Communication is the basis for good learning, but how does interpersonal exchange succeed online in an LMS? We show three effective and creative examples from blink.it customers that prove that an LMS can be more than just a learning portal.
Proper communication is a crucial factor in eLearning, but one that’s often neglected: Direct contact with instructors, fellow learners and those responsible for the course is naturally not possible in eLearning in the same way as in a classic classroom training. The employees do not gather in a training room all at once, and the trainer is not "on site" for spontaneous queries.
Important digital information is also often scattered over various channels, which can quickly cause employees to lose track of it all: Some information comes by e-mail, others by phone or scattered on the intranet.
The highest form of communication is dialog. – August Everding
Modern learning management systems (LMS) such as blink.it, for example, offer functions that simplify exchange for precisely this reason. A chat or comment function is the most important pillar here. With a little creativity, you can also use these functions in the LMS to enable effective communication within your company.
Talking to our enterprise customers, we collected some practical examples of how communication via the blink.it platform is implemented creatively and effectively at the same time. We will now show you three examples that really inspired us:
Example 1: Introducing people/company teams
Especially when new employees are being inducted, it’s important that they receive comprehensive information about the company. In addition to classic compliance or occupational safety courses, this also includes getting to know colleagues and various company departments.
blink.it customers have found a wide variety of solutions for this. For example, smaller companies set up courses in which managers introduce themselves in the form of short self-made videos. In larger companies, divisions or departments are also presented in their own courses and the working methods and goals are introduced to the new employees. We also use this method ourselves in the blink.it team:
Introducing teams or departments with a course helps new employees to quickly settle in. / Source: blink.it
Example 2: Events and community building
Especially in the current era, where social distancing often leaves little or no personal contact between employees, a sense of community is indispensable.
In some companies, courses have been created on the blink.it learning platform that are purely about employee exchange. The comment function is very well suited for this. In addition, employees can upload their own files to blink.it to provide input on topics that are not directly related to eLearning.
Digital events are also a wonderful solution for bringing employees together from the home office. For example, a large company and blink.it customer with 16,000 employees created a course for a webinar series on the blink.it platform: In the overview course, employees can find a summary of topics, registration and access data and all recordings of past webinars. This way, they stay connected, can exchange ideas, and receive informal educational content.
You can organize digital events via your LMS to bring all employees together remotely.
Example 3: Provide up-to-date information
You can also use your LMS to inform your employees about current developments or innovations in the company. The comment functions already mentioned allow your employees to ask questions, give personal feedback or exchange information with colleagues.
This method has a big advantage over mass emails or the intranet: In the best case scenario, all of your employees are already registered on the learning platform and check it regularly. With blink.it, for example, you can also notify them by e-mail about new informational content. This way, your LMS can become a central hub for your employees.
The streetwear giant SNIPES has solved this problem perfectly: Since the beginning of the Corona crisis, those responsible have provided employees with a special course called “Corona News.” In the course, employees can find videos from the management explaining the current situation, as well as a lot of additional "learning material" on hygiene and health measures in stores:
Employees at SNIPES receive important, up-to-date information via the LMS // Source: blink.it
These three examples from blink.it customers show you how versatile your LMS is. Take advantage of the opportunities to involve your employees and connect them with each other. Ideally, there should always be a "moderator" in such courses to sift through the comments, guide discussions and answer questions.
This way, your LMS can easily become a central communication and information platform for your entire company.
