What is a Learning Management System (LMS) and Why Does Your Business Need One?

Training isn’t what it used to be. You no longer need a classroom, a project, or a full day blocked out on everyone’s calendar. Learning Management Systems, or LMS, are a digital platform that lets you design, deliver, and track training across your organisation.

An LMS isn’t confined to a single location or time block. Your employees can complete self-paced modules when they’ve got a spare moment or access a live instructor-led session. Everything’s all stored and accessible in one central hub, by web or mobile.

Whether you’re onboarding a new hire or keeping teams compliant, an LMS is the fast, flexible, and scalable solution to train your teams smarter.

In this article we'll explore:

• What is a Learning Management System

• Why Your Business Needs an LMS

• Learning Management Systems Support a Learning Culture

What is a Learning Management System?

A learning management system (LMS) is an online platform that contains everything your employees need to get up to speed and stay compliant. Some companies rely on these systems for basic training — but it also presents an opportunity to upskill the most motivated employees.

Think of it as knowledge management for your entire company. If there’s a presentation everyone wants to see, put it on the LMS. If you want to offer a masterclass in Excel or an intro to safeguarding, put it on the LMS. Essentially, it’s a one-stop shop for all your learning needs.

Common features of an LMS include:

• Course creation and management. Build structured learning paths using videos, quizzes, documents, and interactive content. You can create custom modules or import existing material — whatever fits your training goals.

• User enrolment and access control. Assign courses to individuals, teams, or entire departments. You control who sees what, when, perfect for onboarding, role-specific learning, or specific compliance.

• Progress tracking and reporting. See who’s completed what, where they got stuck, and how long it took. These insights help you identify skill gaps and tweak your training accordingly.

• Automated reminders and certification management. No more chasing people to finish a course. The system handles it for you — sending reminders, awarding certificates, and flagging when recertification is due.

• Integration with HR tools, CRMs, and communication platforms. Connect your LMS with the systems you already use. That means smoother onboarding, better data visibility, and more cohesive employee records.

As well as all the usual components of an LMS platform, flick’s unique LMS extra features include:

• Brand customisation. Personalise flick learning’s LMS with your brand’s logo and corporate colours.

• Upload and assign your own documents and policies. Plus host your own materials like e-learning and hide irrelevant courses (we’re not sure you’ll find many!)

• Subscription service. Choose annual or monthly plans. Pay per user not per course and add more users whenever you need.

Why Your Business Needs an LMS

You might be wondering if you really need an LMS. After all, if you’ve gotten by this far with a standard classroom set up or some handout sheets, do you really need to swap over?

The answer is, of course, yes!

An LMS isn’t just more efficient and effective; it can transform your company's learning experience. It brings all your learning resources into one central location, offering consistent, valuable training across departments, locations, and regions.

Think about these benefits:

Scalable Learning for Growth

The best part about a learning management system? It’s not static. When you rely on a traditional learning system, e.g., classrooms, books, or handouts, everything is limited. It’s challenging to rapidly scale your facility to meet high-demand periods.

So, if you're onboarding a new cohort of employees or introducing graduates to your company, you can’t.

An LMS does things differently. Since everything is online, the number of people accessing the system doesn't matter. You can add new modules and resources as and when, growing and scaling the platform to support your company’s growth.

Improves Employee Performance

Depending on your industry, employee training is a common part of daily life. That could be teaching employees new food handling techniques, introducing regulations, or promoting professional development.

The problem most companies face is when to schedule training. After all, it’s not like twenty employees are all going to have the same time off.

In contrast, using an LMS allows each employee to work at their own pace, especially when they have a free hour or so. They can maximise their productivity, maintain compliance, and excel in professional development without damaging their existing work.

Ensures Compliance and Risk Reduction

Learning management systems are excellent for compliance. Companies can upload a module, track mandatory training, award certificates, and chase up those employees who haven’t gotten around to it.

In fact, most systems let you set automated reminders and renewals. So, if a module is an annual event, you don’t have to manually send emails. The system does it for you.

Plus, when it comes to an audit, you can quickly organise and present your company’s compliance efforts, showing the completed certificates. It’s a transparent, informative audit trail.

Read More: 5 flick Courses All Your Staff Need

Reduces Training Costs

Hiring an in-house training team to host in-person sessions is expensive and time-consuming. It’s much easier to run a single session, film it, and upload it to the learning management system.

Just think about the costs you save: no travel, no venue, no printed materials. It’s perfect for mid-sized and above companies, especially those with sites dotted around the country or the world.

But even smaller companies can benefit. You can create resources that can be used again and again by employees, old and new. It’s a cost-effective way to train new employees without expensive training weeks.

Best of all, it’s 100% ready for remote and hybrid learning models.

Real-Time Reporting and Insights

Everything that happens within the LMS is trackable. Each module completed, each session recorded is measured and monitored.

That helps companies access detailed analytics and identify potential skill gaps within the company. Such easily accessible KPIs are crucial for aligning learning with your overall business objectives.

Learning Management Systems Support a Learning Culture

Learning isn’t something that ends when you leave school. It’s a lifelong journey. The best companies, which make the most of their talented teams, are the ones that promote a culture of learning.

Not only does this maximise your productivity, but it also helps attract the most talented individuals who value career growth.

flick is a state-of-the-art learning management system designed for companies to train and retain their employees. We’ve got over 150+ fully-accredited compliance-related courses ready to go. With a simple subscription, you get unlimited access to everything on the platform — we can even design and deliver bespoke e-learning courses on any subject.

Have a look at our learning features to see how flick can transform your business and compliance efforts.

You can stay in the loop with all that’s going on at flick, including news about upcoming courses, changes in legislation and exciting features, by signing up for our monthly newsletter. Make sure you're following us on Instagram , LinkedIn,  and Facebook.