Automotive Industry Update: Learning Management Systems Should Be Industry Focused

Hiring an electrician to do a plumber’s job, could lead to someone or something getting zapped. Similarly using a corporate learning management system (LMS) to deliver training to the personnel at your auto dealerships can bring about dissatisfactory results.

To understand the learning needs at an automotive dealership, we looked at the variables that make our auto industry clients’ dealerships unique.

1. Diverse and non-homogenous skills and education of the work force
2. Unrelated departmental goals at first glance
3. Skewed trainer to dealership ratio
4. Lack of structured training before shop floor exposure
5. Unavailability of logical linking of training and performance

Our study suggests that for automotive dealerships the choice of LMS needs to be industry specific in order to overcome these issues. The following key features are what sets the Auto specific LMS apart from the rest of the lot. Read on.

On the job training and evaluation

At most dealerships, a new hire goes from completing their joining formalities to the shop floor directly. Under these circumstances where there is no formal training, it is important to have an LMS which has inbuilt forms, checklists, and tools. This helps mentors or seniors to keep track of everything they need to share with a trainee, and to evaluate a trainee’s performance while on-the-job.

Predictive analysis of individual’s performance to annual sales trends

Almost every role, whether customer facing or not, has an impact on the brand and reputation of a dealership, which ultimately impacts the annual sales trends. Therefore, an LMS which connects trainings attended to performance in their job roles, and then extrapolates that to find trends impacting sales, gives the leadership a way to predict training needs.

Simple user interface for diverse workforce

There cannot be different learning management systems for different departments at a dealership. Therefore, the LMS of choice must have an interface that is easy to use by an undergraduate mechanic with 20 years of on-job experience with automobile engines. With smartphones and tablets, it has become extremely easy to get a knowledge device into the hands of the employees, but the delivery of knowledge must be easy to handle and understand.

Sales and service enablement tools

Customers want great service and at a price point that makes sense to them. Whether the customer is purchasing a new vehicle, exchanging an older model, or getting one serviced, the employees talking to the customers should have knowledge, expertise, and customer service skills. Some things can be imbibed through training, but some things like market prices, loan rates, parts availability, etc. needs a ready interface that provides this information to the employee. An LMS that gives the flexibility to set up chat-bots, comparison charts, and calculators to enable point-of-sale assist is a blessing.

Integration with management systems

Integration with the CRM or dealership management system allows the LMS to fetch performance data and link it to the trainings attended or available. This also creates a visual chart or dashboard to be available to view and manage the extended workforce.

Optimum training resource utilization

When the ratio of trainer and dealerships is not optimal, the trainer has to travel extensively. Having an LMS that can track trainer calendars for availability and scheduling, and other resources such as room availability really helps. The LMS should also have an OTP feature for when the trainer starts a training. It should be able to capture attendance via an app and should also be able to deliver proctored assessments. If the LMS can provide all these insights, then it becomes easy for leadership to track the cost-benefit ratio of this method of training delivery.

In an industry that is in a constant state of flux, being able to empower and enable all the personnel at a dealership to put their best foot forward is essential. The right learning management system can help provide stability to employees and prepare them for handling the changes the future may bring.

We at GCube, have 20 years of experience and 80+ industry awards in learning technologies; and would love to hear your thoughts, queries, and suggestions. Please do write to us.

Training Diverse Audiences & Driving Business Value through Extended LMS

Today, different enterprises have different kinds of learners who need to undergo effective training. Do you think about training your customers on how to use a specific product? Or do you want your partners to get certified after acquiring enough product knowledge? Then, Learning Management System(LMS) for extended enterprise including customers, resellers, partners, sales representatives and others, serves as a viable solution. It holds the ability to reach out to multiple audiences via the same platform and provide them personalized training experience, based on their tailored needs and preferences.

To stay ahead of the curve, organizations now need to push their talent management beyond the confines of the enterprise which includes the extended workforce. Also, as external employees work outside an organization and are mostly on-the-go, it is crucial to impart them training- anytime and anywhere. Discussed below are some of the benefits of using an enterprise LMS to train the extended workforce:

Engaging widespread audiences through mobile apps

As per the research by Aberdeen, companies that leverage mobile technology to support their learning strategy are 58% more likely to attain best in class outcomes. [Source: https://yourstory.com/mystory/51b8279651-scope-of-mobile-app-de]. With the help of innovative mobile apps, internal as well as external employees can access training courses at their own pace of time and convenience. Learners who have to take out time for training from their busy work schedule can engage and participate more if they can access personalized mobile learning apps on their mobile devices.

Training sales reps, resellers, customers and more

Different target audiences- resellers, customers, partners, sales representatives and others; need different kinds of training based on their bespoke needs. This makes the use of extended LMS an effective solution to train the globally diversified workforce. An effective training for external network aids learners to gain expertise on products, services, organizational policies, industry compliance and more. Training channel partners and customers result in increased levels of knowledge retention, engagement and overall customer satisfaction.

Tracking individual performances

To track and measure the performances of employees outside an enterprise is a daunting task. The deployment of extended e-learning platforms helps to create reports based on the time a learner spends on specific courses. Consequently, it helps to track training completions and create reports based on their overall performance during training.

Undoubtedly, Extended LMS boosts the overall satisfaction of the external workforce as they can connect more and apprise themselves on newer products with their prospective clients. Providing training outside the organization is an important strategic tool to help organizations improve their business line.

Gaining a Competitive Edge Using Modern LMS for Extended Enterprise

With the advent of internet technologies, organizations have set a major difference in the way they impart training to engage and retain the modern workforce. Extended enterprise learning, aims at training non-employees and impact their behavioral changes.

Organizations work to tailor the existing LMSs for specific audience needs as well as, an in-house development team to cater to the bespoke business requirements. The extended enterprise is more than technology, which requires an organization to provide e-courses beyond internal workforce, through external distribution channels. 

With ever-increasing business expectations, the scope of using extended LMS for workplace learning leads to better employee productivity, knowledge retention and greater impact on the bottom line. As the extended network of employees, work from varied locations, it becomes imperative to use an external e-learning platform which is mobile-supported, flexible and easy to access. Extended enterprise learning appears in varied forms as discussed below:

• Dealer workforce training

Automotive companies know how to address the challenges of training their extended dealer network. Therefore, ensuring consistency of training across the contingent personnel is critical for the delivery of an incredible customer service. Today, robust online learning platforms are integrated with Dealer Management Systems (DMSs) to provide training- anytime and anywhere. A significant data is utilized from DMS so that dealer employees, can trigger the LMS for an effective content delivery.

• Workforce compliance training

Industries such as transportation, oil & gas and retail, need to timely update their workforce on regulatory compliances. An extended LMS is efficient enough in delivering mobile-based compliance training to the workers and contractors based at diverse locations.

• Partner channel training

Several companies in the manufacturing, telecom and other sectors comprise of independent partners that resell their products and services on a global scale. So, it is crucial to certify the extended workforce on the entire product range and deliver just-in-time performance support. This ensures an overall improvement in organizational sales, business productivity and customer satisfaction. 

Modern organizations leverage opportunities to train their extended enterprise in an effective way. Using an extended LMS, they aim to engage, motivate and retain learners, thereby combining the business and training outcomes into one measurable program. While e-learning began as an internal workforce training program, organizations have now realized the need to provide online courses beyond and outside their four walls. So, when extended employee training begins with strategic decision-making via a powerful distribution network, the outcomes can leave a great impact on an organization’s overall reach, brand value and growth.