How Do You Create an Online Learning Academy for Your Law Firm?
An online learning academy is not just a learning exercise to tick the CPD compliance box. It’s the key to upskilling, tracking learner progress and retaining your team.
Keeping up to date with the constantly changing legal landscape is an absolute necessity for any successful legal practice.
Vital subject matter expertise is often held by a handful of individuals in your law firm who are knowledge rich and time poor.
That said, by implementing an effective online learning academy, also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) the many barriers facing training for large numbers of people in multiple locations can be overcome.
How do you meet the challenge of sharing expert internal knowledge?
You can gain wider learner engagement through on-demand learning, especially if the expertise already exists within your company. Isn’t it better to benefit from internal knowledge through your subject matter experts than suffer the extra costs and inconveniences of external providers?
When combined with consistent and effective internal on-demand training, many of the challenges facing Human Resources and Learning & Development departments begin to diminish.
But how do you set up a professional online learning academy that delivers consistent training?
Especially when this clashes with your key subject-matter experts, who are themselves up against mounting deadlines.
Even well-planned traditional CPD training can create a mountain of challenges including:
Scheduling & conflicting priorities
Office space capacity
Physical attendance
Different user interfaces from handheld to desktop
Resolving these time-draining conflicts can seem near impossible but there are pathways to achieving systemic change through a well-designed online learning academy.
The four key issues to resolve around on demand training delivery:
When arguing for a major change in learning delivery, there are probably four key issues you need to be prepared to discuss as well as have the answers to the pushbacks.
There may be conflicts between innovative learning concepts like a custom-made online learning academies and more traditional views on teaching, as well as many other concerns. Identifying these barriers and issues in advance can help deliver agreement on successful internal Continuing Professional Development policy.
1. Remote learning push-back
According to Forbes, US post-pandemic remote learning has not reverted to the low levels preceding the pandemic. In 2022 more than fifty per cent of students registered for online learning, so this expanding field of learning is becoming embedded in the norm of education practice.
For many younger legal practitioners, who most urgently need to develop a life-long habit of engaging with continuous learning, this has been the norm for some years. There will be little resistance from this cohort to engage with remote learning and through an online learning academy. However, senior decision-makers, who have little experience with remote learning, may struggle to authorise modern on-demand learning systems.
2. New technology & Learning Management Systems minimize scheduling issues
The implementation of an internal CPD strategy through engaging live or recorded online learning delivers more exciting briefings and lectures, leading to greater engagement. But there are other advantages too.
Learning Management Systems also resolve complicated scheduling issues, making it easier to benefit from your internal subject matter experts. This also benefits your team as they fit their training into their own schedule.
3. Bespoke online learning academies ensure engagement with larger numbers
Taking advantage of technology and a customised LMS is well within the reach of any modern legal firm. It allows for much larger numbers of your team to be trained than any physical briefing could ever deliver.
An online learning academy also enables legal firms to create well-paced, regular deadlines on CPD milestones to reduce end-of-year logjamming and increase real knowledge acquisition by your team.
4. LMS quality assurance & learner analytics
Unlike many external learning management systems, an internal learning system will generate full learner analytics for quality assurance. This in turn ensures a growth in the quality of your team knowledge.
Learner analytics eliminate arduous internal monitoring and guarantee that the issuing of certificates for online training only takes place when all the course criteria are met.
The next steps to your law firm’s custom built online learning academy
For some of your colleagues CPD will always be a challenge, but this view needs to shift because it is a necessity for career development and delivering a better service for your clients.
A less laboured, easy-to-use, well-paced internal learning plan that sits within a custom-built online learning academy can change your team’s thinking. On-demand training can be viewed as an opportunity to look forward, to improve legal skills, and to refresh existing knowledge.
The team at LegalEd CPD works with your subject matter experts to create an online learning academy.
Your law firm's online centre of learning excellence starts with Legal Ed CPD. Find out more and book a free consultation.