13 Benefits of Learning Management Systems for Modern Companies

Imagine an ecosystem where employees thrive, knowledge flows, and growth is a given. That's the LMS promise.

This article will scrutinize: 

• What a learning management system is.
• 13 standout benefits of LMSs for today's companies. 
• The costs and drawbacks you can expect when adopting one.

👩‍🎓 What does LMS mean?

LMS stands for learning management system. This once-revolutionary idea has become the industry standard for most internet-connected, modern businesses. 

A learning management system is a centralized repository of training content or educational material that users can access over the internet. 

Learning management systems also include additional features like user accounts with progress tracking, gamification, and course creation tools. 

However, there is no universal consensus on which features are needed to be considered a full-fledged LMS. 

In addition to learning management systems (commonly abbreviated LMS), you may have heard of learning experience platforms (commonly abbreviated LXP).

Many consider an LXP an evolution or extension of an LMS since both serve a similar purpose of efficient, digital training.

However, LXPs approach learning from a bottom-up perspective, unlike an LMS's centralized, top-down approach.

➡️ Check out our in-depth analysis of the differences between an LXP vs. an LMS.

🏆 13 Benefits of a learning management system

While learning management systems started out as a powerful tool for educational institutions like schools, the benefits for businesses quickly became apparent. Software applications to facilitate the learning process, especially online learning, had obvious advantages over traditional training courses, especially in the era of global business and remote/hybrid workers.

A centralized learning environment

For many companies, training materials are scattered among computer files, hard copies, and even inside managers' brains.

An LMS consolidates training resources into one place, accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, so you can always find what you're looking for.

Scalability

No one reads the employee manual if it's contained within a thick 3-ring binder. Collecting training material the old-fashioned way requires bookshelves, filing cabinets, and a flash drive or hard drive from a dusty old computer.

Learning management systems quickly embraced the cloud, allowing you to upload near-limitless resources. Also, a cloud-based LMS is available to potentially unlimited users, unlike a conference room that only seats a dozen or so.

Cost-efficiency

Though most learning management systems operate on a subscription basis, the benefit is that the cost is predictable.

Rather than buying physical materials, renting venues, or hiring speakers, you simply divert all of your teaching efforts onto a digital platform with a simple monthly fee. This can result in much better training ROI.

Reusable resources

An LMS can significantly streamline the employee onboarding process by having the new-hire resources ready to go. There is no need to conduct orientation for every new employee. 

Simply direct them to the LMS onboarding content.

Also, all training material is always available to everyone if an employee wants to refresh themselves on a topic. L&D professionals can add and update content without having to repeat themselves.

Consistent learning experiences

One of the most frustrating things for employees and managers is incomplete or inaccurate training. The truth is some trainers or mentors are better than others.

With an LMS, everyone receives the same training from the same resources without the variables of a live teacher.

Monitoring and reporting

You can hand employees a training manual or force them to sit through a seminar, but that's no guarantee they will learn.

By giving employees their accounts on your LMS, you can easily monitor their progress and even assess their learning outcomes with feedback surveys and quizzes.

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Data-driven decisions

Using the information gained from a learning management system's monitoring and reporting tools, you can make better-informed decisions about your company, training, and even individual students. 

For example, if everyone responds well to a specific resource and their performance improves, you can double down on that training.

Accessibility and flexibility

Unlike traditional training methods like one-size-fits-all conference room seminars, an LMS can offer more options and a more personalized learning experience. 

For example, you can offer articles, videos, and micro-learning exercises about a single topic so individuals can choose the teaching methods that work best for them. This also prevents intrusive scheduled meetings that can interrupt the workday. Employees can educate themselves when it is convenient, even on mobile devices.

Enhanced collaboration and communication

Since an LMS is always accessible and shared by anyone in an organization, sharing ideas and asking questions is easy and efficient. This makes learning and collaboration painless, even among remote workforces.

On many learning management systems, uploading content or sending a message takes only a few clicks.

Examples of communication features include discussion boards, chat rooms, and peer review mechanisms.

Integration capacities

As learning management systems become more mainstream, integrations with other systems are becoming standard.

Whether it be your CRM, e-commerce platform, SAP commerce storefront, video conferencing tools, or simply your company email, seamlessly transitioning to and from an LMS can streamline many processes.

For example, an automatic email alert can be sent to HR when a user finishes a training program, including their performance results and requesting the next training content.

Continuous user growth

As in the example above, learning management systems tend to create a hunger for training among a user base.

Given the freedom and flexibility of most LMS setups, employees often enjoy learning on the job and gaining new skills. Especially when gamification and positive reinforcement are employed, students enjoy the upward momentum of tackling new topics and often pursue learning paths independently.  

