What is Employee Training Management Software?

Employee training management software is an online platform that allows you to create, deliver, and track employee training and course completion at scale.  

Whether you’re a team of one or nearing the 100-employee mark, learning and development (L&D) is a core function for any business. In addition, most (94 percent) of employees say they’d stay at a company longer if their employer invested in L&D.

Instead of standard training programs delivered ad-hoc, an employee development platform gives you complete control over the training content you provide. It’s why almost half of businesses worldwide have permanently accelerated digital transformation. 

Not only that, tracking and analyzing employee training can be challenging. In addition, it takes time and effort to include various training methods, such as online learning or instructor-led training, in your development program.

Employee training management software, however, will reduce the time spent on routine tasks—so you can spend more time educating and upskilling your team.

Traditional employee training methods, such as standalone lesson plans or paper-based learner evaluations, are no longer viable in the modern workplace.

Employee training management software replaces manual processes and revitalizes the learning experience—making the best use of your time and allowing staff to engage better with training material.

But not all employee training management software is created equal. This article shares the features you should look for and guidance on selecting the best tool for your team.

How to use employee training management software

Operating an L&D program is no small feat, regardless of how many employees you’re training. 

Digital training management systems exist to help you deliver excellent content with fewer resources, taking the following time-consuming tasks off your plate:

• Tracking training progress and learner satisfaction
• Onboarding new employees
• Creating learning pathways specific to each job role 
• Providing compliance training and monitoring certifications
• Offering a range of learning materials that cater to different learning styles without diverting employees between several standalone resources

Why should you use employee training management software?

Now we know what a digital training management system is, let’s look at the benefits of using an employee training management tool for your L&D program.

• Increased knowledge retention. We forget around half of what we learn within a single hour, 70 percent within 24 hours, and 90 percent within a week. Help employees solidify new learning with end-of-module questions or quizzes that test knowledge retention.
• Enhances training flexibility. Today’s workforce needs flexibility and practicality in their training pathways. For example, employee training management software with blended learning features allows staff to learn new skills at a time that suits them. 
• Reinforces vital knowledge. Employee training management software enables teams and individuals to revisit past training activities to support learning. An easy-to-use interface keeps learning fresh, reinforcing essential skills your team needs to do their job well. 
• Boosts productivity. Build high-performing teams with training management software that supports staff in setting their boundaries for L&D. Help colleagues connect with their peers using learning content that engages and excites them.
• Provides increased accessibility of resources. Encourage employees to achieve their learning goals with training that reflects your diverse workforce. Store eLearning content in your employee training management software, like written, video, and audio materials.

What should be included in employee training management software?

Experts predict the global employee training management software market will be worth $4.65 billion by 2028. But with so many staff training management platforms available, finding the right tool for online employee training can be overwhelming.  

Here are eight essential features to look for in employee training management software.

Intuitive UI/UX

Make eLearning engaging with easy-to-use employee dashboards. This could be swiping right or left to go back, scrolling up to proceed down, and automatically marking lessons as done when completed.

Above all, make sure your employee training management system is responsive.

Not all learners use a large computer screen for training programs; some may use their smartphones. A responsive design automatically resizes to fit the screen, improving accessibility and creating an inclusive learner experience. 

Extensive integrations

You likely have an arsenal of apps in your toolkit. Instead of manually copying and pasting data between apps, look for employee training management software that integrates with your tech stack. 

 That includes:

• Google Calendar to add training-related sessions to your team’s calendar 
• Slack to remind employees about upcoming training events, assignments, or evaluations
• WorkDay to onboard and segment your employees by job title, location, or experience 

Robust content editing

Regardless of the topic, all learning content needs to be updated regularly. This will help you provide your team with the latest research and meet the needs of 40 percent of learners who want their training to be more current.

WorkRamp’s flexible content editing feature makes it easy for trainers to adapt learning materials where required. For example, highlight important content, such as assignment deadlines, so employees benefit most while learning.

“We love being able to leverage some of the courses provided in WorkRamp’s marketplace—such as the instructional design courses, WorkRamp specific training, and Zoom best practices. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we design a course, which means we can support more teams and initiatives than if we’d had to build everything from scratch.”

 

–Robyn Barton, Global Director of Talent Development, PartnerHero

Blended learning

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the future of work permanently. Now, 58 percent of employees work remotely at least one day per week. Another 35 percent take a hybrid approach.

 Employee training management systems let you cater to these workers with blended learning programs, giving staff the flexibility to learn what they need when they need it.

