Getting Started Guide: Learning Management System

Article Links Introduction | Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

 

INTRODUCTION

The Getting Started Guide provides step-by-step instructions to insure that you set up the Learning Management System (LMS) so that you can begin assigning and tracking training. 

Download the Getting Started Guide Checklist to keep track of your implementation progress.

This guide is organized in the recommended order that you should set up the features and functions of your LMS.

This guide provides:

• Tips and best practices for a successful implementation
• Links to articles on the Online Help Center

As you begin to set up the LMS, you may want to document your decisions and create procedures to share with your LMS administrators.  This ensures that training is implemented and tracked consistently throughout your organization.

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LANDING PAGE SETTINGS

The Landing Page is the page that appears when the user logs into the Learning Management System. When the Landing Page is enabled the user Login Screen may look like this:

The Landing Page can be set at the Organization so that the page is the same for all users.  This option is best when your organization has one logo and one desired color theme.

The Landing Page can be set at the Region or Site level. This option is best when your organization is made up of multiple companies that have different logos and color themes. For example your company may be a holding company made up of three different companies that have a different logo and color branding.

When working with our Support Team to set up your Landing Page, please specify if you would like your Landing Page to be the same for the entire organization or different for each Region or Site within your organization.

The Landing Page options include:

• Add a company logo
• Choose a color theme
• Add an LMS language selection. Currently you can add English, Spanish and French.
  Note: Not available for the Contractor LMS
• Customize the right side of the Landing Page with one or more of the options below:
  • Add an image that represents your business
  • Display a solid color and add text
  • Name the LMS. For example, <Company Name> University  or <Company Name> Learning Academy
  • Add a message or instructions to login or who to contact with issues
  • Add your company's website or blog
  • Add Convergence Training's blog

Questions to Consider

1. Will you have different Landing Page settings for each region in your organization?
2. Do you want to brand your LMS with a title? Few users know what an LMS is or what it stands for.
3. Do you have a requirement for the LMS to be translated into another language?
4. Do you want the right side of the Landing Page to include a User Login and Launch Training video?
5. Do you have a picture that represents your company that you would like displayed on the right side of the Landing Page?
6. Do you prefer a solid color and text on the right side of the Landing Page? What would it be?

Online Help Center Articles

• Refer to the Landing Page: Settings article to learn how the Landing Page is set up and configured.
• Refer to the Landing Page: Samples article to view a few examples of how your landing page might be designed and branded.

Next Steps

 

Contact our support team by emailing support@convergencetraining.com and provide this information in the email to configure your Landing Page:

1. Attach your logo 
2. Your color theme
3. Attach any image and provide the desired wording for the right side of the Landing Page
4. If you prefer a solid background, provide the RGB color that you would like used

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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PLAN AND CREATE YOUR ORGANIZATION

Setting up your organization structure is the most important thing that you will do when setting up your LMS.

It has the biggest impact for reducing the administrative burden associated with assigning, tracking and reporting on training conducted throughout your organization.

There are three reasons to create an organization structure:

1. Assign training to multiple users by their organization unit or group
2. Run reports on any organization unit or group
3. Set administrative security roles

User Names and Passwords

The first decision you will make when adding users to the LMS is to determine your users login credentials.

Please refer to the Users: Create Edit and Delete article for guidelines and best practices for creating user names and passwords.

HRIS Synchronization

Convergence Support can assist you with syncing users with an extract from your HRIS or Payroll system into the LMS. This means that as workers are hired, their user records are automatically created in the LMS.  And, when a user transfers, they will be automatically moved to a new team. When a user leaves your organization, they are automatically deactivated.

The best method to set up and appointment with our support team.  The people that should be included in the meeting are; someone from your HR Team that understands your HR System (or Payroll System), an LMS Master Administrator, someone from your IT Team. These team members are the most likely to have the information you need to work with our support team to get the HR Sync process successfully implemented.

Please refer to the LMS Data Import - HRIS or Payroll Synchronization article for more information.

Single Sign-On

Convergence Support can assist you setting up single sign on to the LMS.  This means that the LMS syncs the LMS username and password with your company’s network username and password.  When the user clicks on an LMS link provided by you, they will be automatically signed into the LMS.

The benefits of single sign are:

• The user has one less username and password to learn. 
• The administrator will not be required to reset passwords.

