As a sense of “normalcy” begins to return to the workplace, one thing is clear – things have changed.
The pandemic forced us to adjust our daily work schedules and personal interactions. We ‘adapted’, became ‘flexible’, and learned how to effectively collaborate in a truly virtual environment, and now, we all expect more. More efficiency, faster ways to achieve the same results, fewer steps to achieve the same outcome. We have reprioritized how we spend our time, and that is impacting what we see as productive work.
Seen more broadly across the technology spectrum, there is no doubt that this trend is driving a need for organizations to invest in their talent management technology platforms, and more specifically, in integrations with a Learning Management System (LMS) like Cornerstone or Saba (formerly Cornerstone SBX). In this post, we’ll highlight three trending Cornerstone and Saba integrations focused on creating a seamless and engaging ecosystem, where ease of use is paramount, and feedback is instantaneous.
Integration Trend #1
Building Better Bridges: Integrating Virtual Instructor Led (VILT) Platforms
The last several years have created an unprecedented demand for the delivery of learning in a virtual environment. Across all industries, companies have looked for ways to improve efficiency, created new applications for managing existing processes, and moved as much as possible to a ‘self-service’ model. However, learners, like consumers, have come to expect instantaneous feedback and streamlined access to this information. Most companies have augmented their LMS platform with one or more virtual instructor led (VILT) platforms with solutions such as MS Teams, GoToMeeting, Webex, or Ring Central. But there is still a need to ensure the process for creating, accessing, and closing out this training is seamless. L&D departments are doing more with less and this means they need to not only reduce the number of steps it takes to set up learning, but they need ways to make it faster and more accurately report on the results of those virtual training sessions. With this demand, several solutions have come on the market to offer scalable integrations to facilitate communication between an LMS and the organization’s selected VILT platform.
One of the most requested integrations is building a bridge between the administrative actions in the LMS (setting up the learning event with date and time) using the native LMS feature and then have it communicate directly with the preferred virtual classroom platform to create a corresponding virtual meeting. What administrators want is a seamless way to set up the learning event (date, time) using the native LMS feature and have it communicate directly with the preferred virtual classroom platform. As administrators make scheduling updates within the LMS, the integration recognizes the changes and updates the session within the VILT platform meeting. Solutions like the MS Teams VILT Connector or the CSOD VILT Hub have paved the way for companies to select one or more platforms like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or Ring Central for their virtual classroom platform.
Integration Trend #2
Establishing Clear Feedback Loops: Reward and Recognition
Another emerging Cornerstone and Saba integration trend is to connect reward and recognition systems with the LMS platform. Building a consistent feedback loop to learners is a critical component in learner engagement. Many companies have invested in systems like Badgr or Credly to serve as a visual reminder of progressive achievements throughout a learning pathway. The use of badges allows learners to track, and share, progress for earning certifications, learning new skills, and contributing to the workflow of a specific community within a company.
Building a tight integration between the LMS platform and the badging system has created an easier way for HR professionals and administrators to track progress of their learning community and to share achievements with the executive team. It is also a great tool for recruiting new employees and speaks directly to a new workforce generation who has operated in a virtual learning world for the last few years. Creating an integrated learning environment similar to popular apps like Duolingo, small achievements and steps are rewarded along the way. An example of one such integration is the Badgr Connector microapp. The microapp syncs data between an LMS and Badgr on a real time basis, allowing a company to accurately identify learners with earned digital badges per competency and display meta badges on the related Competency Based Learning app.
Integration Trend 3
Increasing Catalog Choices: Third Party Content Integrations
Creating a menu of a-la-carte learning offerings has never been a bigger requirement for HR professionals in ensuring the opportunities within their learning platform scale to meet increasing demand for training. Managing a diverse library of vendor content has created a unique need for integrations between third-party content vendors and the technology platforms being used for delivery.
Learning professionals are more and more often relying on vendors like Pluralsight, Amazon, LinkedIn Learning, and Microsoft for the development and delivery of specialized content offerings. The expansion of this third-party content has created a demand to ensure learning and tracking back to a learning management system like Cornerstone OnDemand is seamless, immediate, and accurate. As the number of content providers continue to increase, the need to develop technical interfaces to authenticate learners, track progress, and notify administrators of content updates will continue to grow as well. Educe has developed several content bridge microapps that enable organizations to seamlessly sync online content catalogs and completions back to learning management systems.
Summary
As learners and administrators continue to expect more from their technology platforms, integrations have and will continue to become even more important to connecting disparate HR and Talent Management systems. These three trending Cornerstone and Saba integrations are simply the tip of the iceberg. To learn more about other integrations and technical solutions that Educe has designed, developed, and deployed for Cornerstone Galaxy customers, visit our microapps page.
