Can Synergy Learning integrate an LMS with Microsoft 365, Teams and HR systems?

How to integrate an LMS with Microsoft 365, Teams, HR systems and other key platforms.

Before committing to buying an LMS, most of our customers are keen to make sure their new platform will work well with key platforms that they’re already using. For the majority of organisations, this will include Microsoft 365, Teams and an HR system.

So, when you choose Synergy Learning as your LMS provider, will you be able to integrate with these core business systems?

The answer is a resounding yes, we can integrate any LMS we build with Microsoft 365, Teams and your HR system. Since we started developing learning platforms in 2005, we’ve always opted to use open source learning management software.

A key reason for that is to give us the flexibility to create an LMS that meets the needs of each customer and their learners. LMS integrations are central to that. Being able to sync with other business-critical systems delivers many benefits for our customers, including:

✳️ Embedding learning in daily work

By integrating your LMS with Microsoft 365, Teams and other platforms, you can make learning part of your team’s day-to-day workflow. This prevents L&D from being a standalone activity for which an employee has to carve out time, and instead makes it a regular task to be completed.

✳️ Automated data-sharing

Maintain consistent data across multiple platforms through integration. Make your HR system your single source of truth, then automatically share consolidated data with your LMS and other systems. This improves compliance and data governance across your organisation.

✳️ Increased efficiency

Integrations remove duplication from your processes. This includes time-consuming manual admin tasks that otherwise eat into your L&D budget. Complete jobs like data entry once, then share with your LMS via integration. New starter, mover and leaver processes become automated on your LMS.

✳️ Greater accessibility and security

Integrating your LMS with other systems enables you to implement single sign-on. This makes it easier for your team to access learning. It also means there will be fewer forgotten password requests and a reduced risk of LMS login details being lost or shared in a way that compromises your cybersecurity.

✳️ Better learner engagement

By reaching learners within platforms they’re already using daily, integrations create a more seamless user experience and make it easier for your team to complete learning. The same integrations provide an infrastructure for you to prompt and persuade learners to engage.

Integrating your LMS with Microsoft 365

For larger organisations that are – in technological terms, at least – built on Microsoft infrastructure, a Microsoft 365 LMS integration is a no-brainer. While the built-in Microsoft 365 learning platform, Microsoft Viva, offers some aspects of L&D, it doesn’t provide the same level of customisation or the in-depth admin features of a fully-fledged LMS.

For that reason, integrating your LMS with Microsoft 365 gives far greater flexibility, many more L&D features and the opportunity to craft the specific learning experiences you want for your learners.

Benefits of Microsoft 365 LMS integration

• ✅ Simple single sign-on – Enable users to access your LMS using the same login credentials they are accustomed to using for Microsoft 365
• ✅ Easy content search – Make resources from SharePoint and other Microsoft 365 locations easy to find for use within your LMS
• ✅ Send smarter emails – Integrate your LMS with Microsoft 365 and Outlook using SMTP AUTH/OAuth 2 to send system emails from your LMS

Better governance – Create a single, consolidated version of early learning rather than having duplicated or outdated versions living outside your LMS on SharePoint or OneDrive

Integrating your LMS with Teams

Working life revolves around Teams for many organisations. If yours is among them, it makes sense to create close ties between your learning platform. Integrating Microsoft Teams with your LMS is the easiest way to achieve that.
Indeed, many of the platforms we work with, such as Totara Learn, now include Teams integration as a standard feature. This means learners enjoy all the benefits of a full LMS platform combined with the comfort and convenience of Teams.

Benefits of a Microsoft Teams LMS integration

• ✅ Learn within Teams – Engage your learners in your LMS content without them ever having to leave Teams
• ✅ Intuitive workflow learning – Share content, courses and resources directly in Teams to bring your LMS into the daily workflow
• ✅ Smarter notifications – Receive alerts and messages from your LMS within Teams chat for better engagement and faster response times
• ✅ Native app – Access a Totara app in Teams, making it easier to find learning, resume current learning or explore user-generated resources
• ✅ Deliver live sessions – Present webinars and other live events directly in Teams, with attendance tracked in your LMS

Integrating your LMS with your HR system

Integrating your LMS and HR system is a straightforward, quick win for the vast majority of organisations. It offers several time and resource-saving benefits by sharing employee data and other key information between the two platforms.

By introducing an LMS and HR system integration, many organisations save valuable resources across both L&D and HR. This is predominantly achieved through efficiency savings. These are created by removing duplication, automating manual processes and maintaining more reliable, more consistent data.

Depending on your choice of LMS, we can achieve this very easily using features that are available as standard within the learning platform or via API.

Benefits of an HR system LMS integration

• ✅ Get better data – Your HR system becomes a single source of truth for all data about your users
• ✅ Cut admin costs – Remove duplicated data entry tasks by sharing names, roles and other user data from your HR system to your LMS
• ✅ Automate enrolment – Automatically add users to your LMS and enrol them on personalised learning pathways based on their role, department or other data points

Admin-free updates – When someone moves to a new role or leaves your organisation, this will be updated automatically in your LMS once the change is made in your HR system

Talk to us about integrating your LMS with Microsoft 365, Teams or your HR system

With our team of learning technology experts to support you, it’s straightforward to integrate your business systems with your LMS. To discuss your plans, just fill out the form, and we’ll be in touch.

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