Please contact our Support Team at support@convergencetraining.com if you are interested in setting up single sign on.

Questions to Consider

1. Who will add new employees to the LMS?
2. Who will transfer users to a new team?
3. Who will inactivate users when they leave your company?
4. What groups will new users need to be added to?
5. Do you require that certain data be entered on the user record, for example, an email address, date of hire, or job title?
6. Does everyone have an email address so they can receive notifications alerting them to new, expired and overdue assignments?
7. Who will reset passwords for employees if email addresses aren't included in the user record?
8. What user names and initial passwords do you want them to use?

Online Help Center Articles

• Full Service LMS - Enterprise and MSHA: Refer to the Organization Structure Overview: Full Service LMS (Enterprise and MSHA to learn about the organization structure and review best practices
• Express LMS: Refer to the Organization Structure Overview: Express LMS
• Refer to the LMS Data Import: Complete the User Import Spreadsheet to learn how to complete the spreadsheet to import your organization structure and users.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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PLAN AND CREATE GROUPS

Groups allow you to schedule and deliver cross-functional training when you are unable to assign training to an organization unit.

They are generally a collection of users that are spread across your organization that have the same training need.

There are two types of groups:

• Static: a group in which users are added or removed manually from the group.
• Dynamic: a group in which users are added or removed automatically based on rules that match data contained in the user record.
  Note: If your company uses HR sync, you may be able to include the specific data in the synchronization file. Please contact our support team at support@convergencetraining.com to confirm what can and cannot be included in the synchronization file.

Questions to Consider

• What type of training do you offer that you want to assign to users that are not in the same organization unit?
• Does your organization have unique training requirements because of one or more of the following: manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing, union and non-union, OSHA, MSHA or hourly and salaried?
• Who will manage groups to insure that employees are added and removed to and from the right group?

Online Help Center Articles

• Refer to Groups: Create, Edit and Delete article to learn more about groups.

• Click the Dynamic and Static Group Comparison link to learn more about the difference between static and dynamic groups and when it is beneficial to set up one or the other.

Online Help Center  Webinar

• Groups: Features & Functionality

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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ASSIGN SECURITY ROLES

Once your organization structure has been created, you will need to identify your LMS Administrators and assign their security roles.  You will need to determine what role your want them to have and where in the organization you want them to be able to exercise the privilege that you have given them.

Questions to Consider

1. Who will assign security roles to your administrators?
2. Who will be your Master and Admins?
3. Will all Masters and Admins have the same target?
4. Will you allow users to submit incidents?
5. Can you use our pre-configured security roles or will you need to create custom security roles?
6. How will your administrators get help? Can they all call support or should calls be funneled to a Master Administrator within your organization first?

Online Help Center Articles

• Refer to the Security Roles: Overview to learn about the pre-configured security roles that are available
• Please refer to the Security Roles: Copy a Security Role article to learn how to copy a security role to a new target.
• Refer to the Security Roles: Create a Custom Security Role article to learn how to create a custom role.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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TRAINING IMPORT AND CREATION

Before you can assign training, you will want to import and create your training content.

The LMS allows you to import and create the following activity types:

ACTIVITIES YOU IMPORT	ACTIVITIES YOU CREATE
Documents Computer-Based Training (CBT) Videos	Quizzes Surveys Tasklists Signature Classes Events

 

Questions to Consider

1. Who will be creating and importing training content?
2. Do you want to establish a policy about when to import or link to a document?
3. Do you want to establish naming conventions to ensure that you can easily search and locate all activities associated to a subject?  For example, should all activities about PPE be named with the acronym (PPE) or spelled out Personal Protective Equipment?
4. Will all administrators have access to all training content?
5. Do you want to limit the access of certain activities so only a few administrators can make changes to the content? For example, HR related content and safety training?
6. Will it be necessary to establish an approval process to control what training content gets added to the LMS?
7. Will the content you import and create be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure accuracy and compliance?

