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An LMS helps close the manufacturing skills gap

Posted by Dan Wheeler on Fri, Sep 28, 2018

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Finding qualified candidates is getting more difficult, and the outlook is that it will continue to be a significant problem for manufacturers. The cost to a business is significant as positions remain unfilled and recruiting time and expense continues to increase. A learning management system (LMS) can help human resource managers retain and develop the skilled workforce needed to succeed.

Consider these statistics from Deloitte Consulting LLP and the Manufacturing Institute in their report The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 – 2025.

It takes 90+ days to hire a new skilled worker
Six out of every ten open skilled production positions are currently unfilled
By 2025 as many as 2+ million positions won’t be filled as the skilled worker shortage worsens as baby boomers retire
82% of manufacturing executives say the shortage will negatively impact the ability to meet customer demands, innovate and expand
94% of executives said the most effective response is internal employee training and development

A learning management system (LMS) is a great solution to help overwhelmed human resources staff train and develop employees.

In addition to providing a training platform to build employee skills, an LMS can automate the administration, tracking and reporting of training and compliance certification. A few key reasons an LMS can help include:

A standardized onboarding program ensures new hires are oriented, trained and engaged. According to a 2018 study by Jobvite, 30% of workers quit a job in the first ninety days. Compare that to less than 10% if the company has a well-structured onboarding program. An LMS can help ensure new employees have the information and skills to be successful.
Building a strong learning culture increases productivity and worker retention. Businesses that build this type of culture have 30-50% higher engagement and retention rates than those that don’t. (David Mallon, Deloitte)
High-performing managers create high-performing teams. Manufacturers often put too little emphasis on training supervisors, despite the fact that the quality of the boss is a key factor in both worker performance and retention. An LMS can help you identify and train new supervisors to increase productivity and reduce liability.
Provide the information and training workers need, when and how they need it. According to a Brandon Hall study, e-learning takes 40% to 60% less worker time when compared to a traditional classroom setting, and knowledge retention rates are higher. An LMS makes you and your workers more efficient.

Your best strategy is to engage and develop your current workforce.

The manufacturing skills gap is only going to increase, as will the competition for skilled workers. Your best strategy is to engage and develop your current workforce, new hires and supervisors with a comprehensive learning and development program managed and tracked by robust learning management software.

And as Propel notes in their article on How to Solve the Manufacturing Skills Gap, never overlook your current workforce as an efficient and cost effective way to build needed skill sets.

The Prosperity LMS is built to support the needs of manufacturers, and our US-based team has the industry experience to make your training a success. Use our calendar to schedule a brief consultation or ask us a question.

And if you already have an LMS but still struggle with tracking employee competencies and skills, check out Skills Mark. Prosperity Skills Mark is the simple and straightforward solution for tracking and reporting on the job training and employee competencies and skills.

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Topics: elearning, training, learning management system, training development, manufacturing

How an LMS helps you sell your content

Posted by susan reuter on Fri, Aug 18, 2017

Two people using Prosperity LMS to sell content

You’ve created the content. Now comes the next step—getting it online and selling. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you dread getting bogged down with administrative tasks.

And getting bogged down is easy. There’s always a meeting, a phone call, or a crisis. According to a survey from The Alternative Board, average entrepreneurs spend more than two thirds of their time working on day-to-day tasks and less than one third working on business goals and strategy.

A Learning Management System (LMS) helps you change this ratio and focus on what you do best—training. All you have to do is upload the content.

We’ve broken it down into five ways an LMS can help you sell:

1. Gets your content online

Entrepreneur describes an LMS as a software platform that “delivers, manages, and tracks results, and generates reports for online courses and training programs.”

This means your ideas, concepts, and content get online—fast. This allows you to reach more prospective students and train more people in more places.

Whether you sell courses to 50-person startups or you manage certification training for 50,000 association members, an LMS helps you tackle that first step—getting your content organized and online.

2. Offers flexible pricing

In addition to customizing the function of an LMS, many also allow you to customize the course pricing. This allows you to use the pricing system that makes sense for you.

Do you offer a single course or test for one-time customers? Are you selling a six-month certification program where people log in regularly to complete assignments? Are you always flooded with inquiries in January?

A flexible LMS, moreover, will charge you based on the pricing model you need, and the volume and behavior of your customers. You should not have to pay more for a program that’s designed to fit another business.

Here are some example pricing options:

Prepaid course codes
Pay-as-you-go
Base hosting fee + price per student
Support bundles
Packaged pricing bundles

3. Provides support for your customers

So you have your content online and you’ve chosen an LMS that works for your business. Now what?

Customers and potential students will have questions. Technical issues will arise. And in order to be successful, you’ll need the time and resources to quickly respond.

According to a 2016 Forrester survey, 63 percent of companies prioritized investing in new technology to improve customer experience. Your LMS can be this technology.

An LMS partner can handle the student support for you, saving you time and money. Many programs have built-in email clients to broadcast messages to students and potential customers. They can also automatically alert students about additional courses and approaching certification deadlines.

