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LXP vs. LMS_ Which One is Right for Your Organization

Let’s face it: One day you will have to implement an eLearning solution in your organization. It’s an inevitable step because every year, especially as new technology emerges, the skills and knowledge of your employees become obsolete. According to one study, 44% of employee skills could become obsolete by 2028. Can you imagine the scale of this problem? The only thing left to decide is what is best for your organization’s needs: LXP or LMS? This article is dedicated to that very question – finding out the business value of LXP vs. LMS. Stay tuned for answers to your questions.

What is an LMS?

Let’s start with LMS. So, what is it? Simply put, a Learning Management System is software meant to deliver training to employees (or students, whoever the audience is) according to a set curriculum. Nothing more, nothing less.

Typically, LMS platforms have the following characteristics:

● They contain mandatory training materials and courses

● Track student progress

● Offer certification

● Have an administrator-friendly interface for course customization.

Frankly, LMS training is great if you want to deliver some important information to employees, update their knowledge of a subject, or even organize an onboarding process. Reducing the administrative burden is one of the benefits of an LMS, and considering that HR managers spend an average of 12 hours a week on administrative tasks (and some 20 hours or more), implementing an LMS seems like a smart and effective solution.

Yet training is the most common reason for using an LMS. With it, you show learners the way, and they follow it. An LMS is also a good option to organize a digital media library for better team collaboration. And that is good news.

But what about the effectiveness of the learning that an LMS provides? Before AI tools became widely used in training, this one-way learning was fine for employees and managers alike. But times and needs change. Remember, everyone has their own level of skills and knowledge, as well as their own learning pace, interests, and experience. That’s right, experience. This is the main thing that sets LMS platforms apart from another type of internal corporate training software – LXP platforms, which we will cover below.

What is an LXP?

In essence, it is also learning software. But in this case, it provides personalized, experience-driven learning. So what does LXP stand for? LXP stands for Learning Experience Platform (LXP). The learner can influence and customize learning materials to fill gaps in specific knowledge or skills. Learning with LXP solutions goes at a pace that is comfortable for each learner.

All of this does not mean that management cannot intervene in the training process to adapt it to the organization’s training needs. On the contrary, managers can be involved in the learning process and provide timely feedback to employees on their results or gaps.

So, when you choose LXP, you can expect personalized recommendations, immersive learning, collaborative and social learning, 360-degree assessments, targeted learning that meets business goals, and much more.

LXP vs LMS: Which to choose?

Above, we have described the features of LXP and LMS in broad strokes. However, for a more accurate answer, we need details. Here’s what to look for when choosing a system worth investing in.

What learning experience do you prefer to provide?

LXPs are based on the user’s interests and show educational material that matches previous choices. It turns out that the learning process is customized for a particular learner. For learning experience platform examples, think about how Coursera, Udemy, or any social network or search engine works. You get recommendations based on your past preferences, right? That’s exactly how LXP works to deliver personalized learning. You may be interested to know that according to surveys, 80% of employees want personalized learning tailored to their individual needs and goals, and 68% want non-job-related learning to support their overall well-being.

Unlike LXP, LMS offers pre-defined course content. In this case, there is no question of deviating from the structure. If your organization needs formal training, an LMS is the way to go.

What is the training purpose of your organization?

The LMS provides a regulated, clear training program followed by an exam, test, or other method to assess the knowledge gained. Most often, an LMS is chosen when an organization needs to conduct certification, upskilling, compliance, security, and other training. It provides standardized training characterized by an instructional approach. You can use an LMS to simply store shared files. However, more secure solutions are better suited for this purpose.

This is not the case with LXP training. The focus is on continuous learning where the learner, not the manager, drives the learning process. Is this option right for you? Do you want your employees to take the initiative and grow not only professionally but also as individuals? If that’s what you’re looking for, we think the choice is obvious.

What is the level of freedom that is acceptable in your organization?

This is a fundamental question because it affects the overall atmosphere within the team. If we implement an LMS, this system only reinforces the approach where the main thing is management and someone from the top. That is, the curriculum and the learning process are managed by someone from above, and what the learners themselves think about it does not matter, roughly speaking.

But it’s a whole different story when you empower people to choose and control. In this scenario, you set the stage for informal, out-of-the-box training and even thinking that drives individual growth. What’s more, within LXP, learners can not only consume content, but also create their own and share it with their peers. So they are learners and creators at the same time, which is uplifting.

What is your choice: LXP or LMS platform?

We want to be clear about one important thing: There is no right or wrong option in this case. One of these systems may suit you more, one less. That’s it. To summarize:

● LXP relies on the learner’s experience and stimulates a unique learning process by providing personalized training materials and encouraging freedom of choice.

● An LMS provides a learning environment where nothing distracts from the learning objective, helps to train employees without wasting time on chatter, and provides solid, data-driven information about employee progress.

On the one hand, it may seem that LXP is a new word in corporate training, as it is the next generation of EdTech tools breaking the mold in learning and teaching. On the other hand, strict rules and a clear structure are what a fast-paced organization might need from a learning platform.

But there is a third option: learning platforms that combine the best of both worlds. You can choose such a platform from among the existing options, or you can go the other way and create one from scratch. The key is to keep your company’s training goals in mind.

Conclusion

Long story short, you don’t have to choose between an LMS and an LXP. What we mean is that you can choose the system that gives you the best of both worlds. You can create such a platform from scratch, or you can choose an off-the-shelf LMS or LXP. To get started, figure out what your organization’s learning goals are, how much freedom you’d like to have in managing your team and content, and whether your policies will change over time.

Either way, good luck with your choice and your training results!