Totara's integrated Learn and Perform platforms provide robust support for competency-based learning and assessment. With Totara Learn, organisations can create and manage competency frameworks, link specific skills to users, and connect these competencies to targeted learning activities and performance evaluations. Totara Perform builds on this by enabling organisations to track progress, manage competency achievement, and conduct effective performance reviews aligned with those competencies.
As e-learning continues to grow in popularity we are seeing a rapid displacement of traditional classroom and lecture-style teaching methods, with 58% of employees saying they prefer self-paced learning over instructor-led learning. Despite the many benefits associated with using an e-learning platform, some may argue that online teaching methods provide managers or educational professionals with fewer opportunities to monitor the progress of learners when they aren’t sharing a physical space. However, thanks to the development of powerful e-learning solutions like Totara, managers and employers can utilise a multitude of features and tools designed to track employee progress and performance in a more efficient and detailed manner. Keep reading to find out how to use Totara to track employee progress and performance.
What is Totara?
Before finding out how to use Totara to track employee growth, get up to speed with Totara and the range of e-learning solutions offered within the Totara product range. Read our ultimate guide to Totara here.
Track course/lesson progress
Using an e-learning platform such as a learning management system (LMS) enables learners to complete learning autonomously, giving them the flexibility to carry out learning when it best suits them. As learners prefer self-paced learning methods, they may benefit from breaking learning up into smaller periods, allowing them to fit learning into their work schedule. This ensures that they are able to carry out their job roles and complete L&D objectives without feeling overwhelmed and overworked.
Unlike traditional offline L&D initiatives, online learning with a Totara LMS means learning doesn’t have to be carried out in scheduled sessions with trainers/managers physically overseeing the process. Totara Learn LMS allows admins and L&D managers to track course and lesson completion with built-in course reports. These reports can determine factors such as the length of time an employee has spent on a lesson and the amount of time a learner has revisited a lesson. With this data, managers can easily identify whether an employee has completed their learning objectives, monitoring how far they have progressed in a course and assessing whether they seem to be struggling with the subject matter if their learning progress has become stagnant.
Use e-learning assessments
Many organisations will use assessments for employee performance tracking, whether offline or online. However, when assessments are delivered offline, or with an e-learning platform that doesn’t provide the functionality required to effectively administer assessments and measure the results, organisations may find themselves inundated with additional admin.
Totara Learn offers various assessment tools, including quizzes, assignments, and integration with third-party authoring tools, enabling comprehensive evaluation of learner progress. With e-learning assessments, employers can measure employee progress instantly and consistently. L&D managers may choose to include end-of-course quizzes, designed to assess whether learners have retained the information relayed to them throughout the course. These serve as powerful indicators of whether a learner is engaged or whether they may benefit from additional training.
Totara’s LMS offering provides organisations with a number of assessment options, such as gamified match-the-word-to-the-definition quizzes or multiple-choice style tests. Assessments can be designed so that results will be immediately distributed to the relevant parties, such as learners, managers or department heads – providing instant access to data that can serve as evidence of employee progress.
Creating competency frameworks
Competency frameworks can determine the skills, knowledge, and behaviours that an employee should have or obtain throughout the learning process in order to perform their job effectively. Totara enables the creation of multiple competency frameworks, allowing organisations to tailor them to specific needs.
With Totara’s performance management system, Totara Perform, elements such as competency profiles, competency assignments and achievement paths can all be used to measure employee growth and track performance. Along with comprehensive graphs and reports, users will see progress wheels within a competency profile which each represents a single assignment to a group of competencies – these serve as an instant indication of whether learners are progressing with their assigned learning.
Reporting and analytics
Totara provides robust tracking and reporting capabilities, allowing administrators and learners to monitor progress, identify areas for improvement, and track overall competency development. Using the Totara Learn and Perform (Totara Suite) means organisations can gather information from across the entire e-learning ecosystem to build a comprehensive overview of progression and performance.
