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Gone are the days of pamphlets and PowerPoint slides to convey information. The way we learn and consume knowledge has evolved dramatically, and the rise of the learning experience platform (LXP) is helping reshape the L&D landscape.
If you’re an HR professional, involved in learning and development or responsible for talent growth, understanding the nuances of the LXP is essential. Let’s dive deeper into the world of LXPs and their role in modern-day workplace training.
What Is a Learning Experience Platform (LXP)?
A learning experience platform is a digital tool dedicated to orchestrating, delivering and personalizing learning content for professionals. Unlike traditional learning management systems (LMS), which primarily manage and track training, LXPs prioritize the learner's experience, promoting proactive self-learning and customizing content to resonate with individual career goals and needs.
Reworked's LXP Market Guide demonstrates how LXPs put learners in control of their learning journeys and allow them to seek out content in the flow of work to answer questions or learn new skills in the way that's most relevant to them.
"If the content they want doesn’t exist, they can create it themselves and offer reviews and feedback on what is already out there, making the LXP environment incrementally better with every use."
Related Article: Want to Retain Employees? Invest in Training and Upskilling
What Are LXPs Used For?
A learning experience platform is designed to create a more engaging and personalized learning experience for employees, said Jon Thompson, director of learning experience and innovation at The Coca-Cola Company.
"By curating content, providing social learning opportunities and offering personalized learning paths, an LXP fosters a culture of continuous learning within an organization," he said.
For organizations that want to increase the effectiveness of their LXP, Thompson offered three tips:
- Use it as part of a broader L&D ecosystem. Specifically, one that focuses on continuous learning as a layer of the employee experience. Integrations of the LXP could include connections to HR systems for performance data, content creation tools and learning platforms.
- Position it as a go-to layer of support. An LXP should act as a corporate knowledge base that allows employees to access quick answers and longer, structured training.
- Cultivate a supportive learning culture. Encouraging a growth mindset and valuing continuous learning are essential for maximizing the benefits of an LXP.
"Overall," said Thompson, "a well-implemented LXP can significantly enhance an organization's learning and development initiatives, contributing to a more skilled, engaged and adaptable workforce."
LXP vs. LMS
Both LXP and LMS focus on learning and development, but there are some key differences.
Tiffani Murray, digital HR transformation and technology leader at LinkedIn, likened learning management systems to light switches. You turn them on and voila, illumination. But LXPs are more than that. They’re like having smart lights connected to Amazon's Alexa, with more functionality and personalization.
Thompson broke down the differences between LXP and LMS into four categories:
| Learning Experience Platform | Learning Management System |
| Learner-centric | Administrator-driven |
| Excels at content creation | Manages structured, formal courses |
| Prioritizes social learning & collaboration | May have limited social features |
| Offers personalized recommendations | Doesn’t suggest relevant content |
- Learner-Centric vs. Admin-Centric: An LXP is more learner-centric, emphasizing personalized learning experiences and user-driven content, whereas learning management systems are often more administrator-driven, focusing on course management and compliance tracking.
- Content Curation vs. Content Management: LXPs excel at content curation, allowing users to discover and share a variety of resources, both formal and informal. An LMS primarily focuses on managing structured, formal courses.
- Social and Collaborative Learning: LXPs prioritize social learning/collaboration, providing features like discussion forums and user-generated content. A traditional LMS may have limited social features.
- Recommendation Engines: LXPs usually incorporate recommendation engines to suggest suitable content based on user behavior, whereas a traditional learning management system likely doesn’t.
Related Article: What Is a Learning Management System
Key Features of Learning Experience Platforms
What are the key features of an LXP? According to Thompson, a learning experience platform typically includes:
- Content Curation: An LXP should allow users to curate and organize learning content from a variety of sources, including internal resources, external websites and content created by users.
- Personalized Learning Paths: LXPs should offer the ability to create customized learning journeys for individuals or groups based on their specific learning needs, preferences and job roles.
- Social Learning and Collaboration Tools: LXPs often include features like discussion forums, social feeds and collaborative spaces to create a learning ecosystem that encourages peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing and community building.
- Recommendation Engines: This LXP feature uses algorithms to suggest relevant content, courses or resources based on a user's behavior, preferences and performance.
- Analytics and Reporting: LXPs enable more robust tracking and reporting capabilities to monitor learner progress, employee engagement levels and overall learning effectiveness.
