What is a Training Management System

Efficiency and speed in the administration and logistics aspects of courses. This is one of the benefits of digitalisation. We’ve already talked about Learning Management Systems and we’ll certainly be coming back to them, given how important they are. These systems are for creating and delivering e-learning courses, and are not optimised for classroom management.

Other systems with different features have been developed for this, known as Training Management Systems (TMS). We’ll be talking more about them in an upcoming webinar with our partner Training Orchestra. So for now, let’s just take a quick look at what they are.

In very basic terms, an LMS is used to deliver content, whereas a TMS is for the back office, i.e. administration and logistics. It helps organisations optimise the processes involved in delivering training in physical and virtual classrooms, offering a more efficient way to manage, track and sell courses run by a trainer.

A TMS provides support for activities such as calendaring, assigning trainers and resources to each room, and tracking costs analytically.

TMS and LMS are complementary systems. Therefore, organisations that have physical classrooms and digital tools may decide to invest in both types of software.

A Learning Management System is designed with course users in mind: it is used to organise content, it delivers the course and tracks progress.

Features of a TMS

A Training Management System, on the other hand, is designed around the needs of training administrators, such as training managers, training companies, heads of corporate academies, HR people, etc. A TMS typically handles back-office processes, including:

• Organisation of logistics and resources.
• Calendaring of courses: virtual classrooms, in-person sessions, etc.
• Automated administration and centralisation of data.
• Confirmation of registration, reminder emails.
• Reports and business intelligence.
• Monitoring costs and profitability, managing and optimising budgets.
• Management of orders and invoices for the entire sales cycle, for training companies and extended enterprise.

We’ll have an opportunity to learn more about the features of a TMS and how it differs from an LMS during the webinar scheduled for 29 September 2021. We’ll be publishing all the details shortly. Stay tuned!