Learning Experience Platforms (LXP): How to Expand Your Knowledge

It’s never too late to learn something new.

Whether you get your driver's license in your 30s or decide to learn a language in your 50s, it can be fun and challenging to discover a new talent or skill. 

When you take the proper initiatives and deep dive into a learning experience platform, taking on the challenge of learning something new is easy.

Driven by artificial intelligence, LXP solutions are a new approach to corporate education services as they focus on learning and development by delivering educational content based on the needs and interests of each individual employee. With an upgraded user experience, responsive designs, and the look and feel of various multimedia websites, learning experience platforms are considered a fresh take on corporate learning and learning management systems.

Learning experience platforms vs. learning management platforms

It’s common for those interested in a learning experience platform to be unsure of how they differ from learning management systems (LMS) and when to use which software.

The difference between the two is simple.

LXPs provide companies with content libraries that they can implement as-is, edit to fit their needs, or create from scratch. This content is developed and curated for a personal and digital experience for continuous learning.

LMSes focus on catalog management for onboarding, development, and compliance training purposes. This software is where you store, deliver, and track your training content and is geared towards corporate learning.

Companies can integrate LXP and LMS tools to keep track of and manage all learning opportunities. At the end of the day, the differences between these two tools come down to who controls the content and the overall journey through the content.

So who is in control? When you’re using an LMS, it’s up to the administrator. This would be an HR manager or someone within your company's leadership team. It’s also up to this person to approve any user-generated posts that would appear within the system. Essentially, in an LMS, the admin has complete control over the content and who starts which journey. Then, it’s up to the user, or the learner, to follow a specific path through the content.

As an example, in the first half of the year, employees are required to take compliance training in an LMS. Then, in the second half of the year, all employees need to complete security training. Usually an assessment will be at the end of each training session, with a pass/fail grade. 

On the other hand, in an LXP, everyone can curate the content for unique learning journeys. Someone on the HR team may post some helpful content, and so could the head of marketing or a sales rep. Because an LXP is essentially a catch-all for the content your team deems valuable, no one has complete control over what users have access to and it’s easy to personalize.

There is no specific path a learner needs to take, but instead they’ll navigate the content within the learning portal based on their interests and their own personal growth. 

Use cases for LXPs

Many compare an LXP software solution to popular entertainment streaming services, like Netflix, YouTube, or Spotify. This comparison is because, like these services, all a user needs to do is login and they’re presented with various learning options based on their preferences or past user history, thanks to AI. These options include relevant articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, webinars, and more, all surrounding the area of learning you’re interested in.

Because anyone in the system can add this kind of content, an LXP will usually store internal training, external resources, and a wide variety of user-generated content. The sort of content learners have access to is more diverse and it’s built for communication and interaction between users. For example, someone may comment on certain content that they found it especially useful or insightful, and other users can see this comment and choose to engage with this content.  

Since the LXP is in the hands of the learner rather than the administrator, one simply logs in and peruses the content available to them and chooses based on their interests.

Use cases for LMS'

Because an LMS has the ability to create, manage, track, and deliver online corporate courses, these tools are used by a variety of businesses to ensure their employees keep various skill sets up to date. An LMS might be used to assign training courses to new hires, while then tracking their progress and then administering a scored test to see what they have retained. 

Like we mentioned above, use cases for LMS depend on the administrator and what is required for the learner. The learner will follow a clear path through the content that is laid out for them to complete, with potential assessments at the end based on retention standards.

Benefits of using an LXP

Now that you have a clear understanding of LXPs and how they work, let’s explore the benefits of using them.

• Provides learners with an open system to accommodate learning from external resources 
• Adaptive learning paths that are tailored to the learner and fully customizable
• The ability to collaborate while learning in discussion spaces and comments
• The possibility to go beyond corporate training by tracking and learning soft skills
• Can connect with learners from all across the globe
• Helps to identify knowledge gaps between members of your staff thanks to advanced reporting
• Offers personalized training recommendations through AI and machine learning
• With so many mobile apps, users can learn on the go

Challenges of using an LXP

On the flip side, there are a few challenges you should be aware of when using an LXP. 

• Crowdsources recommendations aren’t always the best sources for valuable learning resources
• With such a vast library, it can make discovering content difficult
• Because there are so many features, these tools can be costly

Best LXP software

As stated, a learning experience platform, otherwise known as LXP or LEP, is a learning solution used by the HR and learning and development departments within corporations. These applications aim to help companies give their employees a personalized learning experience based on their needs and interests. 

They can be sometimes referred to as “Netflix-style” learning, since relevant content is easy to find and access from both computers and mobile devices. These learning libraries give employees access to internal and external course catalogs, videos, podcasts, blogs, articles, and more.

To qualify to be included in this software category, a product must:

• Give users an “on-demand” content delivery system
• Allow for accessible learning content through AI-based discovery tools, usage-based recommendations, and career pathing suggestions
• Make it easy to manage, create, and track all skill-based learning experiences
• Give employees a customizable learning experience based on their unique career progressions and interests

*Below are the top five LXP software from G2’s Winter 2021 Grid® Report. Some reviews may be edited for clarity.

