Engaged employees are the foundation of any successful organization. Without engaged employees, it’s impossible to thrive as a business. Yet, in recent years, several concerning employee engagement trends have emerged. For example, Gallup’s 2023 State Of The Global Workplace report found that “85% of employees are not actively engaged or are actively disengaged at work,” resulting in $7 trillion in lost productivity. That’s right, $7 trillion. With a T. 

To break this down further, Gallup found that:

18% of employees are actively disengaged at work 

Just 15% of employees are actively engaged at work

At Go1, we believe engaged employees are essential, so we want to redress this worrying trend. 

That’s why we’ve created our new eBook, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs, packed with tips, tricks, and insights to help managers boost employee engagement. But that’s not all, to accompany the eBook, we’re also launching a new blog series covering the ins and outs of employee engagement. 

In this first blog, we’ll focus on measuring employee engagement. We'll start by analyzing the state of employee engagement, before outlining three essential strategies to measure employee engagement. 

Then, in the coming weeks, we’ll expand on this with blogs on improving employee engagement in remote workplaces, the role of employee engagement in creating a culture of learning, and setting employee engagement goals that lead to business growth. Be sure to check back in regularly so you don’t miss these blogs and more! 

Ready to enhance your engagement? Start here. 

Before we examine strategies to measure employee engagement, it’s important to set the scene by outlining the state of workplace engagement. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the current state of employee engagement is not encouraging. Just 15% of employees are actively engaged at work.

Among disengaged employees, 59% say they regularly feel stressed at work. What’s more, SHRM finds that just 29% of employees are satisfied with the career advancement opportunities their company offers, leading to lower engagement. 

Largely, poor employee engagement falls on managers. 75% of disengaged employees blame their managers or broader company leadership. To make matters worse, 25% of employees say they don’t trust their employer. It’s difficult to engage with someone you distrust. 

Perhaps more concerningly, only 22% of companies say they know what drives their employee disengagement. This is bad news, as it’s impossible to rectify employee disengagement if you can’t identify the root causes. 

Moreover, 90% of leaders think having an employee engagement strategy improves business success. Yet, only 25% have one. Likewise, 87% of HR managers agree that improving employee engagement is one of their most important training goals. Despite this, 36% say increasing employee engagement in learning is also one of their biggest challenges. These stats tell a troubling story: there is a significant disconnect between what businesses want and what employees experience. While most teams want to increase engagement, it seems few know how. 

The current state of employee engagement leaves a lot to be desired — to say the least. Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom. When teams put in the effort to actively engage employees, the results can be astonishing. 

For example, Gallup found that teams that rank in the top quartile for employee engagement experienced the following benefits: 

These figures speak for themselves — the benefits of employee engagement are something every business leader should strive to emulate.

So, what can teams do to improve engagement and reap these benefits? For starters, 92% of employees believe well-planned employee training programs positively impact their engagement, while 80% say learning and development opportunities would help them feel more engaged at work. 

Further, 37% of employees say ‘more recognition’ would be the most important thing a manager or a company could do to improve employee engagement, making this the most popular response in a recent survey. To build on this, research shows that 84% of highly engaged employees were recognized the last time they went above and beyond at work, compared to just 25% of actively disengaged employees. In other words, a little bit of recognition goes a long way. 

To learn more, download our eBook, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs. 

3 essential strategies to measure employee engagement

As demonstrated, the benefits of employee engagement are significant. So, to help you boost engagement and reap these rewards, let's analyze three ways to measure employee engagement.

Surveys are arguably the most common and popular tool for measuring employee engagement. Most employees will have taken a pulse survey throughout their careers. When used correctly, employee engagement surveys are incredibly valuable. Yet, surveys are often misused and misunderstood as a tool for measuring employee engagement.

For example, 58% of employees wish their company conducted employee engagement surveys more frequently. Despite this, only 21% of companies conduct engagement surveys three or more times a year. Worse still, 36% of employees say they either don’t have a feedback program at their company or aren’t aware of one.

