5 must-haves for every enterprise LMS

Modern learning management systems (LMS) offer organizations a huge variety of different features. But which ones should you really choose, when it comes right down to it? In this article, you'll learn the 5 most important features an LMS must have as a basis for successful online learning.

The variety of available eLearning tools and learning management systems is huge, and the number of specific functions is often overwhelming, for those in charge of company learning and development. Comparisons show how diverse the selection is: The comparison platform Capterra alone lists around 50 different functions for learning platforms: From A for API to Z for Zendesk integration.

Learning platforms today offer a huge selection of different functions // Source: Capterra

However, more features doesn’t always mean more usability – not all features are really essential for successful corporate eLearning.

Are more LMS functions always better?

Providers try to outdo each other with sheer number of functions. But "more" is not always "better". An LMS with many functions, when you only need a few for everyday use, is actually problematic: Many (unnecessary) functions make an LMS overly complicated for course creators and learning employees.

So when looking for an LMS for your company, the question isn’t "How many features does the learning platform have?" It’s better to ask yourself "Which features are really necessary?" The ideal LMS for business offers a balance between features and operation. Before you start looking at the different LMS providers, you should create a short catalog of your requirements. In doing so, you should involve all stakeholders: Employees, IT and course creators.

The free checklist "Successfully launching eLearning in companies" walks you through tool selection and initial steps:

In addition to individual requirements, there are also some features that every enterprise LMS should have. Together, the following 5 features provide a stable foundation for effective corporate online learning:

5 basic functions for every enterprise LMS

1. Authoring function for custom content

The focus of most learning management systems, as the name suggests, is on managing courses and participants. However, it’s all too easy to overlook the basis of any eLearning: The content. When it comes to the "make or buy" decision, in many cases it pays to create learning content for employee training courses from the ground up, yourself, so that it perfectly matches the learners and the learning objective. A good LMS for companies must therefore also offer options for creating your own content. Here, in particular, look for a smooth transition between LMS and LCMS (Learning Content Management Systems).

When selecting an LMS, make sure that content can be created in common formats. This includes, for example, images, videos and presentations. The LMS does not necessarily have to include a complex authoring tool. It’s most important that course creators can quickly create and modify their own content.

2. Comment function

Especially in eLearning, where employees are outside of a common classroom, it can be difficult to exchange information. Yet social learning is an important success factor for sustainable learning: Learning together, with, and from each other increases learning efficacy!

In order to enable exchange on a learning platform, the LMS must offer corresponding functions. Comment functions are typical, similar to social media platforms: Employees can ask questions under learning units, report their own experiences or start discussion rounds with other learners.

A simple comment function lets employees exchange ideas. // Source: blink.it

3. Quiz functions

In classic employee training courses, the learning content isn’t just a static entity: Self-assessments, knowledge questions, exams and feedback forms are an integral part of most training courses. An LMS for companies must also offer these important elements: They not only help consolidate new knowledge and raise opinions, quizzes also make eLearning varied, interactive, and enable transparency and measurable results.

Therefore, a learning platform should offer a function for creating quizzes. Make sure that different types of quizzes are possible in eLearning: Survey, midterm test, and final exam functions should definitely be included. Especially for compliance courses, the LMS should also be able to issue individualized certificates after exam completion to make the passed course appreciable "on paper."

4. Evaluation function

Which employees are actively participating? Who is lagging behind in the learning material? What’s the learning status of the group? These questions are usually right under your nose, in traditional classroom training. On a learning platform, on the other hand, it can be difficult for course instructors to keep track of all employees and their status.

An LMS must support this with appropriate functions. Here, too, you should weigh things up on the basis of the company's goals: Are large dashboards with numerous analyses and statistics really necessary? As a basis, make sure that course instructors can easily see which employees are actively participating in the course and which content has been edited.

A simple evaluation quickly shows where individual employees stand in the learning process. // Source: blink.it

5. Mobile learning

One of the main advantages of e-learning in companies is the high degree of flexibility: Employees don’t have to leave the workplace to continue their education. Ideally, they can learn anytime and anywhere. However, this advantage is lost if the LMS is only available on a few in-house devices. The magic term here is: Mobile learning!

To take advantage of mobile functionality, the LMS must be fully compatible with different types of devices and also available outside the company network. Therefore, when selecting an LMS, make sure that the learning platform works on desktop devices, tablets and smartphones. The content must be fully responsive. This way, employees can learn anytime, anywhere – and perfectly integrate continuing education into their everyday lives.

Summary: Basic LMS functions for companies

These are the functions that an LMS for continuing education in companies should definitely offer:

1. Authoring functions that allow course creators to flexibly create and edit their own learning content using common media.
2. Comment function allowing learners to communicate directly with one another and with course instructors and actively contribute to the course.
3. Quiz function for interactive content that supports the learning process, such as knowledge tests, feedback forms, and final exams.
4. Evaluation function that makes the activity of the learners in the course and the current learning status visible to the course instructors at all times.
5. Mobile functionality to make learning content flexibly available regardless of time and device.

blink.it offers each of these and more. To quickly find out whether blink.it is right for your company, take our quick test for companies: Is blink.it the right learning platform?

If you pay attention to these functions when choosing an LMS, you’ll be off and running with a good basis for successful online employee training. Further functions can be found in the requirements catalog. However, when selecting functions, always keep in mind "as much as necessary, as little as possible" so as not to confuse those responsible and learners with unnecessary functions.