4. Collects valuable data

At each customer interaction, an LMS collects data. Did the student create an account, but fail to sign up for a class? Did a potential customer spend time researching your program, but abandon the shopping cart?

This information gives insight about your students and potential customers. The students who create accounts but don’t add courses can become your prospect list—you already know they are interested. By tracking the learning performance, you can determine if the course needs updating. If you’re struggling for enrollments, you can reshape your content or remarket the course.

eLearning Industry identifies five types of LMS data to extract:

Completion rates
Learner performance and progress
Assessment scores
Learner surveys
Peer-based feedback

5. Accommodates your business requirements

So what happens if you’re offering a certification program, but the requirements change? What if you have customers in different states with different requirements?

Some LMSs can automatically track certifications that vary by state and industry—lifting the burden of compliance monitoring. These areas could include criminal records, credit checks, medical records, and professional licensing.

Using automated alert and email systems, an LMS can notify customers of these changes and impose deadlines for ensuring they are met.

Let's get started
If your goal is selling courses and content, an LMS may be the perfect tool to automate tedious administrative tasks, increasing your efficiency and success.

To help you get started, we have created a checklist to help you prioritize your needs and desires, so you can navigate the hundreds of LMS choices and find what fits you best. This checklist is intended to be personalized to YOU, not a particular LMS.

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Topics: lms, e learning software, training, computer based training, web based training

A review from the world of eLearning and Learning Management Systems

Posted by susan reuter on Tue, Mar 30, 2010

In case you missed it, here are some recent e-learning-related blog posts and articles that are worth a look:

The big picture

Writing in the Upside Learning Solutions Blog, Amit Guatam poses an interesting question: Do customers look at a Learning Management System (LMS) as simply a tool to get specific things done more efficiently, or as part of a larger overall learning strategy?

All of the above

It takes a good degree of skill to write effective multiple choice questions that fully meet your employee training goals. Check out this list of 10 Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Questions from The eLearning Coach and see how many you are (or aren't) already following.

By design

Along the lines of the previous link (i.e. making sure your e-learning tools are the best they can be), listen to Cammy Bean's interview with Will Thalheimer on common mistakes e-learning designers make.

Just thinking about eLearning?

Tom Kuhlman offers more than a dozen reasons Why e-Learning is So Effective.

Metrics matter

Listen to this podcast from American Society for Training and Development on how technology has advanced the analysis and evaluation of computer-based training and development programs.

World of eLearning

Depending on where you fall on the e-learning spectrum, this may be really interesting or really, really yawn-inducing. A group of researchers at Anadolu University in Turkey has put together a two-volume survey of e-learning in 39 countries. The first volume of the book called E-learning Practices, is available for download at Scribd in multiple formats. Thanks to Gary Woodill's writing on the Workplace Learning Today blog for pointing this one out to us.

There's a LOT of eLearning chatter out there, so we'll keep an eye out for the most relevant information to share with you. And, of course, please post a comment if there's anything you want to share.

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Topics: employee training, elearning, training, learning management system, learning management, training development, elearning tools, computer based training, corporate e learning

Learning Management Systems More Relevant Than Ever for Employee Training Efforts

Posted by susan reuter on Tue, Mar 16, 2010

Blogging on Bersin.com, Karen O'Leonard recently wrote about the need for a new breed of L&D professional. In O'Leonard's estimation, the ongoing global economic downturn has led to a more centralized approach to learning management as businesses cut back on training development staff to save money. This shift has led to the need for traditional training personnel to evolve into performance consultants who can assess the needs of individual units - and employees - and align them with the overall corporate strategy.

While that may be true, another implication to reductions in employee training personnel is the need for companies to have a scalable, customizable Learning Management System that can handle and track company-wide training development initiatives, as well as specific modules for individual departments and executive training and employee development efforts. In other words, the right training management software for multiple challenges.

Think about it. Everyone is doing more with less, so taking the time to find the right LMS to meet your needs is more crucial than ever. In fact, it's a decision that will have long-term implications for your ROI.

And forget about cutting back on the amount of training you provide - your competitors certainly aren't. An ongoing corporate learning program remains a must-have in the toolkit of any business or organization - large or small, global or local - that wants to remain competitive in a 21st century economy. However, the economic upheaval of the past two years has changed the way that training is delivered, with e-learning and virtual classroom training accounting for one-third of training hours delivered in 2009, which represents an all-time high. That trend is expected to continue, as evidenced by recent projections in the growth of spending on self-paced e-learning tools and services over the next five years.

At Ziiva, we're confident our product and ongoing customer service can meet the needs of your organization.

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Topics: ROI, employee department, lms, employee training, elearning, training, learning management system, learning management, training development, enterprise, executive training, e-learning seminars, learning management software

At Ziiva, we offer more than a comprehensive, tailor-fit Learning Management System. We are always seeking ways to enrich your company culture and improve the online learning experience that you offer to your students, employees, customers, or users.