Online Help Center Articles

• Refer to the following articles to learn how to create and import your training content:

CBTs: Import, Update, Move and Delete

Classes: Create, Update and Delete

Documents: Import, Update, Move, and Delete

Events: Create, Update and Delete

Quizzes: Create, Copy, Edit and Delete

Signature: Create, Edit and Delete

Surveys: Create, Copy, Edit and Delete

Tasklists: Create, Update, and Delete

Videos: Import, Update, Move, and Delete

• Refer to the Share Training Content Between Organization Units article to learn the options you have for sharing content between organization units.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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CREATE QUALIFICATIONS/TRAINING PROGRAMS

A qualification/training program allows you to “bundle” related activities together that would be considered necessary for a user to be “qualified” to do their job or perform a specific task.

A qualification/training program can be used formally or informally.

• Formally, "certify" or "qualify" employees that need to master a job or skill. For example, Machine Operator 1 or Forklift Operator
• Informally, to avoid individually assigning multiple related activities where no skill or mastery is required. For example, New Hire Orientation

Questions to Consider

1. Who will create qualifications/training programs?
2. Do you have multiple training activities a person needs to complete to be considered "qualified" to perform their job or a task?
3. Will the qualification/training program change by adding and removing activities on a regular basis, for example annually?
4. Do you want to establish naming conventions to ensure that you can easily search and locate? For example: Safety or Machine Operator Qualifications/Training Programs
5. Will it be necessary to establish an approval process to control what training content gets added to a qualification/training program?
6. Will the qualifications/training programs you create be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure accuracy and compliance?

Online Help Center Articles

• Enterprise LMS: Refer to the following articles to learn how to create and maintain qualifications:

Qualifications and Requirements: Overview

Qualifications: Create, Edit, and Delete

Qualifications: Deactivate and Activate

Requirements: Create, Edit and Delete

Requirements: Deactivate and Activate

• Refer to the Qualifications: Copy article to learn how to copy and modify an existing qualification.

• MSHA LMS: Refer to the following articles to learn how to create and maintain training programs:

Training Programs and Subjects: Overview

Training Programs: Create, Edit, and Delete

Training Programs: Deactivate and Activate

Subjects: Create, Edit and Delete

Subjects: Deactivate and Activate

• Refer to the Training Programs: Copy article to learn how to copy and modify an existing training program.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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ENABLE NOTIFICATIONS

Notifications are emails the system sends based on certain events. The LMS includes notifications that can alert your learners that training has been assigned, is due or about to expire. Notifications can also be set to alert a supervisor that training is complete or overdue.

Enable notifications before you make your first assignment so that your users will be alerted when they are assigned training.
Note: In order for assignment related notifications to be sent out, the corresponding notification must be enabled BEFORE the assignment is created. For example, if a new assignment is created and then the administrator enables the “Training Assigned” notification; no notifications will go out related to that assignment. Only assignments created AFTER that notification has been enabled will go out. 

Questions to Consider

1. Do all your employees have email addresses?
2. Have you entered their email addresses in their user record?
3. Which notifications will be of most value to your organization?

Online Help Center Articles

Refer to the following articles to learn about Notifications:

• Notifications: Sample Notifications: provides a description for every notification in the LMS.  Quick links are provided to review the sample language to help you determine how you may want to customize the notifications in your IMS.
• Notifications: Activate and Deactivate: provides instructions to test, enable and disable notifications.

Online Help Center  Webinar

• Notifications: Features & Functionality

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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ASSIGN TRAINING

The LMS allows you to assign one or more activities or qualifications/training programs to one or more users, organization units or groups.

When training is assigned, the activities are REQUIRED to be completed by a user. The assignments will appear on the Training tab.

There are two assignment modes:

Basic Scheduling allows the LMS Administrator to create a one-time assignment.

Advanced Scheduling allows the LMS Administrator to setup a recurring assignment and adjust start and due dates for inherited assignments.

Questions to Consider

1. Who will be responsible for assigning training in your company?
2. Will your assignment be a one time assignment (basic scheduling) or a recurring assignment (advanced scheduling)?
3. How often do you want the assignment to recur?
4. Who, in your company, do your employees call or contact if they encounter issues with launching assigned training?

Online Help Center Articles

Refer to the following articles to learn how to create and maintain assignments:

• Assignments: Overview
• Assign Training: Basic  Scheduling
• Assign Training: Advanced Scheduling
• Assign Training: Scheduling Templates
• Assign Training: Training Plan Simulation
• Assign Training: Edit and Unassign Assignments

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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REPORTS: SET-UP RECURRING REPORTS

The LMS comes with a large variety of reports you can run, export, print and email.

