Uncovering the Top 5 LMS Myths

A learning management system (LMS) is a platform that hosts, delivers and tracks training materials and learning content. There are a number of different models out there, but as with any technology, comes misconceptions surrounding their value.

But, as many businesses start to adopt LMS strategies and tools, their research is also uncovering a number of myths and misconceptions around what an LMS does, and how they work.

Let’s put these myths to rest.

Myth:

The more learning content on offer, the higher the engagement will be.

Uncovered:

No matter what, not every learner will engage in the same way.

It may be that video content performs best for some learners, but they lose focus with multiple choice tests, or perhaps an individual will take in information best with a peer group session rather than alone. Either way, offering all learning content on a digital platter will never result in everyone doing everything.

The trick to getting workplace learning right, is to offer the right content to the right people, and an LMS can do just that. By only offering learners content based on their preferences, skills, personal traits, and most importantly, their engagement.

As a result, they’re much more likely to engage with, complete and remember their learning, since the method of teaching suited their traits best.

Myth:

Adding gamification will make everyone want to win.

Uncovered:

Whilst yes, incorporating gamification and friendly peer to peer competition can be an effective tool at stimulating collaborative learning, particularly as it helps learners identify solutions to problems through the input of several people and other types of mindsets, too much of it can end up doing the complete opposite.

According to Human Resources Today, gamification works to ‘hack’ the human brain and tap into its reward centre. This is the idea that, as humans, we’re auto programmed to want to win, or at least, to not want to fail.

However, not everyone is wired this way. It’s important to remember that one rule will not work for everyone, and embedding gamification could end up adding extra pressure on some people, even to the point of causing anxiety or worry between peers.

Finding the right time and place for competitiveness is well worth exploring, but L&D teams should limit this to small doses, and ensure it’s rolled out in a careful way to suit all learners.

Myth:

Managing an LMS will take up too much resource.

Uncovered:

The truth is, leveraging an LMS with content search capabilities is a perfect recourse, as its machine learning capabilities can more effectively put the right information in front of your learners better, quicker and more efficiently.

How? Because the LMS algorithm learns from what the user selects, to present better results for them. For example, if learners are searching for specific content and most often click on the third result listed, that result will move up the ranking, making it easier for others to discover the content they were looking for.

The LMS will then gather all that data into analytics reports, ROI breakdowns and ultimately, bring down admin time, stress, and costs, while delivering better training outcomes.

Myth:

All LMS’s do the same thing.

Uncovered:

From cloud based and open-source LMS platforms to meet general learning specifications, through to custom-built LMS platform, no two LMS’s are actually the same.

In truth, they vary in style and structure, and are all very adaptable tools to help businesses achieve their goals. Once, of course, a business determines exactly what those goals are.

For example, an LMS can help deliver academic training, ranging from primary to higher education. They could also facilitate customer training, to guide users on how to use certain systems or platforms. LMS’s could even be used by online instructors or entrepreneurs to create course material and learning programs in any subject that can be taught or is related to a business.

In other words, different LMS’s can deliver training in different ways, for different industries, using different approaches.

Myth:

Using an LMS isolates people.

Uncovered:

According to the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, 90% of employees actually desire flexibility in when and where they work, with 54% of employees stating they would consider leaving their current job if they weren’t afforded some form of flexibility in their working location or contractual hours.

This isn’t surprising, as post-pandemic, the working landscape is a very different place now. But tools such as LMS’s are there to help employers adapt, and they can actually help make positive changes in employee advocacy because they give people exactly what they want: choice, freedom and trust – the three elements such HBR list as being the most crucial areas of employee retention.

If anything, using an LMS in this way helps to bring hybrid teams closer together, despite being based around the country or even the world, as it assures learners that they’re allowed to navigate their everyday lives without feeling pressured to be at their desks 9-5.

The result is a personal, positive, and consistent relationship with each team member, and a much more human understanding of their employee needs.

At BuildEmpire, we completely appreciate that with so many different myths and misconceptions around LMS’s, it can be difficult to know what’s what.

If you’re not sure where to begin, get in touch. We’re here to design, build and facilitate the perfect learning management system for your business, and we’ll be here for as long as you need us.