Enhance the New Hire Experience with These 10 LMS onboarding features 

A Learning Management System is a platform which facilitates the delivery and tracking of essential eLearning, and a key tool to use when onboarding a new starter. Let’s look at three benefits of an LMS for onboarding:

Streamlines the onboarding experience 

For any new starter, it’s essential to get up to speed quickly. By using a sleek, intuitive onboarding platform, onboarding materials can be assigned, tracked and completed with ease. This will show the recent hire that they are valued and supported from the get go.

Diversifies learning methods 

Different generations have distinct expectations for their onboarding experience. Millennials, for example, may prefer digital-first interactions and mobile-friendly platforms. Gen Z may thrive in interactive environments with gamified elements and short, engaging videos. Recognising these generational differences and providing a diverse range of learning methods (also referred to as a blended learning approach) within a user-friendly platform ensures a more inclusive and effective onboarding experience for all. 

Enhances engagement 

By offering new starters a hub which showcases structured, interactive learning experiences, learning becomes more enjoyable and something new hires want to partake in. This in turn improves engagement, which is vital when it comes to onboarding, especially when this kind of training can be seen as a tick-boxing exercise. 

Sets standard of compliance 

When mandatory topics need to be digested at the earliest stage of an employee’s tenure, such as health and safety for someone in a position of danger, it’s key that they absorb and retain this information. However, it’s equally important that they understand why compliance training needs to be carried out. An onboarding LMS can help set a precedence of compliance. 

Let’s dive into five onboarding features that will help the new hire get settled in, access onboarding materials easily and understand what is expected of them within their new role. 

1. User-friendly LMS onboarding dashboard  

A clear and intuitive dashboard serves as the central hub for all onboarding materials. This streamlined interface makes it easy for new hires to navigate, access necessary information, and stay organised throughout the process

2. Convenient learning opportunities

Balancing onboarding with other priorities can be challenging for new hires. With an onboarding LMS, the new employee can complete bitesize learning at a time that is convenient to them. It will also allow them to pause and continue courses, meaning they can fit it into small bursts of available time. 

3. Mobile-accessible

In today's mobile-first world, access to onboarding materials from any device is crucial. This enables new hires to learn on the go, utilise downtime effectively, and complete training at their own convenience, enhancing the overall learning experience. An LMS which utilises a mobile app will help facilitate this. 

4. Gamification and quizzes 

Gamification elements, such as quizzes and interactive challenges, make the learning process more engaging and enjoyable. These features not only help assess understanding of key concepts but also encourages friendly competition within the team, creating a more positive and memorable onboarding experience.

5. Prioritisation of mandatory eLearning 

An LMS that prioritises essential training, such as mandatory compliance courses, ensures that critical learning objectives are met. Clear notifications and deadlines alert learners to upcoming requirements, reducing the risk of missed deadlines and ensuring timely completion of vital training.

Having explored onboarding features that benefit new hires, let's examine five key features that empower managers to streamline the process and ensure a successful onboarding experience.

 1. Automated push notifications 

By automatically sending required learning modules to new starters via push notifications, the manager can be safe in the knowledge that this is taken care of. This eliminates manual tasks for managers, freeing up valuable time spent welcoming the employee to the team. 

2. Tailoring content to new starters

Empower managers with a dedicated admin space to create personalised learning materials. This allows for targeted training tailored to specific roles, teams, or even individual new hires. This is also the case for company-specific content such as documents surrounding culture and ways of working. 

3. Progress monitoring

Gain valuable insights into new hire progress with real-time monitoring of their onboarding journey. This allows managers to identify areas where support is needed and proactively address any knowledge gaps.

4. Seamless reporting metrics 

A dedicated onboarding LMS which records and logs training and provides accurate reports will streamline the onboarding of the new hire. You can use these LMS analytics features to better understand how your new hire onboards, but these figures also demonstrate to decision makers within the company how crucial L&D is to the onboarding process. 

5. Integration with other HR systems

Streamline the entire onboarding process with seamless integration between the LMS and other HR systems. This creates a smooth transition from recruitment to onboarding, with the process automatically initiating upon job offer acceptance.

To showcase success, the impact of the LMS onboarding features must be measurable.. There are a variety of different ways to measure the success of your onboarding initiatives and the effectiveness of your tools, including: 

1. Track engagement

Your LMS should have a wealth of data backing within it, so use this to review how successful your employee was onboarded. Review completion rates and the time it takes to complete training to get an accurate view of how engaging your LMS is. 

Additionally, if your LMS supports features for managers, you may be able to gain insights into what type of content team members like to engage with, such as short videos or quizzes. This kind of data can help to inform types of training and formats that are used moving forward. 

2. Attain feedback from hew hires 

It’s also important to speak to your new hires and find out how they found the onboarding experience. Ask questions such as:

• Was the onboarding experience enjoyable and did you feel supported in your efforts to review training materials?
• Was the system easy to use and navigate?
• Would you recommend the onboarding LMS and if not, what would you change?

3. Employee performance

Of course, it’s not as simple as once the onboarding is completed, that’s it – you should also look at how the new hire performs. Have they successfully absorbed the important information within the onboarding LMS? Can they refer to key training materials that will help them do their job well? 

Utilising a testing feature within the LMS will check the new starter’s understanding of certain topics while identifying any gaps in their onboarding training. By analysing the results, managers can pinpoint recurring areas of confusion or difficulty. This data-driven approach allows for targeted improvements to the onboarding program, ensuring all new hires receive the support they need to succeed.

Lastly, let’s touch upon the importance of an AI-powered employee onboarding LMS. With AI being such a widely discussed topic, it’s no surprise that it can be used to help a new starter onboard successfully. 

From a new hire perspective, having an AI-powered learning assistant to answer questions such as ‘What training on the topic of health and safety do I need to complete and when by’, they can have instant answers. These AI capabilities will help to streamline the onboarding experience for them.

For the manager, an AI-supported feed which reviews the data and alerts them to outstanding training required by the new starter will also help them provide a slick onboarding process. Instead of having to review each person’s specific training dashboard, they can understand who still needs to carry out training on what, and they can then let them know.

As we have discussed, the need for an employee onboarding LMS is crucial. By utilising specific features that benefit both the new hire (such as easy access to materials, flexible learning options, and engaging gamification) and the manager (such as automated notifications, tailored content creation, and real-time progress monitoring), organisations can streamline the onboarding process. 

Access LMS provides you with the tools you need to get new starters on the path to success. With the ability to easily assign, manage and check training, create key onboarding materials specific to your organisation, and meet industry standards with up-to-date certification, you will provide a positive and engaging onboarding experience for your new employees.