The Power of a Flexible LMS. Can Your LMS Do This?

Avilar has long been addressing an eclectic mix of business problems through unusual applications of our flexible LMS. Here are 3 examples.

At Avilar, we are proud of having a learning management system (LMS) that’s enormously flexible. We’ve talked to many learning leaders who expressed disappointment with the rigid workflows of their homegrown eLearning systems. Or with the limitations of large enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems that manage multiple human resources functions, but are inadequate for optimizing learning programs. Many are frustrated by delays or denials of their requests to add features they deem necessary to make workforce development a success.

Over our years of working with many small and mid-sized organizations, Avilar has addressed an eclectic mix of problems by adding fields to a screen, inserting a step in a workflow or repurposing existing features. Each challenge is like a puzzle we’re compelled to finish. We can’t walk away until the full picture is in place. In this blog post, we share the power of a flexible LMS by providing you with three examples of practical ways our clients have repurposed WebMentor LMS to meet unusual requirements. Do you have a flexible LMS?

Smart Government Workforce Allocation

Corporations and government organizations alike are routinely faced with challenges to recruiting, hiring, developing and retaining skilled employees. An LMS, of course, can help identify employees who have completed certain learning requirements or can outline individual learning paths for employees. They can also track certifications and progress through curricula.

But did you know an LMS can help match employees to job openings? Ours did, when it was linked with one government organization’s internal jobs database to:

• Flag open jobs and make those visible to qualified employees.
• Allow employees to apply for the jobs, giving managers visibility into the request and process.
• Track employees’ long-term schedules, to support a program that rotated employees to new positions/experiences every three years.

This unconventional use of the LMS supported the agency in finding and developing qualified personnel to fill important vacancies and take on greater responsibility in the organization, proudly displaying the power of a flexible LMS.

Development Planning for Interns

Because interns are at their placements temporarily, many employers bypass the opportunity to set up learner profiles for interns in their LMSs. But treating interns like employees can benefit all parties – especially if interns later return as full-time employees. In fact, as one federal agency found out, an LMS can be an invaluable tool to support the actual internship programs.

In this case, we collaborated with the agency to create a tailored planning tool for its annual intern program. Interns conducted self-assessments of their skills at the start, midpoint, and end of the year-long program. Supervisors and mentors also provided evaluations, offering a comprehensive, multi-rater perspective on skills and gaps.

The organization then tapped its LMS to support intern development:

• Interns set career goals and selected from learning resources available in the LMS to create a customized individual development plan.
• Mentors used LMS reports to monitor progress and adjust development planning, as needed, to maximize appropriate learning and skill development.
• Interns outlined career development activities that would help them advance along their career paths.

At the end of the program, everyone had a clear and shared understanding of each intern’s development. Interns also left with a comprehensive learning transcript that highlighted their growth and supported their work experience.

Assessing the Effect of Nurse Training on Patient Care

Though there are a variety of learning assessment models, most agree that the true value of learning emerges when it drives behavior change and enhances performance. Ideally, these improved behaviors lead to better business outcomes. One visiting nurse service aimed to achieve this, focusing on improving care for older patients served by home health agencies.

Visiting nurses are charged with caring for some of the most vulnerable individuals and families. Their medical care and support is designed to help patients recover or manage chronic illnesses in the comfort of their own homes.

Armed with an NIH grant, one visiting nurse service created custom training and skills assessments. We consulted with the organization on course design for six in-depth courses on topics such as pain management and medication management. We also configured the LMS to support their process:

• Nurses first charted data for ten patients, to establish baseline care and patient well-being.
• Each nurse then completed one of the in-depth online courses. It often took three to six weeks to complete each course.
• Patient data was again entered into the system before the nurse progressed to the next course.

Over the four-year project period, the training program was completed twice — and reached approximately 300 frontline managers, 3,000 nurses under supervision, and 150,000 to 200,000 older patients. The agency was able to document improvements and share best practices in the areas of medication plan compliance, identification of complications, and communications with physicians. Once again proudly displaying the power of a flexible LMS!

Are you wondering if your flexible LMS is as flexible as you think? Can it do more of what’s important to your organization? If you’re interested in more examples of how Avilar’s WebMentor LMS has solved business problems beyond the typical learning agenda, see our case studies or contact us. We’re eager to solve the next puzzle with you!

 

This post was originally published on September 26, 2018 and has been updated with the most relevant and up-to-date information.