Here, a significant disconnect between employees and managers emerges. 48% of senior managers say engagement surveys are highly valuable, whereas 45% of employees say surveys have little or no value. Similarly, 52% of senior managers feel engagement surveys provide a very accurate assessment, whereas 48% of employees believe the surveys do not provide an accurate assessment. 

Why is this disconnect so apparent? Because many employees believe engagement surveys don’t lead to any actionable change. Just 20% of employees believe their manager would act on the results of an engagement survey. Unfortunately, they’re not wrong, as 27% of managers admit they never review survey results, while 52% say they have reviewed survey results but taken no action.

As a result of this disconnect, just 25% of employees feel like the feedback they receive from their managers is frequent enough to help them improve and reach their goals.

So, what can companies do to enjoy the benefits of employee engagement surveys? According to The State of Employee Feedback Survey, the number one thing (68.4%) employees need to feel heard is for their company to take feedback seriously and implement meaningful change. Yes, it really can be that simple! 

To learn more, check out our article on why listening to employees is essential in the modern workforce. 

2. Use technology to measure engagement 

The world of work is continually evolving, with technology gaining primacy in more and more aspects of workplace life. Measuring engagement is no exception. 

Many powerful tools help businesses measure employee engagement. As Culture Monkey explains, “by leveraging technology and utilizing data analysis techniques, organizations can accurately measure employee engagement and make the necessary changes to their workplace culture to maximize employee satisfaction and productivity.”

Similarly, eLearning Industry puts it in no uncertain terms, stating, “for organizations looking to improve employee engagement and organizational performance, leveraging technology is a must.” 

However, many companies fail to harness the full power of technology for measuring employee engagement. A recent analysis by Gartner found that just 16% of employers use technologies to monitor their employees' engagement levels. Likewise, 64% of HR leaders say an always-on feedback tool is essential for an engagement program, but only 20% have this kind of tool in place. 

On the other hand, when teams do harness technology as part of their engagement program, the results can be monumental. For instance, TriHealth, an award-winning American healthcare company, implemented an engagement tool featuring a powerful audience manager and AI-powered content delivery, which led to a 164% increase in engagement in a year. 

Ultimately, these statistics present an opportunity for teams that are looking to gain a competitive advantage. Technology can be a powerful ally to boost employee engagement, yet few teams currently utilize engagement tools to their full potential. As such, using technology to measure employee engagement can not only boost engagement but also give you a leg up on your competitors. 

To learn more, read our article on how technology has changed the way we learn. 

As mentioned, to boost engagement, employees want to feel heard. Additionally, they also want more recognition and want their feedback to be taken seriously. Stay meetings and 1:1 meetings tick all three of these boxes. 

While you’re probably familiar with 1:1 meetings, stay meetings are less common. As BuiltIn explains, “a stay interview is a conversation with a high-performing employee with the goal of discovering what they like about their role, and what they would like to change. Stay interviews are an opportunity to both uncover what motivates that employee and to also build trust with them as a manager.” 

Currently, just 28% of organizations say they currently use stay interviews. Although, organizations that don’t use stay interviews may be missing out, as research shows stay interviews can reduce turnover by at least 20%.

Moreover, a massive 70% of employees wish they could spend more time with their managers to create a stronger connection with them and the organization. Whether this is achieved via stay interviews, regular 1:1 meetings, or something else entirely, this is a statistic businesses cannot afford to ignore if they want to boost employee engagement. 

Additionally, a survey on workplace rewards and recognition found that 43% of employees want to receive recognition privately in a 1:1 meeting with their manager. If you’re a manager, keep this in mind the next time you walk into a 1:1 or stay meeting with an employee.

Again, the message is clear: to accurately measure employee engagement, managers should spend more one-on-one time with employees, dedicating time to listening to their suggestions, recognizing their contributions, and ensuring employees feel heard. In turn, this will lead to more open, honest, and productive conversations about engagement. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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At Go1, we believe engaged employees are essential. So, we'll analyze the state of employee engagement, before outlining three essential strategies to measure engagement.

How to measure employee engagement

Meet some of our fabulous Content Partners!