- User-Generated Content Tools: The focus in LXPs on the learner experience means they usually include functionality for users to create and share their own content, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and expertise development.
- Integration Capabilities: LXPs should integrate with other systems and tools used in the organization, such as HR software, content management systems and video conferencing platforms."
Benefits of LXPs
LXPs are emerging as a go-to tool for forward-thinking HR and L&D professionals, and it’s easy to see why. The benefits they provide are game-changers. So, what makes a learning experience platform stand out?
- Personalized Learning Paths: Using machine learning algorithms, an LXP can analyze a learner's behavior, preferences and progress to curate content and training programs specific to them. The personalized learning environment can help employees address and avoid skill gaps and customize training goals.
- Diverse Content Sources: Learning experience platforms seamlessly integrate with external resources, from podcasts to webinars, ensuring learners have an expansive library of learning material at their fingertips.
- Diverse Learning Modalities: An LXP can cater to varied types of learning, from visual and auditory to kinesthetic, ensuring content resonates with each individual. This adaptability fosters deeper understanding and retention, and enhances learning development across the workforce.
- Social Learning Opportunities: Modern LXPs enable collaborative learning, which can help employees share insights, discuss content, compare learning styles and more.
- Data-Driven Insights: For HR and learning professionals, LXPs offer a goldmine of analytics. Understand which modules are effective, track employee engagement and refine your strategies accordingly.
- Flexibility and Scalability: Whether you're onboarding a team of ten or upskilling hundreds, LXPs are built to scale, accommodating both small businesses and growing enterprises.
Related Guide: Learning Experience Platform (LXP) Market Guide
Challenges of LXPs
While an LXP boasts a lot of pros, there are a few potential downsides to be aware of. Those include:
- Cost Implications: A high-quality LXP often has a high price tag. It's important to weigh the benefits against both the initial and ongoing investments. Budget constraints might require phased implementations, exploring varied pricing models or sticking with a traditional LMS.
- Integration Concerns: For businesses with pre-existing digital tools, seamless integration with the chosen LXP can be challenging. It's important to ensure the LXP's compatibility with legacy systems or strategize around potential workarounds to optimize employees' learning experiences.
- Implementation Hurdles: Transitioning from a traditional LMS to an LXP might face resistance, especially from teams accustomed to older systems. Change management becomes crucial, ensuring smooth transitions and minimizing disruptions.
- Continuous Updates: The dynamic nature of learning experience platforms means they're frequently updated. While this means the platform stays up-to-date, it also requires users to adapt to changes often. Continuous training and user support will likely be needed for any pain points that crop up.
Should Your Company Invest in an LXP?
For organizations considering investment in an LXP, Murray has a few suggestions.
First, she recommends getting your talent team involved in the conversation. Especially those involved in learning and development, coaching, career paths, succession planning and manager training. "They will all have potential learning content they’d love to see within a LXP," she said.
Next, include your HR tech and IT counterparts. Why? Because many traditional LMS are adding modules and functionality to enhance their offerings, allowing them to provide an "LXP-like" experience. Meaning, you might not have to ditch your old system and start from scratch.
Which brings us to Murray's third piece of advice: Don't ditch your LMS right away. Instead, she recommends finding out your current vendor's plan for adjusting to this trend — or if they might partner with an LXP provider that can be integrated with your current LMS. If your current vendor isn't moving in the right direction — or isn't moving fast enough — look at systems that can augment your LMS.
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"In the near term," said Murray, "some companies may require both an LMS and LXP, particularly if there are strict compliance needs. However, the traditional LMS likely has an approaching expiration date when we forecast what worktech of the future will include."
The Future of the Learning Experience
The future of the LXP looks strong, with the e-learning market expected to grow from $399.3 billion in 2022 to $1 trillion in 2032. Going forward, one thing Murray believes organizations will see more of in the LXP sphere is artificial intelligence.
"You will see vendors employing AI to make learning experience platforms more versatile and adaptable to the needs of an organization, a business unit or a manager, down to the individual staff member," she said. "Training can be surfaced based on open roles, needs across the organization, career paths and more with this approach."
Other big LXP growth drivers experts look forward to include the rise of internet and mobile learning, corporations looking to upgrade their training programs and LMS vendors switching to cloud-based systems.
