Modern learning management systems (LMS) offer companies a huge variety of different features for their platforms. But which ones should you really pay attention to when selecting? In this article, you will learn about the 5 most important features that every LMS must provide as a basis for successful online further education in companies.
The selection of eLearning tools and learning management systems (LMS) is enormous, with the variety of functions overwhelming for those responsible in companies. The diversity of the offerings is illustrated by comparisons: On the comparison platform Capterra alone, around 50 different features are listed for learning platforms: From A like API to Z like certification.
Learning platforms today offer a huge selection of different features // Source: Capterra
However, more features are not always better – and not all features are really essential for successful e-learning in companies.
Are more features in an LMS always better for companies?
Tool providers compete with one another in the number of features. However, "more" is not always "better". An LMS platform with many features, of which you only need a few in everyday life, can actually be problematic for companies: Many (unnecessary) features make an LMS unnecessarily complicated for course creators and the learning employees of your company.
If you are looking for an LMS for your company, the question should therefore not be "How many features does the learning platform have?" – rather, ask yourself, "Which features are really necessary?" The ideal LMS for companies offers a balance between functions and usability. Before you deal with the various LMS providers, you should create a catalog of requirements. In doing so, you should include all stakeholders: employees, IT, and the future course creators.
Apart from individual requirements, there are also some features that every LMS platform for companies should have. The following 5 features together provide a stable basis for effective online further education in companies:
5 Basic features for every LMS in companies
1. Authoring function for your own content
The focus of most LMS is, as the name suggests, on the management of courses and participants. However, the basis of every e-learning is often forgotten: the content. When deciding "Make or Buy," it is worth in many cases to create learning content for employee training yourself, so that it perfectly fits the learners and the learning objectives. A good LMS for companies must therefore also provide opportunities to create your own content. There is a fluid transition between LMS and LCMS (Learning Content Management Systems).
When selecting an LMS for your company, ensure that content can be created in common formats. This includes, for example, images, videos, and presentations. The LMS does not necessarily have to include a complex authoring tool. What is important is that course creators can quickly create and modify their own content.
2. Comment function
Especially in e-learning, where employees do not sit together in a training room, exchange among each other is often difficult. However, social learning is an important success factor for sustainable learning: Learning together, with one another, and from one another increases the learning effect!
To ensure that exchange is also possible on a learning platform, the LMS must absolutely provide corresponding functions for your company. Comment functions, similar to social media platforms, are common: Employees can ask questions under learning units, share their own experiences, or start discussion rounds with other learners.
With a simple comment function, employees can exchange ideas even in the online course. // Source: blink.it
3. Quiz function
In traditional employee training, not only are the learning contents themselves used: Self-assessments, knowledge questions, exams, and feedback forms are integral to the flow of most trainings. These important elements must also be provided by an LMS for companies: They not only help to consolidate new knowledge and gather opinions. Quizzes make e-learning varied, interactive, and allow for transparency and measurable results.
Therefore, a learning platform should offer a function for creating quizzes. Ensure that different quiz types are possible in e-learning: Surveys, interim tests, and exams should definitely be possible. Especially for compliance courses, the LMS should also be able to issue individualized certificates after completed exams to make learning success in the company "black and white" visible.
4. Evaluation function
Which employees are actively participating? Who is falling behind in the learning material? What is the learning status of the group? – These questions can usually be easily answered in traditional in-person training. However, on a learning platform, it can be difficult for course leaders to keep an eye on all employees in different measures.
The LMS must support this with appropriate functions. Again, you should weigh based on the company's goals: Are large dashboards with numerous evaluations and statistics necessary? As a basis, ensure that it is clear to course leaders which employees are actively participating in the course and which content has been worked on.
A simple evaluation quickly shows where individual employees stand in the learning process. // Source: blink.it
5. Mobile learning
A major advantage of e-learning in companies is the high flexibility: Employees do not have to leave their workplace to engage in further education. Ideally, they can learn anytime and anywhere. However, this advantage disappears if the LMS is only available on a few company-internal devices. The magic word is therefore: Mobile Learning!
To fully utilize flexibility, the LMS for companies must be fully compatible with various device types and also available outside the company network. Therefore, when selecting an LMS, ensure that the learning platform functions on desktop devices, tablets, and smartphones. The content must be fully responsive. This way, employees can learn anytime and anywhere – and perfectly integrate further education into their everyday lives.
Summary: Basic features of every LMS for companies
These functions are essential for an LMS for further education in companies:
Authoring functions that allow course creators to create and edit their own learning content flexibly with common media.
Comment function that allows learners to exchange ideas with each other and with course leaders directly and actively engage in the course.
Quiz function for interactive content that supports the learning process, such as knowledge tests, feedback forms, and final exams.
Evaluation function that makes the activity of learners in the course and the current learning status visible to course leaders at any time.
Mobile function to make learning content flexible and independent of time and devices.
All functions are offered, for example, by blink.it. Whether blink.it suits your company can be quickly found out here: Quick test for companies: Is blink.it the right learning platform?
If you pay attention to these functions when selecting an LMS, you already have a good basis for successful online further education in your company. Additional functions arise from the catalog of requirements. However, when choosing functions, the perspective "As much as necessary, as little as possible" should always apply to avoid confusing those responsible and learners with unnecessary features.
