification elements you can incorporate to quickly identify MVPs, like the customer service employee who’s earned every badge in the soft skills category. Another perk of using a learning management system in your ILT strategy is social learning. For example, launching a user forum or live chat where top performers can give coworkers a helping hand, even if they work remotely and have unique training objectives based on their role or experience level.

Conclusion

ILT can still offer your employees that human connection and build comradery. However, adding LMS to your approach enhances personalization, reduces costs, and improves L&D oversight. Not to mention, it helps you achieve your online training objectives more rapidly by saving seat time and offering real-time support. Implementing the right LMS may require a significant investment, but it’s a small price to pay for modernizing your training program.

Compliance training is one of the most likely candidates for online support tools. The stakes are high and you need your team to stay in the know. Find the best compliance LMS to integrate into your ILT strategy to reduce costs and on-the-job mistakes.

Download the eBook Merge Face-To-Face With Learning Tech: How ILT And LMS Can Bring Employees The Best Of Both Worlds to merge modern tech with instructor-led training to achieve your objectives.