Jim'N Nick's

Shannon Ciccotelli

Good leaders see the ‘what;’ great leaders see the ‘why’.

The ‘what’ seems obvious in today’s workplace. The use of LMS platforms has grown in popularity over the last decade. Are they even a question anymore? Surprisingly, they are. These online technologies have been a seamless transition in the environment of schoolrooms and universities—and have even molded most corporate and office settings, too. However, in industries such as hospitality that are consumer-facing, putting phones in the hands of employees seems risky and counterintuitive to the guest experience. While many leaders lag and argue on-the-job training is still the best route, LMS platforms are more than a trend. They are a learning modality here to stay, perhaps making them a necessary evil if you want to engage today’s workforce.

Suppose the question is no longer online or in person; then the ‘why’ becomes how an LMS can give you the upper hand. If you want to enhance your leadership successes, learn how to leverage your LMS to its full capacity in 10 simple “c”-crets:

1. Consistency offered by online training offers benefits beyond the obvious risk of ‘tribal knowledge.’ Consistent training alters the narrative of tenure when it comes to certified trainers. Time in the role is less necessary to train effectively in today’s workplace with resources as strong as an LMS can provide. Easing pressure on job qualifications increases your candidate pool for certified trainers, ensuring this position is always filled regardless of tireless battles with turnover.

2. Content sustainability remains challenged by ‘file + print’ and ‘right click + save to desktop.’ Wondering if you have the most up-to-date training and information at your fingertips? Save the ink and refer to your LMS, for this information can be updated by teams in real-time and pushed to all individuals within an organization.

3. Comprehensive solutions provide efficiency for you and your team. An LMS platform checks this box with its ability to be a one-stop shop. Whether your training programs depend on e-learning modules, video tutorials, links to external resources, or PDF SOPs, knowing where to retrieve information is half the battle. When information is in one place, you can easily coach your team to look up the answer.

4. Culture is indeed a reflection of leadership. This is no longer solely on your shoulders, for it can be driven through training materials and modalities. Think of it as internal marketing to your employees. A branded experience in your LMS accomplished through logos, color schemes, icons, vernacular, and more can spread your organization's vision, values, and personality. All you must do is ensure your employees log in, and they will experience culture immersion from there.

5. Commitment is daunting to today’s generation, which mostly seeks freedom and flexibility. The professional implications of this dilemma are that employers are herein seeing decreases in the pursuit of performance excellence from their employees. Would you believe me if I said you didn’t have to fight this alone? LMS platforms offer gamification and performance-driven rewards associated with training completion. In a society raised on candy, stickers, and dangling carrots, incentivized training will give you the edge you’ve sought.

6. Compliance needs are ever-growing and changing regardless of the industry you find yourself in. Stay current and on the right side of the law with employees at your organization by embracing the LMS for all your compliance needs. Whether you utilize internal bandwidth or invest financially in off-the-shelf products, your LMS can support automatic enrollments to targeted roles, positions, and user groups at the time and cadence of your needs while maintaining employee records.  

7. Conclusions can be derived from the data an LMS platform provides. What gets measured gets results. Knowing where your team stands on training completions increases your likelihood of achieving incremental results. This same data over time will dictate your training trends and, when viewed alongside comparative metrics such as sales, profit, and turnover, can lead you to determine ROI on training and indicate where adjustments need to be made.

8. Collaboration is often required among multiple trainers and managers with new team members to execute program completion. When time is crunched, shortcuts are taken, and sign-offs usually fall victim when this happens. Whether these items include checklists, daily performance feedback, or training validations, dual-party involvement can be managed in an LMS, enforcing their completion for new team members' onward progress. Maintaining the system of checks and balances in your training programs will promote timely feedback, enabling both performance growth and established confidence during critical early durations of employment.

9. Customization of training will support individualized learning plans contingent on employee positioning. Have you ever been offered a development bonus if one of your team members is ready for promotion? If so, you aren’t alone. Such tactics are commonly used today to gain momentum for internal promotions vs. external hires. With an LMS platform, learning and new training can be administered to employees upon completion of the previous content and key milestones to automate the pathways connecting levels of leadership along your organization’s career ladder.

10.Communication challenges all great leaders. Pre-shift meetings are one method for day-to-day communications but often get missed as labor thresholds tighten and vary throughout the day. Communication boards remain relevant for rolling matters yet can be difficult to manage. Personal messaging platforms risk employee privacy and labor laws if abused. Luckily, most LMS platforms come with mass communication capabilities to help streamline important and urgent matters systematically. Depending on your platform provider, you may be able to enable more advanced communication methods between employees or even AI tools.

As you can see, online learning offers more than creating micro-learnings that mimic YouTube and TikTok. Engaging with your LMS to ensure performance results and ROI on learning programs will increase your effectiveness as a leader. Utilizing this tool will make you the best in class and help you soar above your industry peers.