Facilitating compliance training

No matter what sector your organization operates in, compliance with different regulations and mandates always takes precision.

Again, the benefit of consistency in an LMS is key here. Official resources can easily be shared and knowledge tested with ease. This ensures everyone receives the same information, which can be reviewed and audited for accuracy.

360-degree feedback

Learning is a two-way street. Dumping a load of training content on a student may provide them with some helpful information. Still, engagement and collaboration are crucial for knowledge retention.

An LMS that employs 360-degree feedback allows management to critique employees and employees to shape the training with their own feedback.

A simple example of this is a rating module where students can leave a review of different courses and digital learning material, helping to identify strong and weak resources.

💸 What are the costs associated with setting up and maintaining an LMS?

It may surprise you that the cost of setting up an LMS is actually relatively low. 

In fact, depending on how loosely you apply the definition of a learning management system, there are options available that cost nothing upfront. 

For example, many organizations use Google Drive to share and organize documents. A company with well-organized folders containing up-to-date training material and business information could be considered a rudimentary LMS. Such a system could be set up and maintained for no out-of-pocket cost, just the man hours needed to set up and maintain it. 

For a full-fledged LMS, most pricing models have a monthly fee per user or are based on tiers determined by the number of users in your organization. Here are some examples:

• Zavvy: $4 per user per month for the training module
• iSpring: $2.87 per user per month, billed annually (up to 100 users)
• TalentLMS: Flat fee of $69 per month, billed annually
• Absorb: $800 per month, plus $16 per user annually

Many learning management systems offer free trials or free lite versions. 

For example, iSpring has a free 30-day trial, and TalentLMS is free for up to five users. These trials allow you to see what an LMS offers before paying the annual fee (plus setup fees, in some cases).

Some free options are available, like Edmodo LMS and the open-source Moodle LMS. However, don't expect these options to be as feature-rich or intuitive as the paid options. 

➡️ Explore other LMS examples to find the features and pricing to suit your needs.

🕵️‍♀️ Are there any notable drawbacks or challenges in using an LMS?

Compared to traditional meetings that use paper handouts and PowerPoint presentations, learning management systems are leaps and bounds ahead regarding time and resource efficiency. 

That said, learning management systems are not the end-all-be-all of training and education. 

For starters, not all learning management systems are created equal. One LMS may lack certain features that would benefit your organization. At the same time, a different LMS is stuffed to the gills with features you don't need, making navigating unnecessarily cumbersome. 

Plus, learning experience platforms (or LXPs) offer a different approach to learning that shares many of the same benefits as an LMS.

The main difference is that learning experience platforms are more decentralized and focused on personalization, whereas learning management systems require a central administration to curate and manage relevant content.

That is essentially the only downside to any LMS: someone must be responsible for content management. 

Learning management systems that are ill-maintained or not well-organized can quickly become a labyrinth of content that is difficult to navigate. 

Users may struggle to find what they are looking for amidst a maze of broken links and poorly organized folders, making learning difficult. 

➡️ Manage learning in your organization with Zavvy

A learning management system is just one facet of Zavvy's holistic people enablement platform. 

Our LMS comes packed with all the features you would expect, plus AI-assisted course creation and recommendations. 

Whether you are most excited about quizzes, custom learning journeys, achievement certificates, or all of the above, our platform has all the tools you need to welcome your company to the future of employee education and upskilling.

At Zavvy, we aim to empower HR professionals, managers, and entire companies to reach the next level by working smarter, not harder. 

Whether you are in the market for an LMS or one of our other great solutions, you can pick and choose the tools that will help modernize and enhance your operation.

📅 To see our platform in action, schedule a free demo of our LMS and see what challenges we can solve for you!

❓ FAQs

What is the purpose of a learning management system?

A learning management system (or LMS) serves as a central repository of content, most often used for educational or employee training purposes. System administrators can easily add different types of media, create courses, or link to online training resources. 

Users generally have unique accounts they use to access this content, and their progress can be tracked from a dashboard. Learning management systems have revolutionized how training material and educational content are distributed, particularly useful for remote workers and student e-learning. 

How does an LMS cater to different learning styles or needs?

A learning management system can host a wide variety of media accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Remote workers, in-house employees, and even customers can use an LMS to take online courses, watch videos, view curated content, and more, all in one place.Today's corporate arena? It's dynamic. Fast-paced. What is constant? The need for learning and upskilling. But we're not talking about the old-school binder training days. We're talking interactive, on-demand, and tailored training.