How Enterprise Learning Management Solutions Expand Your Organization’s Capabilities

Online corporate training doesn’t only represent the future of learning — today, it’s firmly rooted in the present. In fact, according to recent research, a majority of global firms (93%) currently plan to integrate online learning as an essential component of their corporate training initiatives. 

However, the business skills that matter most in today’s rapidly changing marketplace won’t emerge from isolated e-learning and meandering self-directed content; meaning, enterprise learning management requires dynamic solutions to meet the complex needs of an evolving workforce. 

What is an enterprise-level learning management system? 

A superpowered enterprise learning management system maximizes the benefits of online corporate training programs by delivering streamlined, cohesive learning experiences that engage learners and produce powerful individual and organizational results. 

Enterprise learning management systems help companies organize, configure, track, and oversee efforts to train employees at scale. These comprehensive solutions are used to administer individualized training programs for such organizational imperatives as leadership development, employee onboarding, digital transformation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. 

Organizations use enterprise learning management to assign courses to employees, then track learners’ progress as they complete course lessons and assessments, building impactful learning journeys that build a culture of transformation from within. Enterprise learning management acts as a centralized repository of learning content for both employees and administrators, enabling companies to more efficiently deliver content for ongoing professional development opportunities.

How does enterprise learning management transform organizations? 

To meet the increasingly complex needs of a diverse, global workforce, enterprise learning management solutions can fuel organizational transformation at scale, advancing core, mission-critical capabilities with a pace and efficacy that was previously unimaginable in in-person learning or previous iterations of e-learning.

Furthermore, a cohort-based learning platform can amplify these efforts, bringing context, nuance, and empathy to any domain via long-form, programmatic group learning that brings teams together to gain new capabilities. By weaving practice, application, feedback, and expertise together throughout the learning journey, organizations can go about building deep capabilities that lead to transformative outcomes.

How should an organization choose an enterprise learning management solution?

The most effective enterprise learning management presents training that is practical, personalized, and experiential. To provide this for employees, learning and development leaders need to embrace technology that provides this type of vital learning experience.

Utilizing the right software helps to ensure that the technology behind the design of an enterprise learning management system supports the organization’s intended efforts and aligns with its strategy and objectives. Critical considerations for learning and development leaders when choosing an enterprise learning management system include the learner experience, the ease of configuration and integration with existing operational systems, robust analytics, a scalable solution, and more. 

A team-based learning platform enhances employee engagement and makes every learning interaction meaningful and productive thanks to relevant content and access to perspective and expertise from peers, managers, and mentors. It also enables a complete and cohesive learning experience that includes practice and application, discussion and feedback, team-based learning, mentoring, curated and goal-aligned content, and more.

How one global enterprise is reimagining and accelerating leadership development with enterprise learning management

3M, the Minnesota-based multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care, and consumer goods, partnered with NovoEd to transform its learning ecosystem for leader development. 3M’s goal was to ignite a growth mindset and a learning culture where everyone takes the time to learn. 

The 3M learning team had six areas worldwide operating in a largely decentralized model. Each area, and sometimes even business groups, were handling learning differently. Alignment on these offerings would create equity and enable the L&D team to build the culture and skills needed to improve the overall experience. 

3M began by assessing its leadership development learning content, which was not ideal and expensive to create. 3M began exploring vendors who had the content to support the company’s business goals and could offer the training to more people in a variety of languages for instructor-led training (ILT), virtual instructor-led training (VILT), and digital courses.

Pre-pandemic, 3Mers preferred in-person learning because of the connections and relationships it offered. Learning professionals, who understood that digital experiences could create connections while increasing access in ways that resonated with new generations of learners, had other ideas.

Back then, the dropout/no-show rate for some of the virtual courses oscillated between 40% and 50%. Once changes in its enterprise learning management system were implemented, however, costs plummeted and completed learning rates dramatically increased.

3M partnered with NovoEd to pilot a social and collaborative learning approach. The dramatic result? The average number of learners per class in social learning was four times the VILT number; meanwhile, completion rates improved by 15 percentage points and dropout rates were cut in half. The social enterprise learning management system scored significantly higher in two critical areas: How well employees were able to apply the learning in their roles, as well as the learners’ belief that the learning would improve their performance. 

NovoEd helps leading organizations such as 3M build their strategic capabilities through collaboration and the active exchange of learning around content and between people. Enterprise learning management centered on social and collaborative learning activates the deep skill development needed for enduring behavior change in the context of modern business.