A business organization tends to thrive on systematic processes, whereas its employees desire to accomplish unique and purposeful tasks that give them a sense of meaning. As a result of the impersonal needs of a business, employees often feel like cogs in a machine, which lowers their overall productivity and squelches their creativity. Have you observed this within your own business?
There is an unspoken truth that divides businesses of all sizes: the most successful businesses seem to find middle ground between systematic requirements and employee needs. A company can reach new heights of success by praising the contributions of hard working individuals and leveraging their work as fuel for the business system.
As an employer or business owner, you can create a work environment that allows your organization’s systematic needs to be met while also meeting your employees’ needs for meaning and purpose. How? By investing in tools that that bring focus to work objectives while also shining a light on individuals, allowing them to display their efforts and receive acknowledgement. One specific tool that can accomplish these seemingly conflicting goals is a social learning management system (LMS).
How an LMS Meets Employee Needs
There are multiple ways in which an LMS, or an eLearning system, can meet the needs of employees and make them feel as if they are irreplaceable. For example, an LMS…
Includes employees in corporate culture – Nothing inspires loneliness like feeling unseen by others and excluded from community. When you are one of many employees, it’s easy to feel as if you are just a number, not a person. The great news is, an LMS with features that foster corporate community can brilliantly remedy the problem of employees feeling unimportant. Personal profiles, video conferencing, calendaring, realtime chat, and social media features keep employees connected to their workplace community. After all, an LMS is not referred to as a social learning management system for nothing.
Makes information readily available to users – Because an LMS is cloud-based, all of a company’s information (training materials, announcements, user profiles, blogs, polls, events, articles, etc.) can be stored online in a secure location. So long as they have an Internet connection, employees can access this information no matter where they are. Conveniently, many learning management systems enable mobile learning, which allows users to access an LMS from any device, be it a smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. Keeping employees in the know about company happenings, which is exactly what an LMS accomplishes, keeps them happy.
An LMS Serves Company Needs, Too
A social learning management system doesn’t just meet employee needs; it also serves company needs. The most prominent need of any business is increased income. After all, insufficient revenue can sink a company. Did you know that an LMS has the ability to lower company costs considerably and increase profits? This is true in many aspects of business, but especially when it comes to employee training. With an LMS, a company can provide systematic training to its employees in a genuine, non-traditional manner. Traditional, in-person employee training is pricey. Conversely, LMSs that require no user fees are cost-effective. Simply switching from in-person training to eLearning can lower a company’s bottom line and increase income. When the need for sufficient income is met, a business is freed to meet its highest potential.
Investing in an LMS is a wise decision. However, because there is a sea of LMS options, finding an eLearning system that has the potential to meet the diverse needs of employees as well as companies can be complicated. Let us take the guesswork out of this process. We suggest TOPYX, an award-winning LMS that has an impressive array of social features and mobile capabilities.
Many employers agree that a company’s workforce is its greatest asset. This is why it is important to balance business requirements with employee needs. Using tools to elevate employees may be the first step in refining and enhancing a business system.
