Soft skills are a set of interpersonal or behavioral skills that cannot be thought through a sales deck because they often require practice, interaction and ongoing learning rather than a one-time training session.
This is where an LMS plays a major role by helping organizations to create, manage and deliver soft skills training.
In this blog, we have compared the top 5 lms platforms such as Calibr, TalentLMS, Docebo ,360Learning and SC Training against 5 soft skills training criteria such as content creation, personalization, interactivity, assessment creation and progress tracking
There is not a single platform that will be the best or right choice for all organizations as each lms slightly differs in its approach. Thus, the right choice depends on your team, specific training needs and budget.
What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills refers to the human’s interpersonal and behavioural skills that shapes how people communicate, interact and behave in an environment.
Some common type of soft skills training includes:
Communication
Teamwork/Collaboration
Problem solving/ Decision Making
Time Management
Adaptability
Conflict Management
Emotional Intelligence
Leadership
These soft skills have a huge impact on the workplace as it determines how employees handle work pressure, collaborate with their team members and communicate with customers and much more.
Though technical training provides knowledge/skills on how to perform a job, it's soft skills that plays a major role as it helps in performing the tasks more effectively. For example, let's assume you have to complete an important task by the end of the day and it might be an easy and well known task to you but without managing time accurately you may not be able to meet the deadline.
How to Develop Soft Skills?
Developing Soft Skills require ongoing training and practice and it cannot be developed through a single session. Employees need frequent opportunities to learn, practice and apply what they have learnt in a real work environment.
That is why soft skills training are most effective as a continuous learning process. Organizations can use a mix of learning formats such as short microlearning courses with interactive elements, short video, real world scenario, quiz, group activities, assessment, to give employees different ways to learn and practice the skills
What Role Does an LMS Play In Soft Skills Training?
In simple words, an Learning Management System (LMS) helps the organization to create, store, manage and deliver training content to the employees. Thus, It provides the HR and L&D teams a central place to manage employee training, monitor their learning progress and identify where they may need more learning and practice.
Here are some common lms features you should look for when delivering any type of training content including soft skills content:
Course Creation and Content Management
Interactive Learning
Personalized Learning/ Learning Path
Progress Tracking
Reporting and Analytics
Assessment & Quizzes
Certificates & Recognition
Feedback & Collaboration
Automations/Integrations
Detailed Comparison: LMS for Soft Skills Training
In this blog, we are comparing top 5 lms platforms that offers soft skills training:
Calibr
TalentLMS
Docebo
360Learning
SC Training
These lms platforms are compared against four specific criteria that matters most when choosing an lms for soft skills training.
All five platforms support soft skills training but they differ in approach or capabilities and the way in which learning is created, personalized, delivered and measure
Thus , we have highlighted the main difference/area of focus each platform offers rather than listing down all the features each lms offers
1) Soft skills content and course creation
This is the starting point which determines how you are going to deliver the training to the employees.
Do you want to create a course by yourself or by subject experts or prefer readymade content or ai-assisted course authoring?
Each lms supports content creation but differs slightly in its approach or area of focus.
Platform | Key Differentiation |
Calibr | Offers teams multiple ways to create content . They can create soft skills content manually or with Ai by providing title/objectives, access the content library or convert existing docs to courses |
TalentLMS | It offers a large content library with ready-made courses, plus a simple drag-and-drop course creation. |
Docebo | It's AI creator allows you to convert your documents to training content |
360Learning | It focuses more on collaborative content creation allowing multiple teams to get together and create training content |
SC Training | It primarily allows the teams to create short duration courses . It also offers templates and allows you to convert your slide decks into short courses. |
Key Takeaway
If you prefer flexible ways to create soft skills content then Calibr is a good fit but if your primary goal is to turn existing company documents into courses, then go for Docebo whereas for collaborative content creation go for 360Learning
2) Interactive or Scenario based learning
Soft skills cannot be learnt or improved by providing a formal training/ slide deck because it needs to be learnt in a practical or interactive way to keep the learners engaged throughout the session and also provide opportunities for practicing it.
For example, instead of just providing a video on how to handle customer rejection, with the help of an LMS you can offer an assessment/scenario-based learning on various situations and measure the results i.e. how employees are responding to it.
Platform | Key Differentiation |
Calibr | Offers gamification features at all levels, Courses can include videos, instructor led training, interactive elements and quizzes or assessment with text/audio/video formats. |
TalentLMS | Supports quizzes, gamification and live video sessions. |
Docebo | Offers AI Coaching and role-play along with other interactive elements such as video creation, gamification features etc.., |
360Learning | Offers Interactive videos as well as discussion spaces for the teams to get together, collaborate and learn together |
SC Training | Offers short gamified scenario lessons and spaced learning |
Key Takeaway
If you prefer a mix of gamification and interactive activities then Calibr or TalentLMS might be a good fit but If AI coaching and role-play are important for your training, then Docebo is worth considering.
3) Personalization and Role Based Training
Not every employee requires the same type of soft skills training. The type or amount of training differs based on factors such as employee job role, designation, capabilities etc..,
For example, a new team leader may require more training on leadership or decision making whereas a manager may require more training on communication or negotiation and a sales rep may require more training on sales processes or objection handling
Platform | Key Differentiation |
Calibr | Supports learning path , Uses AI to suggest courses based on learner skills, role and department. Also, with the help of its AI bot, learners can find suitable courses. |
Talent LMS | Allows us to organize or create training paths using skills, groups or branches |
Docebo | Uses Ai to suggest courses based on employee role and skill sets |
360Learning | Recommend few training content based on employee skill sets but does not offer personalized learning to each employee. |
SC Training | Primarily focuses on delivering training content. Their personalization features are limited when compared to other platforms |
Key Takeaway
If you want AI to recommend training content based on employee skills, roles or departments then Calibr or Docebo would be a good fit but If your primary goal is to organize training by groups or learning paths then TalentLMS is a good choice.