With a custom report builder, admins can create tailored reports from scratch or customise pre-existing templates. These reports can be assigned to individual learners and automatically distributed to specific individuals or groups on a set schedule – meaning that managers or authority figures can receive frequent updates on employee progress without spending time on manual admin.
Creating and monitoring goals
Totara Perform facilitates goal setting aligned with competency development, with automated reminders and progress tracking. Here you can create hierarchical goal frameworks, set up performance scales, and create goal-based reports to monitor the progress of employees in reaching their goals.
A goal framework can contain a number of goals and sub-goals, allowing users to focus on long-term large-scale goals by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable objectives. Managers have full visibility of how far off an employee is from completing larger, more complex goals, along with how much progress they have made in completing smaller goals. Furthermore, in-built reporting tools provide detailed insight into how employees are progressing along with indicating whether they may benefit from training and support in order to achieve their goals.
Appraisals
A key factor in employee performance tracking is appraisals, but without the help of a Totara platform, these can soon become an ineffective tick-box exercise which provides no real insights into employee progression. The platform supports 360-degree feedback mechanisms, providing comprehensive views of an employee's competency from multiple perspectives.
Using Totara Perform or the full Totara TXP solution, appraisals can be regularly scheduled to produce effective outcomes for both employees and employers. Performance data is visible to both parties and users can build up an evidence bank made up of clear examples of employee performance.
Appraisals can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of an employee’s personal development plan (PDP), extracting data from across the entire TXP to track what has or hasn’t been achieved. Find out more about creating an effectual PDP with a Totara TXP by reading our guide here.
How does performance tracking with Totara compare to Moodle?
A Moodle LMS offers standard reporting functions such as user grades, activity completion reports and course completion reports. Additionally, Moodle offers some competency-based training activities which can be analysed and used to measure progress and performance. However, when compared with Totara Learn features or the full range of functionality available in the Totara TXP, Moodle’s performance tracking tools are fewer and less sophisticated. And, unlike Moodle, Totara Perform enables managers and admins to monitor employee progress outside of the L&D function, with a broader overview of their long-term role development.
Find out more about how Totara could help you achieve your organisational objectives
If your organisation is in need of a powerful e-learning solution with the wide range of sophisticated features and tools listed throughout this article and more, perhaps it’s time to explore Totara as the solution capable of helping you achieve your organisational objectives. Get in touch with one of our Totara experts or book a demo to see first-hand how a Totara solution can transform your L&D.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Totara help organisations track employee progress and performance?
Totara provides comprehensive tracking features through its learning management system (LMS) and performance management tools. Managers can monitor lesson and course completion, view detailed progress reports, and assess employee engagement through time spent and quiz results. Built-in analytics and automated reporting offer clear insights into each employee's learning journey and performance, making it easy to spot skill gaps and support development
What kinds of assessments and feedback can be delivered using Totara?
Totara supports a wide variety of online assessments - from knowledge quizzes to gamified activities and in-depth performance reviews.
Results from these assessments are instantly accessible, enabling rapid feedback to both learners and managers. Flexible feedback mechanisms, including 360-degree reviews and custom appraisals, ensure every learner receives meaningful guidance for improvement.
Can Totara be used to set and monitor employee goals and competencies?
Yes, with Totara you can create competency frameworks and goal hierarchies customised to your organisation's needs. Managers can assign goals and competencies at the individual or team level, visualise progress with dashboards, and receive real-time updates on goal attainment. This drives accountability and supports continuous development aligned with business objectives.
What are the advantages of using Totara compared to other LMS platforms for performance management?
Unlike standard LMS platforms, Totara's integrated Learn and Perform modules enable organisations to track both learning and long-term performance in a single ecosystem.
This allows for more sophisticated reporting, automated tracking beyond compliance courses, and deeper visibility into role development and organizational impact, empowering HR and L&D teams to make data-driven decisions with ease

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