Training approaches for employees that meet all company requirements can be complex in our post-pandemic hybrid work environment. For most companies, paying instructors to travel from location to location - or worldwide - to provide instruction isn't economically feasible now. And even the most thorough company policy and training manuals can be ineffective if your goal is to ensure employees have consumed the material and are actively adhering to it. But your company can offer high-quality training to all employees with a robust learning management system (LMS).

An LMS is a software system or web-based technology that facilitates planning, implementing, and assessing learning activities. They're typically used for eLearning, employee training and onboarding, and extended enterprise training, such as customer, partner, and member training. 

An LMS consists of a server that performs the core functionality and a user interface that instructors, students, and administrators use. Companies of all sizes use them, as do national government agencies, local governments, traditional educational institutions, and online/eLearning institutions. A recent report found 83 percent of organizations use a learning management system, and the market value is expected to reach $23.21 billion by 2023.

If your organization is considering switching to online training, you likely want more than a simple definition and the technology's economic outlook. You want to know what real benefits an LMS can provide over your current method of education and training. Here are four of the most immediate ones.

1. Create a central repository for all your company's learning content

With a learning management system, you can easily manage all your business's training needs in one place. No matter what kind of training you provide, the platform lets you create, customize, host, and store everything, then arrange them in quickly consumable sessions and modules.  

2. The use of LMSs makes training accessible and flexible for everyone

In-person training sessions can be beneficial (and are supported by an LMS), but they require everyone to be present at the same time. There are times when this is not possible. For example, some employees may be absent during training, while others aren't in the right frame of mind. This means some of your training efforts could be wasted.

Flexibility is expected in today's workforce, which can be achieved through an LMS because training can be done when it's convenient for the employee or trainee and is not dependent on the schedules of live instructors.

3. You'll save money by using a cost-effective LMS

You might assume that investing in an LMS will increase your business's costs due to its benefits. But an online training platform saves you money. Small companies may find it challenging to afford individual training for their employees. An LMS makes it easy to assign a single training course to several hundred employees.

4. Learning and development times can be reduced with an LMS

By giving online learners only the information they require in an organized and direct manner, a Learning Management System can reduce the time spent on online training. By clicking on the online modules they need, online learners can absorb knowledge in a fraction of the time it takes to attend a lengthy training course. Online exams and quizzes, interactive scenarios and simulations, and eLearning videos demonstrating complex processes and tasks can also help them assess their understanding.