Compliance: a convincing case for learning management systems

Purpose – To illustrate the value of using a learning management system to streamline training administration tasks and, especially, to provide evidence of compliance for the authorities in regulated industries. Design/methodology/approach – The approach to this topic is via interviews with experts. Officials from five US‐based organisations – four health‐care and one pharmaceutical organisation – explain the value of a learning management system to their particular organisation. They also outline the additional benefits that they have experienced – such as medical staff being able to spend more time with patients. There are also comments from an industry analyst specialising in learning management systems. Findings – Learning management systems not only enable training to be standardised and co‐ordinated within the largest and most fragmented organisations but also provide accurate records of learning and competence – which are vital in highly regulated industries. Practical implications – These are that every organisation in a “regulated” industry – especially those in the health‐care sector – should use an enterprise‐wide learning management system to improve the efficiency of their staff training and development. Moreover, they should use the user‐monitoring and record‐keeping functions of the learning management system to keep automated, up‐to‐date records of knowledge, skills and competencies for that industry's regulatory bodies. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates – albeit anecdotally – the value of a learning management system, not just for the training function but also in operational terms. As such, it should be of interest not only to training and HR professionals but also to those responsible for organisational strategy, planning and operation.