How a learning portal can maximise the learning impact of your training initiatives

At Aurion Learning, we love helping people solve their learning challenges. We also love learning platforms.

Learning platforms are used to deliver, track and report on learning, the most common type traditionally is the Learning Management System, or LMS for short. In recent years platforms have continued to develop and embrace different content formats as well as more progressive features such as skills development, social learning and targeted use of AI. Platform naming conventions have changed to reflect this, introducing terms like Learning Experience platforms (LXP) and even People Development Hubs.

At Aurion, we often talk about the content and platform being two halves of the same coin that come together to form the ideal learning experience. We are lucky to have very different platform options at our disposal, allowing us to have meaningful conversations with people that aren’t just centred around a single platform being the fixed best thing for any issue. Make sure to check out our full range of learning platform options.

While their focus can be an audience of their own employees, increasingly initiatives need to reach groups outside the organisation (part of what is called the extended enterprise). These can be:

Understanding initiatives – identifying the right and wrong platform solutions.

What are the standout characteristics of learning initiatives that we encounter? What do those in charge of learning initiatives really need?

100’s of conversations have led us to the following commonly held characteristics of learning initiatives and to a realisation, that while traditional or existing learning platforms could work, they are often not the optimal solution. In some cases, they may not be fit for your initiative at all. Key issues include:

a) A core purpose versus multiple competing use cases

b) A desire for control and context

c) A need for scalable, demonstrable success.

A core purpose versus multiple competing use cases:

Traditionally, learning platforms like the LMS have been the mainstay of internal employee learning. They form the day-to-day platform used for all the different training opportunities that the organisation is undertaking. Some will give good homepage design and personalisation but even with that, there is inevitably fierce competition for the promotion and prioritisation of any one training course over another, as there are multiple audiences and multiple needs (options like Learn Amp are great for that multi-use case scenario and building a holistic learning culture).

Learning initiatives are different and strategic. They thrive on promotion of their core purpose to maximise their reach. They typically have one purpose or theme, not many.

Key question: How can initiative owners ensure the focus of their platform solution is not being diluted by multiple valid but competing needs?

A desire for control and context:

When we work with organisations to add structure and direction around ALL their training needs, we normally end up collaborating to create a Digital Learning Strategy with them that sits within a wider L&D strategy.

As the initiative level, the focus is often more on fulfilling an initiative owner’s vision. This combines how the initiative should look, the topic or topics it will cover and how key messages should be structured and delivered. All aspects are very important to the owners, who are often experts in their content area and key to achieving learning success. Initiatives often have their own name and brand identify that is carefully crafted for success and becomes recognisable to their audience.

Key question: How can initiative owners ensure their platform solution is actively supporting their learning vision and their initiative brand identity?

A need for scalable, demonstrable success:

Understandably, many initiative owners want and need to monitor, track and report on the impact their initiative is having.

There will likely be a funder, either internally or externally, who will want to know that the monies are being well spent and the initiative is achieving its stated goals.

Reporting is a staple of any learning platform, albeit there can be great variation in how well it is done. Learning initiatives are likely to have particular data fields that are of interest and closely aligned to the nature of the initiative itself – from audience demographics to industry terms like cattle herd number, we have seen them all.

Licence models and costs can become very important here. How can you maximise the reach and impact without becoming a victim of your own success, particularly for customer or public initiatives.

Key question: How can initiatives owners report on their success and afford to scale it? 

The answer to these key learning initiative questions? A learning portal from Aurion Learning.