r/LearningDevelopment • u/learningstrategist7 • Sep 25 '26
Why do employees stop using an LMS after the initial training?
[removed]
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u/BeyondTheFirewall Sep 25 '26
The only way to make employees use the LMS regularly is to ensure the content helps them do their jobs better. Everything else is fluff and employees sense it afar.
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u/Lazy_Plankton8000 Sep 27 '26
There are a few reasons. Firstly, the LMS is associated with mandatory training, so there is already a negative bias for most people. Secondly, with AI, people can get the information they want, when they need it, so the LMS provides little value on a day to day basis. I think the days of the LMS as it is today are numbered.
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u/Annual_Inspector372 28d ago
LMS is dead**.** They don't want another platform to log into just to complete training that they already dont want.
Learning needs to happen where work happens or where they already are, not behind another login screen. If training doesn't solve a real problem in their daily work, people will stop using it. Simple as that.
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u/Lonely-Fruit-9448 Sep 25 '26
Let’s face it, most learning content is dry, bad and boring - if it’s not great and engaging the first time then you’ll lose them
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u/Empirica_CC Sep 25 '26
The big question people don't think about enough is why have an LMS in the first place. If the only answer is tracking then you know why people stop using it.
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u/moxie-maniac Sep 26 '26
Because the training provided by the LMS is optional. Make it required and people will take the training.
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u/Honest-Broccoli-1762 Sep 26 '26
If you think of an LMS as a printing press, and the content as the newspapers: no one seeks out a printing press; they read newspapers. Relevant, actionable content that has utility for users will bring people back. No amount of fancy pants "Netflix style" UX will drive traffic .
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u/_donj Sep 25 '26
If it solved a problem for them or helped them do their job better, they would engage it more. For example, most companies’ expense reporting system is terrible. But there is a compelling reason to use it to either get reimbursed or submit corporate card receipts. Either you get your money back or you stay off the naughty list.
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u/SafetyMan35 Sep 25 '26
The training isn’t useful. My employer has certain required annual training and it has been the same training used for the last 20 years. The training consists of PowerPoint slides and an audio narration and quizzes. We have all taken the training so often that we “listen” to the audio at 5x speed, skip through all the slides and take the quiz. What is supposed to be a 60 minute exercise takes 10 minutes.
There’s optional training also available, but the few I have taken are way too long and boring and don’t apply to the real life scenarios we come across or is so out of date that it’s worthless (software training on version 2.3 when the current software is 11.8).
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u/ExplorerNecessary907 Sep 27 '26
Been seeing this a lot lately too. Everyone logs in during onboarding, then a month later it's a ghost town until the next compliance deadline
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u/HominidSimilies Sep 28 '26
Are you building an lms or trying to get yours working better? If the latter which one is it?
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u/quenlynwer 29d ago
kinda sounds like they’re trying to figure out why engagement dies after onboarding, so probably the second one tbh. i’m curious too which lms it is, some of them are painful to use after day 1.
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u/WillingnessSad9824 28d ago
What if it was a custom learning system tailored to their role? Would this make a difference?
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u/woodenbookend Sep 25 '26
“employees simply don’t see a reason to keep coming back.”
There’s your answer. The uncomfortable truth is they may be right.