Training Management System or LMS? Make the Right Choice

What Is an LMS?

When it comes to online learning, the first thing that should come to mind is LMS. LMS stands for Learning Management System, is a complete platform equipped with all the necessary tools to create seamless online learning. The main goal of the Learning Management System is to transform standard classes and courses into online space with an increase in engagement and without loss of learning efficiency. All educational material is presented in various formats such as text, presentations, audio and video formats, and much more. In addition, all training can be permeated with multiple quality of life improvements like gamification, collaborative learning, and much more.

In addition, LMS platforms can serve as a platform for the free distribution and sale of courses from various educators who can share their expertise with ordinary users. Regular users get a place with many quality courses that they can use for self-improvement.

There are several of the most popular LMS on the market today: Open edX, Moodle, Docebo, and TalentLMS.

Benefits of LMS

LMS systems provide their users with significant advantages that will persuade many to choose this particular platform for organizing the learning process.

Benefit #1. Accessibility

One of the essential advantages of LMS platforms is the ubiquity of learning. All a student needs to access is Internet access and a browser, regardless of the device used. As a result, all courses are available around the clock, and users can study wherever it is convenient for them and when it is suitable for them.

Accessibility also positively affects the learning process since students can contact the educator or course colleagues to clarify various issues related to the course. LMS provides training without borders, and this is the main strength of this software.

Benefit #2. Ease of Progress Tracking

This benefit is available to both teachers and students. Tracking the progress and effectiveness of learning is an integral part of the evaluation process. Educators evaluate the efficacy and accuracy of the presentation of the material, and students, in turn, assess how well they absorb the material and whether they achieve their goals.

Educators can easily track a learner’s progress during course completion. In addition, they have access to information on each test task and stage of the online course, and all this is presented in the convenient form of infographics, tables, and charts. Finally, access to all progress information allows in-depth analysis and course improvement based on its results.

Benefit #3. Collaborative Learning

With the transition of online learning, the courses did not lose their collaboration and gained several additional opportunities to unite students during training. LMSs provide many ways for students and educators to interact. For example, students can communicate in platform chats or specialized discussion forums. In addition, LMS systems often provide the opportunity to arrange online conferences and calls to create a collaborative learning process.

Benefit #4. Easy Content Creation

eLearning authoring tools provide teachers with ample opportunities to adapt regular classrooms to online learning. However, along with broad capabilities, they combine the simplicity of creating online courses so that the educators do not have any difficulties developing their courses. In addition, all courses can be modified at any time, supplementing them with new material to keep them relevant to the ever-changing world.

What Is a TMS

TMS stands for Training Management System, and at first glance, it may seem that this software is not much different from LMS. Still, the main focus of the Training Management System goes to back-office operations, namely, control of the learning process, monitoring, and analytics of training effectiveness. TMS also provides tools for creating training programs. With this software, trainers and educators have complete control over the training and can quickly adapt it to the needs of the business. 

The main difference between TMS and LMS is the focus of TMS software on the corporate sector, which implies the presence of a complex reporting system, integrations with various corporate strategies, and the ability to customize the platform for the needs of a particular business.

The most popular Training Management Systems today are EdApp, Intertek Alchemy, GoToTraining, and Trainual.

Benefits of Training Management System

Now is the time to talk about the strengths of TMC software, which inclines various companies to choose these particular platforms.

Benefit #1. Employee Retention

The use of TMS software in business helps to reduce employee turnover by providing quality training to personnel. High-quality training in the basics of work and workflow nuances helps get satisfaction from work at all levels. Reducing employee turnover will allow your business to develop steadily and move forward without wasting time on constant re-hiring and repeated training for newcomers.

Benefit #2. Effective Onboarding

Gone are the days when you had to distract an experienced employee from the workflow to train a newcomer to the team. This is done by various Training Management System platforms that combine all the necessary knowledge bases and are available in a couple of mouse clicks. In addition, the curriculum may include several ways to assimilate educational materials, such as video or text. As a result, employees can learn in the way they find most valuable and effective. You can also track training effectiveness through detailed analytics to understand how a new employee is joining the company’s workflow and whether he has difficulties adapting.

Benefit #3. Cost-Effectiveness

TMS platforms save the business money on training due to their flexibility and comprehensive capabilities. You no longer need to worry and allocate a separate budget for creating seminars with third-party SMEs every time you need to conduct training. It is enough for a business to invest in creating courses once, and in the future, the ready-made training material can be used repeatedly in training employees.

Benefit #4. ITL and eLearning Support

Suppose the business needs to conduct instructor-led training sessions. In that case, the TMC is also beneficial for the company, as it will allow you to administer and manage this form of training. An added benefit is that you do not need to track or control resources and reports for both types of training separately since you can find them in one tool.

Training Management System vs. Learning Management System. What to Сhoose?

So, the time has come to understand in which cases it is better to use the TMS system and in which it will be more preferable to choose the LMS platform.

Choose Training Management System 

You should use a TMS system if your HR, administrators, and training managers have difficulty building an effective training process within the company. TMS can provide them with the tools to develop a knowledge base of its workflow and effectively manage and track the ILT employee training process.

Choose Learning Management System

Using the Learning Management System platform to distribute educational content or bring standard classes online would be wise. LMS software has all the necessary tools that help adapt the formal learning process and supplement it with various elements such as gamification, quizzes, and collaborative learning, which significantly increase students’ engagement in learning. In addition, LMS is great if you want to monetize your learning content.

Wrapping Up

The choice between Training Management System and Learning Management System always depends on your current circumstances and needs. As you can see, these two types of software have a different focus, and you need to take into account all the nuances of both platforms and make the right choice since the further development of your educational process depends on this.

And if you need help creating and transforming the educational process using LMS systems, Raccoon Gang will be happy to provide its expertise. We have many years of experience working with one of the most popular open-source LMS on the eLearning market and can provide both custom training courses and custom features that can leverage the learning process of your educational institution or business. So just drop us a line, and our manager will contact you to talk more about your eLearning needs.