Many public organizations lag behind private companies in talent development, digital skills, and budget. A study by Deloitte revealed that three-quarters of public sector organizations claim they lack the talent and knowledge the private sector has.1
One of the reasons for this is likely insufficient training. Many private companies invest significantly more time and resources into not just training employees when they come on board, but providing ongoing professional development as well. For public organizations to catch up, they need to invest in training and development for their employees. Investing in learning management software is one way to get started.
An LMS can improve employee training and retraining in the public sector by distributing and tracking on-demand, ongoing training for organizations with large workforces, as well as providing training reports to administrators.
In addition to facilitating effective training, learning management software benefits the public sector by helping to close the digital skills gap and conserving funds.
3 Reasons Why Public Sector Organizations Should Use an LMS
The right LMS can benefit the public sector immensely. Here are a few ways public sector organizations can use learning management software:
1. Increase knowledge and talent through training
In the U.S., government employment accounted for 15.2 percent of total employment in 2018.2 To succeed in their roles, public sector employees need the same thing as corporate workers: effective training. Despite this, the public sector does not offer enough training.
“Notwithstanding specialty training in some public sector fields, very little professional-level training is offered to countless other divisions and units that comprise the public sector. A few half-day or full-day seminars occasionally take place with the presenter usually working in government,” stated PA Times.3
An LMS’s on-demand training provides much more content than just a half day without requiring much more work to create and distribute that training material. Also, an LMS can be invaluable to the public sector due to its ability to manage compliance training.-1.jpeg?width=600&name=pexels-photo-937524%20(1)-1.jpeg)
2. To close the digital skills gap
Forty percent of public sector organizations lack the skills to adapt to digital transformation.4 This skills gap has made it difficult for organizations to successfully migrate to cloud computing or promote cybersecurity.5 One of the reasons for the digital skills gap is the lack of employee training mentioned above. Another is a lack of technological resources and the use of outdated IT technologies.
Implementing a public sector LMS that can meet the training needs of employees is one way organizations can begin to close the digital skills gap. Not only does the regular use of an LMS familiarize employees with cloud technologies, it also delivers effective digital training.
Digital training offered through an LMS has proved effective for many companies in the private sector, including examples like Vodafone. The company “invested in customized, in-depth digital marketing programs that were integrated into its existing e-learning system and rolled out across the globe (to close the digital skills gap).
The learning program yielded positive results and helped to close the skills gap within the organization.”6 Distributing digital training can yield similar results for public sector organizations.
3. To conserve funds
Few public sector organizations have funds to waste. Dependent on government budgetary decisions, public organizations consistently stretch their budgets to get more done with less.
Almost half of all states face budget shortfalls, according to Affirma Consulting.7 Tightening cybersecurity, reducing duplicate invoice payments, and increasing automation are a few ways public sector organizations can save money. Switching to online learning is another.
Online learning delivered through a flat-rate LMS can be a lot cheaper than traditional employee training. Dow Chemical saved $34 million after switching to online training, and Nortel saved nearly $8 million. This type of savings is possible for the public sector, too. For example, some universities are cutting costs by up to 57 percent by migrating to eLearning.
For more details on cost-savings at Dow Chemical, Nortel, and universities, check out How an LMS Can Save Your Company Money in 2018 .
Demo a Public Sector LMS That Meets Your Organization’s Needs
Is your organization failing to provide sufficient employee training, facing a digital skills gap, or seeking ways to save money? Learning management software can help. Review the ways your organization might be falling short and identify your opportunities for improvement, then start researching LMS software options that could help you meet your goals. We created a LMS Comparison Worksheet that allows you to evaluate platforms to find the best solution for your organization. Download today!
References:
1, 5. GovTech Leaders. Addressing the digital skills gap in the public sector. https://www.govtechleaders.com/2018/07/31/addressing-the-digital-skills-gap-in-the-public-sector/.
2. USA Today. Public sector jobs: states where the most people work in government. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/06/01/states-where-the-most-people-work-for-government/35302753/.
3. PA Times. Public sector employee training programs. http://cpmconsortium.org/resources/Documents/Stern_PA_Times_Article%20Q2-2014.pdf.
4. GovTech Leaders. How can the public sector overcome the digital skills barrier? https://www.govtechleaders.com/2018/04/27/how-can-the-public-sector-overcome-the-digital-skills-barrier/.
6. Digital Marketing Institute. How to narrow the digital skills gap in your organization. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/en-us/the-insider/how-to-narrow-the-digital-skills-gap-in-your-organization.
7. Affirma Consulting. 3 ways that a public sector CRM saves money and increases performance. https://www.affirmaconsulting.com/public-sector-crm-attain-results/.