 Plus, you can use multiple teaching practices, such as self-paced learning and asynchronous learning.

Employees don’t need to sit together in the office at a set time every week.

Certification management

Outdated risk assessments or data protection training can negatively impact your organization. Not only can it result in hefty fines, but there’s also the risk of accidents in the workplace.

 Demonstrate compliance with rules and regulations with an employee training management software that allows you to manage certifications. Platforms like WorkRamp nudge employees when their certification is about to expire and give an overview of compliance training status, allowing you to ditch the mental reminders.

Gamification

Did you know that 72 percent of employees say gamification motivates them to work harder? Another 89 percent also said that if a task is gamified, they feel eager to complete it.

Look for opportunities to gamify the learning experience. Whether it’s a quiz or rewards-based incentive, create challenges and offer small prizes to those who succeed. 

Analytics

How do you know if your employee training program is effective? 

Make data-driven decisions with a training management platform that offers robust analytics. 

It will allow you to:

• Identify learning trends. If poor learner satisfaction scores are a priority, real-time analytics might show text-based modules have lower learner engagement scores than others. In that case, it makes sense to repurpose training materials into other formats.
• Measuring individual and team performance. Are there any teams where engagement levels are particularly low? How many team members have completed mandatory induction training? Break down L&D metrics by team, job title, and skill level to benchmark success. 
• Track the effectiveness of training programs. Make changes to training materials and allocate additional resources where appropriate. Negative feedback from learners, for example, may prompt you to change course facilitators.

Reporting

Look for employee training software with robust reporting features, especially when completing personal development reviews. It’ll give you access to accurate and up-to-date information about completed and upcoming training—common conversion topics in reviews.

 Reporting dashboards also give you access to historical data, allowing you to filter results easily for discussion. Finally, give colleagues the praise they deserve for completing modules on time.

Advanced reporting tools allow you to compile reports and identify spending. Then, adjust budgets using hard data.

How to choose the best employee training management software for your team

Employee training management software shows your workforce that you value their learning and support their career growth—vital elements in many employees’ decision to stay (or leave) a company. 

Let’s explore how to choose the best employee training management software for your team.

Compatibility

Don’t reinvent the wheel with duplicate workflows. Instead, have your systems talk to each other. 

Along with the integrations we mentioned, look for software that integrates with event management solutions or customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to maximize value and ROI. 

Know your audience

Getting teams to buy into new training is easier if they feel heard and understood.  

Before choosing employee training management software, talk to the people using it. What features do they expect from an online training platform? How will they access the training materials stored within it?

 Similarly, review any data you have about learner satisfaction and feedback. Then, make organizing employees’ continuing professional development easy for everyone, based on audience understanding.

Set clear learning objectives and goals

Check whether your shortlisted tools allow trainers to set learning goals and objectives.  

It’ll allow you to evaluate your training programs’ effectiveness by determining the intended learning outcome and whether employees are meeting that goal within a certain amount of time. 

 Mimic face-to-face training

Skills gaps continue to be a challenge for L&D professionals. Training software that helps organizations solve this challenge makes great business sense and is necessary in today’s economic climate. 

 Remote and hybrid teams are here to stay, so the demand for flexible learning is growing. Mimic face-to-face training with a digital training management system that offers employees a range of delivery methods, such as online video presentations and webinars.

 Have a consistent schedule

Motivate and retain top talent by consistently sharing updates about new learning and development initiatives.

What is the easiest way to do this? First, lead by example using a consistent training schedule. Then, build employee trust by maintaining a robust training and development program that meets individual needs, sticking to promises, and keeping colleagues on the same page. 

WorkRamp’s All-in-One solution for employee training management

The features we’ve listed here are just the tip of the iceberg when searching for employee training management software. 

WorkRamp’s All-in-One Learning Platform gives you all the functionality you need to make training management easy with access to robust reporting tools that identify knowledge gaps and give employees the skills they need.

 You’ll also get access to an impressive, comprehensive catalog of pre-built content, co-developed with experts on topics like compliance, professional development, sales skills, and more.

The same applies to new hires, too. Reduce onboarding time and increase productivity with customizable learning pathways based on job role, team, or experience level.

Elevate employee learning with the WorkRamp Learning Cloud

The Learning Cloud allows your organization to centralize employee and customer learning.

The Employee Learning Cloud lets you develop centralized employee learning, including live instructor-led training, eLearning, and more.

Discover more about how to use the Learning Cloud to empower your teams. Contact us to schedule a free, personalized demo.