Managing Your Employees’ Continuing Education

LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Rolling out an educational program to all
employees can be a daunting task. Enter
Learning Management Systems (LMS) like
HealthTrainU and others. An LMS is an
online computer platform that can house
and manage your educational resources
and training documentation. Among the
advantages of being online is that the
LMS can be accessed by your employees
at any time and from multiple locations.

This flexibility benefits employees
who can access and complete their
educational requirements when
and where it is most convenient for
them. They may begin their required
education at their work computer, but
complete the work, or to expand their
knowledge with additional courses, on a
home computer.

For those companies that have more
than one location, the LMS similarly
can be managed anywhere there is an
internet connection.

SELECTING A
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

You will want the LMS you select for
your company to be easy and intuitive
to operate. Any functional efficiencies
will be negated by a system that is
difficult to use or one your employees
find hard to navigate. Simple things
make a difference. Look for controls and
buttons that are plainly labeled. Look for
management controls that are easy to
set up and manage or those that are fully
automated.

One of the hardest, most timeconsuming
things a DME provider
has to do is to keep their employees
up-to-date with new and changing rules
and regulations. In the past, a provider
would have to have someone from
their staff undertake research to find
relevant educational content applicable
for each level and employee role. Most
learning management systems create
their own content, so research duties are
minimized. Tasks such as preparation and
monitoring of sign-in sheets, preparation
of individual employee folders, and
management of physical file space to
store the information are also laborintensive
and time-consuming.

An LMS can save your compliance or
human resource department significant
time, freeing them to focus on other
responsibilities. Other functions typically
available through an LMS include adding
students and content, providing “due
date” reminders, assessments, and
certificates, and pulling reports from
the back-end of the system. Different
systems offer varying functions so that
you can find the best one to suit your
company’s unique needs, like checking
employees against the LEIE exclusionary
list or allowing the DME provider to post
content specific to their company along
with an assessment.

How you institute, present, and nurture
learning in your company distinguishes
you from your competition. Having
solid continuing education and training
helps your organization stand out and
contributes to your success.