4) Assessment and Progress Tracking
Though completing a course may help the employees understand the concept/enhance their knowledge, it does not mean it has had an impact on the employees behaviour or work.
To know if it's had an impact, the organization should test their skills by providing quizzes/assessment in the form of role-play, case study and scenario based learning and must track/ analyse how they have performed it and identify the areas where the employees might need support.
For example, with help of an lms, you may provide a topic and ask the employees to speak about it and submit it in the lms as part of their assessment to evaluate their communication skills
Platform | Key Differentiation |
Calibr | Tracks learners progress and engagement at individual / group/ org level. It also provides real time analytics and reports on learning, resources and other activities. |
TalentLMS | Shows how employees performed in quizzes or assessments, along with some reports that can be managed group-wise. |
Docebo | Track learners progress and engagement along with courses that are underperforming. Some advanced reports are available but it is only included in the higher tier plan |
360Learning | Shows underperforming courses in form of scores and the scores are based on learner participation and engagement |
SC Training | Tracks basic metrics such as learners and engagement rates |
Key Takeaway
If you require real-time training data on the learners and teams then Calibr is a good choice but if your require advanced training report then Dicebo may be a good fit provided it fits within your organization budget.
5) Automation and Integration
Whether you are a small or a large team, Automation saves time and makes the administration part easier for the HR or L&D teams. An LMS automatically onboard new employees, add learners to relevant groups, assign learning content, track their learning progress, send reminders/ alerts etc..,
On the other hand, Integration helps in connecting your company tools/system with the lms making it easy to manage everything at one place. For example, by connecting your lms with the HR system, the information flows between the systems smoothly without having to manually enter it each time.
Platform | Key Differentiation |
Calibr | Combines Onboarding, Compliance and Training in one automated process by supporting the learner from the time they enter the lms. Supports standard Integration. |
TalentLMS | Can connect with HR systems and automatically add employees to the right groups or department |
Docebo | Connects with HR systems and supports automation for most of the learning and admin tasks |
360Learning | Offers flexible connection with other HR system and support basic automation features |
SC Training | Connects with SafetyCulture's Operation tools which may be more useful for frontline teams |
Key Takeaway
Calibr, TalentLMS and Docebo all offer different integration options. Based on your organization's specific integration needs, it is advised to check and verify with the platform's product or sales team before making a decision. But if your training primarily revolves around frontline teams then SC Training might be a good fit.
Limitations/Considerations
Features may vary by pricing plans because some advanced features may be tied up with highest pricing plans. For Instance, some of docebo’s AI capabilities and mobile app are tied up to higher tier plans and as additional paid add-ons respectively
Pricing and features can change over time as the lms vendors may update their product and features over time so reach out to the respective product or sales team for verifying all the features before taking a final decision
Third party/Independent review count for each platform may vary and it should not be taken as an indicator of how good or bad a platform is. Platforms that are more established and have been in the market for many years may have a larger number of reviews compared to the newer ones. So , there are high chances that the newer platforms may have fewer reviews, but that does not mean they are less reliable . So when comparing reviews, it is better to look at what users are saying and whether their feedback is actually relevant to your specific onboarding needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can an LMS be used for soft skills training?
Yes, an LMS can be used for soft skills training because it provides a central place to all the teams for creating, managing and delivering all types of training content to the employees and further analyzing the impact of the training activities.
What kind of soft skills can be taught through an LMS?
Soft skills concepts such as communication, Problem Solving, Conflict Management , Adaptability can be delivered as training content in various formats including courses/videos/quizzes.
Can an LMS measure soft skills?
An LMS can measure the learning progress of the employees which includes completion/participation rates or quiz and assessment results. However, with these metrics alone we cannot accurately measure whether these skills had an impact on the employees working or behavior which also require managers feedback or coaching.
What features should you look for in an LMS for soft skills training?
Look for features such as course/content management, interactive learning formats, personalization, quizzes and progress tracking. The exact features may vary depending on the organization requirements.
Which LMS is best for soft skills training?
The right choice depends on your training requirements and needs. For example, some platforms may suit organizations who are looking for personalization and customization of resources whereas some platforms may be suitable for organizations who prefer ready-made content.
Final Thoughts
There is not a single lms that we can tell is the best one for soft skill training because the right choice depends on specific soft skills training requirement. For instance, some may prefer ready made content over creating / customizing their own training content and vice versa .
So it's important for every organization to identify their needs first. For example what kind of training content , the amount of personalization required or any other specific interactive elements you prefer and etc.., So after identifying your needs , compare all the lms against your needs and choose the one which best suits your needs rather than going for the one which has more or advanced features.
Also, it’s important to remember that soft skills training is just a part of soft skill development. The lms platforms compared here can help organizations structure, deliver and track soft skills training but the actual development of these skills continues beyond the LMS because it also involves various factors such as managers feedback, coaching and applying in regularly in their day to day work
References and Sources
(In this blog, the information was collected from the lms platforms official websites, product, feature and pricing pages. We also referred independent review platforms such as Capterra, G2 etc.., and also some reliable L&D / HR research to understand about soft skills training and it's challenges. )
Independent/third-party sources:
Vivetha is a digital marketing professional specializing in content marketing and SEO. She focuses on developing optimized, high-quality content that improves search visibility, supports brand objectives, and drives measurable results. With a structured and analytical approach, she ensures content aligns with business and audience needs.