1. 360Learning

Learning and development teams looking to drive culture and growth through collaborative tools should look no further than 360Learning. This software solution offers users collaborative tools with the power of an LMS, enabling high-growth companies to dive deep into learning based collective expertise instead of only relying on top-down knowledge. It’s an easy way to onboard new employees, train teams that work with customers, and develop professional skills, all from one place.

What users like:

“360Learning has provided a platform for all of those who are dedicated to developing a culture of learning to gather around and think creatively about how we can upskill and support our organization. It’s a dynamic solution that not only makes training rollouts easier but teaches us how to build engaging and impactful content. In the past 6 months, we have utilized 360Learning to deliver sales enablement campaigns, onboarding programs, university-style lectures, and compliance programs,  all while keeping our employees engaged with short, bursty content and interactive learning tools.”

- 360Learning Review, Alexis B. 

What users dislike:

“The program sessions are very rigid and if the learner has done an open-access course before it has to be redone in the assigned program session. The good news is that this is all going to change with the new learning Path design, and we are very much looking forward to these new features. A true game-changer!”

- 360 Learning Review, Elise R. 

2. Docebo

The Docebo platform makes it easy for users to create beautiful and engaging learning experiences. With a comprehensive content library, this tool makes formal learning more engaging and opens new possibilities for social learning.

What users like:

"The best thing about Docebo is the high-quality LMS user experience that you can create with very little technical background or skill. The platform is beautiful out of the box but really takes shape when white-labeling and custom branding is applied. I have zero web development experience and was able to create an outstanding eLearning platform that serves thousands of learners annually.”

- Docebo Review, Brandon V. 

What users dislike:

“You can get lost. Sometimes there are too many features within a course and you can get yourself a little lost in the details. When it came to designing something that would look and feel premium we did have to put our designer to work, but we wanted that premium feel. So if you are planning on out of the box looking pretty, it may be a tall order.”

- Docebo Review, Chris R. 

3. Bridge

Looking for an employee development platform? Look no further than Bridge. This solution combines learning management, performance management, career development, and engagement measurement into one unified experience. With Bridge, it’s easy for remote workers to stay connected and companies to develop their people with virtual training, manager/employees, and career development plans.

What users like:

“I love that building courses and programs are intuitive. Designing a slide with a video and question prompt was easy to learn. What I appreciate is the template allows for those of us who are building a program to focus more time and energy on our actual content rather than needing to figure complex, confusing ways to display and deliver it. The customer service is top-notch for questions when they arise, too.” 

- Bridge Review, Molly S. 

What users dislike:

“There are not many cons to using Bridge, but I think that the course creation could use a few more formatting tools. The smart questions could use some improvement too, sometimes I enter "smart options" and they do not format correctly for the learners. Another very minor thing is that when I export reporting, even if I just download a single report, it puts it in a .zip file that I have to extract. This is not the ideal method for me, and I wish that there were better options or even automated reporting that could be sent to administrators or select users.”

- Bridge Review, Victoria B.

4. Axonify

Axonify is a modern learning solution that offers a fun, fast, personalized experience to frontline employees. This AI-powered platform boasts high engagement and bite-sized micro-learning content, so you can be sure all of your employees remember what they’ve learned for the long haul.

What users like:

“The learner has changed so much in the last 5-10 years, and Axonify meets people where they are. Learning has to be pointed, personalized, and connected to work performance in order to win the attention of the learner, and Axonify excels at all of this.

I love that it's a mobile app and how we can use different levels of questions to increase competence and confidence for specific topics. For the learner, it's a small, quick bit of reinforcement. For the organization, we can teach or reinforce topics based on overall business needs in an agile manner - very different from old fashioned LMS offerings.”

- Axonify Review, Paul P. 

What users dislike:

“Axonify is designed as a modern microlearning platform, so transitioning away from a traditional learning management system has created some "growing pains" for our users. The Axonify team has continued to support us through this change management.”

- Axonify Review, Nicholas M. 

5. Absorb LMS

Need a little something that will inspire learning and boost business productivity? Check out Absorb LMS. This cloud-based tool makes it possible for companies around the world to effectively deliver training. It makes it easy to facilitate engaging learning experiences, while also training internal employees, customers, partners, and more.

What users like:

“It is very simple to utilize, along these lines giving understudies an extraordinary spot to learn. It was in every case simple for me to explore. I additionally found that Absorb is completely versatile to our introduction, imaging, and interactive media needs. Instructors can monitor all understudy readiness and turn of events.”

- Absorb LMS Review, Arabele T.

What users dislike:

“I want some easy stuff to alter Absorb. The automated calendar, for example, includes an understanding that Absorb offers data after an online student does not have any information. That's what I'm always looking for. Sometimes workarounds are open, but I want to see clients' needs handled more quickly.”

- Absorb LMS Review, Lane P. 

Knowledge is power

The learning experience platform your company chooses gives you and your team the ability to learn something new, no matter what it is they’re interested in. From coding websites to creating a short film, – and everything in between – anyone can take a deep dive into the learning resources at their fingertips.

What will you discover?

Take your education one step further with a deep dive into eLearning.