Among the numerous benefits of Learning Management Systems (LMS), their ability to provide abundant data stands out. However, this data is often raw and requires analysis and optimization to be useful for decision-making, and that's where the LMS reporting feature shines.
For the uninitiated, the reporting feature in an LMS presents a systematic approach to organizing and viewing data on various aspects of training, such as user engagement, course competition, assessment, etc. Simply put, if an LMS helps conduct online training, the reporting feature showcases its effectiveness. It provides critical metrics to evaluate learners' performance and the success of the training initiatives.
This article covers in detail how the LMS reporting and analytics feature can benefit your organization and which reporting examples you must be familiar with. Continue reading!
Incorporating a learning management system (LMS) into your business brings along many benefits. It streamlines and enhances the entire learning experience and provides easy access to the learning material to both learners and trainers.
However, the benefits of training initiatives can be improved to a great extent if users have access to comprehensive, real-time reports. This is why it is one of the most sought-after LMS features when people look for a learning management system for their organization.
Here's how your company can benefit from LMS reports:
Ensures Compliance
Several industries and sectors, such as healthcare, manufacturing, and finance, require organizations to maintain compliance. Not adhering to these regulations may result in penalties and legal issues.
LMS tracking ensures that learners have completed the mandatory compliance training satisfactorily and that the training activities have been documented. It alleviates the risk of non-compliance as managers are better positioned to identify if an employee has skipped important training. Therefore, they can address the issue on a timely basis before a breach of conduct occurs.
Supports Data-Driven Decisions
By deploying an LMS with reporting functionality, you no longer have to rely on intuition and guesswork when making decisions. LMS reporting provides robust data related to training course effectiveness, learner engagement metrics, and overall employee training performance.
These insights prove to be highly valuable in making informed decisions pertaining to employee strengths and weaknesses, selecting team leads, and identifying what type of content works.
Improves Performance
LMS platforms are generally known to provide insights into employee performance as they provide access to certain performance metrics. Managers can then use this information to improve employees' performance by providing them with relevant training, thereby making them more valuable to the organization.
Provides Real-Time Access To Learning Data
With the LMS reporting feature, managers do not have to wait for the course or training to be completed to fetch data. These systems allow managers to generate real-time reports and access learning data at any time, even using their mobile devices, provided the system allows.
This way, they can identify any potential complication at the earliest and implement a timely solution.
Supports Long-Term Strategic Planning
LMS reporting isn't only about tracking immediate training outcomes; it plays a vital role in supporting long-term strategic planning. Using detailed analytics extracted from LMS reporting, companies can conduct a skills gap analysis and find areas for improvement across their workforce. Furthermore, robust LMS reporting provides insights into the effectiveness of training initiatives over time.
By deploying an LMS with robust analytics, you have abundant information at your disposal. However, the question arises: what key metrics should you focus on for the betterment of your team and the overall business?
Let's figure this out by taking a look at these most common LMS reporting examples:
1. Learner Progress
As the name suggests, this report tracks how each learner advances through a specific course. Using this report, managers or trainers get a real-time snapshot of each learner's progress and a comprehensive overview of training activities. It helps them understand where learners may be struggling and how their learning capacity can be improved.
In a nutshell, managers or trainers can track:
- The number of trained learners
- The number of completed courses
- The number of overdue courses
- Individual performance of every learner
In addition, users can set additional filters and specific criteria to optimize the data further. This helps them get reports on a particular job position, group, etc.
2. Course Details
If you want detailed information on each course and its modules, this LMS reporting example fits your needs. It provides elaborated data for individual courses, such as:
- The number of completed modules
- Time spent on each course
- The number of users who completed the course
- Course completion dates
- Assessment scores
L&D managers, senior management, and course instructors can use this information to set realistic training objectives, understand whether a particular course is beneficial, and identify learners' strengths and weaknesses regarding the selected course. This way, managers are in a better position to close the skills gap effectively.
3. Assignment Summary
It provides a detailed summary of assignments completed by learners based on your selected parameters. For example, you can filter results based on assigner details, competition status, pass or failure status, etc.
This reporting feature can help save a significant amount of time as managers can get a comprehensive overview of all the completed assignments and know their individual status. It can also be used to track free-form assignments, which are given to learners outside of the LMS. Once the user has submitted their assignment, managers can evaluate the learner's performance and grade them accordingly.
4. Manager Summary Report
This report provides a breakdown of all managers and their teams in the organization. It also enlists their direct reports. However, users can choose different parameters to optimize the results further.
Generally, a manager summary report shows the number of:
- Learners reporting to a particular manager
- Assignments (open and completed) for their reports
- Learning tracks started by their direct reports
5. Gamification Report
Many learning management systems come with gamification features. It basically awards points to learners as they complete certain activities or achieve learning objectives.
Using gamification reports, Learning and Development (L&D) managers, team leaders, and human resource (HR) departments can track learners' scores to identify high performers. It also shows the number of badges earned and completed courses by all employees. This information can then be used to reward them, which ultimately results in boosted morale and productivity.
6. Engagement Metrics
Engagement metrics demonstrate the interaction level of learners with course content and activities. They also show how learners interact with social learning initiatives and gamification features. Managers can see which training elements users interact with the most and least.
This information allows them to analyze the efficacy of learning experiences. A higher engagement rate reflects a successful training initiative. In contrast, a lower engagement rate indicates that the training requires more interactive elements.
7. Certification Tracking
This one's quite self-explanatory. It shows which employees have completed the required training and received their certification. Therefore, managers can then allocate tasks accordingly. It also indicates which employees must repeat the compliance training or have yet to complete it.
This reporting feature is quite helpful in organizations that have to adhere to certain compliance protocols. The company may also have to present this report as evidence in the case of a workplace incident or audit.
8. Enrollment Rate
The enrollment rate highlights the number of learners enrolled in a specific program. It can present data in percentage form, providing a better picture of the popularity of training content among learners.
Higher enrollment indicates that the content is appealing to the audience. It shows that employees consider the content valuable for their professional development. On the other hand, a lower enrollment rate suggests that employees are not keen to interact with the particular course.
The reason could be that the training material is irrelevant to their professional development or lacks interactive elements. Identifying and addressing the root cause can drastically increase engagement, thereby improving the overall learning experience.
9. Feedback And Survey Results
The feedback and survey results report provides qualitative insights into learners' satisfaction levels with the training initiatives. It captures their feedback and depicts the overall user experience.
This information helps L&D managers identify training aspects that resonate with learners and the ones that require improvement.
Here are some handy tips that can help you make the most out of your LMS reports:
- Set your LMS reporting tool to generate reports automatically. Most LMS platforms allow users to set key metrics on which they want reports to be generated
- Make sure you're sharing reports with your team and all stakeholders to keep them in the loop
- Combine the data from these reports to calculate your training outcomes
To conclude, how much you can benefit from the LMS reporting features depends on the learning management system you have selected. Remember that not every platform has the same reporting capabilities. Therefore, you need to be very tactful when making your pick. And we can help you with this. Contact us at (661) 384-7070 and talk to our experts. They will provide the necessary guidance and help you make an informed choice.