The Online Help Center includes an article on every report in the LMS.  Each article includes a picture of the report, a description of each field on the report and a list of parameters (filters) that can be used to include or exclude data on the report.

Questions to Consider

1. Does every supervisor need the ability to run reports? Setting up a recurring report instead of assigning a View Report security role can keep your managers abreast of what training their users have been assigned, what their status is and when the assignment is coming due. This eliminates the need to train employees who rarely access the LMS just to run reports. 

Online Help Center Articles

Refer to the Reports: Run, Print, Export and Email article to learn how to set up recurring reports.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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IMPORT HISTORICAL COMPLETION RECORDS

Convergence Support can assist you by doing a bulk-import of historical completion records. A bulk-import allows you to add completion records documented in another LMS or Excel spreadsheet so that you can run completion records reports in one system.

Before you can import completion records, users and activities must be added to the LMS. A historical completion record requires an existing User record and Activity record within the LMS.

Please refer to the LMS Data Import: Historical Completion Records article to learn how to import historical completion records.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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OFFER ELECTIVES

Creating electives allows an LMS administrator to make activities and qualifications/training programs available to users as optional training.

Electives can be used to:

• Create a reference library for learners to learn more about your organization, industry or other positions within the organization
• Allow learners to “train-up" for their next job
• Make activities available for maintenance / repair / troubleshooting

Questions to Consider

1. Do you have policies and procedures that you would like to make available for your employees to review as needed?
2. Do you want to provide employees with a way to train up to their next position?
3. Have you entered their email addresses in their user record?
4. Which notifications will be of most value to your organization?
5. Do you want supervisors to approve and deny elective requests?

Online Help Center Articles

Refer to the following articles to learn about Electives:

• Electives: Overview
• Electives: Elective Categories
• Electives: Offer
• Electives: Activate Supervisor Approval
• Electives: Approve or Deny Elective Requests

Online Help Center  Webinar

• Electives Webinar

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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INSTALL AND REGISTER CONVERGENCE MOBILE

Convergence Training offers 4 mobile applications that can be used with any Apple (iOS) or Android mobile devices.

Verify with support the number of licensed mobile applications available to use. Increase or decrease the license number as needed

Online Help Center Articles

Refer to the following articles to learn about the mobile applications we offer and how to install the apps for either Apple (iOS) or Android mobile devices.

• Convergence Mobile: Overview
• Frequently Asked Questions - Convergence Mobile Application
• Convergece Mobile Apps: Install and Register
• Convergence Mobile Apps: Registering Your Device

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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REVIEW ADVANCED FEATURES

The following functions are available to use as needed:

Configuration Configuration allows an administrator to customize the appearance of the Home and Training Tab and make other global settings.

Events: Use an Event to Track Certifications An Event can be used to track external certifications and testing required to maintain licenses or perform certain jobs such as certifications, testing and licenses.

Home Tab: Customize the Home Tab Dashboard Learn how to customized the Home Tab Dashboard to present “widgets” that allow users another method to view their training progress or launch activities assigned to them.

Share Content Between Organization Units Learn about the three methods to share training content with other LMS Administrators whose security role target limits their access to a specific organization unit.

Videos: Export PowerPoint to Video and add Audio PowerPoint slide shows can be converted into video and audio added with very little effort. You can import the video in the LMS and assign to your users.

Next Steps

Landing Page Settings | Plan and Create Your Organization | Plan and Create Groups | Assign Security Roles | Training Import and Creation | Create Qualifications / Training Programs | Enable Notifications | Assign Training | Reports: Set-up Recurring Reports | Import Historical Completion Records | Offer Electives | Install and Register Convergence Mobile | Review Advanced Features | Post Setup |

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POST SETUP

 

TRAIN YOUR ADMINSTRATORS

• Enroll them Convergence University Online Training: To make this training available to your administrators, forward the email with registration instructions that your Master Administrator received.  If you no longer have the email, contact our support team at support@convergencetraining.com and they will be happy to get you the self-registration access.
• Inform them of their security role and any functions you want them to perform.
• Teach them how to use the Online Help Center to reference articles for how to use the Incident Management System.

TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES

• Train your users how to login and launch training. (You can enable the Login and Launch training video on the Landing Page)

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