Is it Time to Integrate Learning and Performance Management Systems?

Forward-thinking organisations have already responded to the fact that the more empowered employees and engaged employees are, the better they perform in the workplace. 

Like the vast majority of enterprise organisations, you’re probably already using a LMS to manage your learning. But how are you managing employee performance, and can you do them both from a single platform?

Performance vs Learning: Measuring Behavioural Change in the Workplace

A quick Google search will tell you that there’s been a great deal written on the topic of learning and performance over the years. 

Much of this relates specifically to the workplace. Which makes it all the more surprising that they’ve been managed almost entirely separately until now.

Though it’s generally acknowledged that the two go hand-in-hand, the relationship between learning and performance may not be as straightforward as it first appears.

There is little doubt that improved performance is a goal that can be achieved through instruction or training. But there are other factors which will impact the degree to which an employee’s performance is affected by these learning experiences. 

For example, a learner’s motivation and engagement levels can play a big part in how well they retain newly-acquired knowledge; and there may only be temporary or short-term performance gains.

Only 10% of workplace learning is formal – the rest being a mix of on-the-job experience and interaction with fellow employees. And just as not all learning is purposeful, the learning of a new skill or behaviour doesn’t necessarily require the practice/performance of that behaviour. Which illustrates why measuring ‘learning’ can be so difficult in the first place.

So Why Does It Make Sense to Bring Learning and Performance Management Together?

The purpose – and capabilities – of modern learning management systems go well beyond their compliance training management roots. Nowadays they support the delivery of even the most complex of learning blends, and not just in support of professional development goals, but personal ones too.

Next-generation learning platforms and Deloitte reported the huge impact of this change in approach had on those that adopted it:

“90 percent of companies that have redesigned performance management see direct improvements in engagement, 96 percent say the processes are simpler, and 83 percent say they see the quality of conversations between employees and managers going up.”

When you consider that learning and performance management processes are both such key factors in the employee experience, it seems a fairly logical solution that the two be brought together.

Learning management systems have offered a limited number of performance management features in recent years, and integration between systems has been possible using APIs. 

So yes, it may have once been a case of performance versus learning, HR versus L&D. But the future takes a different path – one where the employee comes first and both employee and organisation benefit equally.

Interested in moving your learning and performance management onto a shared platform? Get in touch to find out more!

There is clearly a shift towards shared HR and Learning technology. But is L&D ready to move from learning to performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.