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Three Data Points You Can Track in Your LMS and What They'll Tell You

Blog posts | 27.10.2021

Samantha Klotz

Platform Account Executive at Kineo US

The purpose of training in any organisation is to take steps towards achieving and maintaining the company’s goals. The outcome of training can range from simple awareness of topics, to actively teaching skills and knowledge in order to impact behaviour and performance on the job. Demonstrating the relationship between training and a company’s goals is something most of us strive to achieve. 

Learning management system data is one source of valuable information that can help demonstrate the effectiveness of your training initiatives. Whether you are tracking course completions, tracking employee productivity, or measuring gaps or progress towards selected competencies or behaviours, the data in your LMS can provide tremendous insight into whether the training you're creating is delivering the results you desire.


Three LMS Tracking Reports that Illustrate the Training Effectiveness

If you’re wondering what impact your training initiatives have on your organisation, you’re not alone. It’s a common challenge for learning leaders to be able to easily and succinctly demonstrate their impact. In fact, the 2020 Learning Measurement Survey conducted by Brandon Hall revealed that fewer than 16% of organisations are able to effectively identify and track learning metrics. Despite the common perception that reporting is a challenge, tracking training data in an LMS can be made simple through the use of three reports.


  1. Course Completion Report: This report indicates basic records such as attendance, completion, and pass/fail records. This information can serve as the basis for any subsequent inquiries or reporting. For example, one simple method of tracking employee productivity can be to assess whether or not employees have completed the necessary training. If completion rates are low, managers can investigate why courses are not being completed and as an organisation you can compare performance on training to business results. Are regions or business units that have higher completion rates or test scores improving their associated business metrics in kind? No matter what correlation you find, this is certain to spark an interesting conversation.


  2. Feedback Summary Report: This report displays the feedback that learners have left in response to training. Alongside the completion report, an important aspect of tracking elearning in an LMS is to track learners’ reactions and feedback. One example of data you can capture is learner confidence. As we described in our Drowning in Data Guide, knowledge and confidence together are strong indicators of performance. Reactions also serve as the basis of the widely used Kirkpatrick Model, which evaluates the success of learning programmes. Incorporate learners’ feedback into any iterations or revisions of your content to ensure you are meeting their needs. If your learners indicate they are not engaged, consider alternate modes of training to reignite their learning journeys.


  3. Record of Learning Competencies Report: In more mature leaning organisations, we’re seeing L&D teams map courses to competencies, so learners have a more clear view of how they are developing skills. A competency report gives an organisation a heat map to see which skills and competencies employees are most actively developing and which they are not. The organisation can take action against this by more actively promoting specific content, reviewing underutilised content to assess for the opportunity to improve, and to compare how the engagement with certain content on a competency aligns with performance management ratings. In summary, tracking LMS data provides you with clear indicators of whether or not your training is helping your organisation achieve its goals. The beauty of an LMS is that it automates tedious administrative tasks such as data collection and reporting, and can provide insights in easy-to-read dashboards and spreadsheets. Data allows you to measure and demonstrate your impact, and thus prove your impact to your organisation. 


Is your LMS tracking these data points to the full potential? Kineo is here to help you make the most of your learning initiatives by offering platform solutions that are not only effective, but measurable. For more information, contact us to set up a discussion about the learning in your organisation.  

Samantha Klotz

Platform Account Executive at Kineo US


Samantha Klotz is a Platform Account Executive for Kineo and has over 12 years of sales and marketing experience. In addition to her passion for learning, she has specialized knowledge of Kineo’s Learning Management System (LMS), Totara: Kineo Edition.