Renowned British educationalist Dylan Wiliam champions ongoing assessment to enhance teaching, emphasizing timely, specific feedback, student involvement, and instructional adjustments based on assessment data. His principles foster discussions in classrooms and encompass feedback, student engagement, and refining instruction. On EC Premium, explore a wealth of Wiliam's resources covering diverse educational topics, including learning intentions, formative assessment, teacher learning communities, and cognitive load theory.

Dylan Wiliam on EC Premium

The Australian Football League (AFL) has launched a three-stage Professional Development program for primary school teachers across Australia. Through EC Premium, you will gain access to webinars, resources, and courses aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for educators. These sessions combine theoretical AFL programming with practical applications, providing insights into effective teaching methods for Health and Physical Education. The approach not only covers essential skills and game-sense strategies but also equips educators and aspiring teachers with the theoretical underpinnings for implementing effective HPE teaching in classrooms.

Kirstin Bourne, a bespoke education consultant specializing in literacy, offers tailored resources and training for schools and educational organizations, both in person and online. Her expertise spans the development of online training modules, whole-school disciplinary literacy strategies, and custom professional development for English departments. On EC Premium, Kirstin's course delves into addressing literacy challenges, providing methodologies to support students in comprehending and engaging with the subject-specific literacies they study. Her sessions equip educators and schools with strategies to enhance teaching, learning styles, and foster a deeper understanding of subject literacies for improved student engagement.

Discover how to deliver high-quality literacy instruction for all students by delving into the science of reading with Lyn Stone's new course, Reading for Life. This comprehensive guide effectively bridges the gap between research and practice, translating academic findings into practical, ready-to-use techniques. With a linguistics degree from University College London and a background in speech and language settings since 1994, Lyn creates research-informed professional development for teachers and other education professionals with the goal of helping teachers awaken linguistic curiosity in their students. 

Our Featured Playlists are included in all schools’ Learning Hubs and are a great way to see a variety of high-quality content from different providers, all with just one click!

Effective communication is pivotal for success in personal and professional relationships. It extends beyond information-sharing, delving into understanding emotions and intentions. This playlist equips you with tools to unleash your full potential in communication, enabling trust-building, inspiration, and goal achievement. Whether providing feedback, crafting impactful emails, or managing expectations, mastering these skills allows you to communicate with impact in any scenario. By honing these abilities, you'll forge connections, fortify relationships, and drive positive change. 

Deniliquin High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Deniliquin, a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The school prides itself in providing a broad academic education in a supportive and positive environment. 

To ensure all staff members, from the business manager to the biology teacher, have access to relevant professional learning opportunities, EC Premium will be offering unlimited access to a wide range of educational content from esteemed providers like University of Melbourne, Dylan Wiliam, Dr. Selena Fisk, and Parent TV, benefiting the entire staff at Deniliquin High.

Leland is a former Adelaide teacher now living in Los Angeles with his aging parents. As EC by Go1’s Content Partner Manager, he enjoys connecting with prospective Content Partners in their work to bring high-quality content to our teachers and school staff.

Fun fact about Leland: He loves riding his e-bike up and down the LA coastline, and totally denies that using an e-bike is ‘cheating’!

The EC Premium Content Insider – October 2023 edition

In October, we're introducing you to some fabulous content partners, shining the spotlight on Deniliquin High School, and sharing a powerful playlist to make communication simple. 

Kelly Jenkins is no stranger to challenging herself. With a background in martial arts, Kelly was a competitive karate practitioner in the past and has more recently taken up kung fu. In her relationships, she often finds herself leaning into the difficult conversations and moments that others tend to avoid. “I like to push myself and challenge myself to do the hard things,” she said. “It's always just been part of my nature.” 

Kelly’s willingness to face difficulty head-on is evident in her career journey. She initially went to university to become a lawyer but soon realized she wasn’t passionate about this line of work and dropped out of school. Kelly then began working in door-to-door sales, which she grew to love, despite how demanding the job was. 

Kelly ultimately decided to complete her legal training and went on to work as a lawyer for six years. During this time, she also worked in account management, finding new clients and partners for the firm, which allowed her to tap into her sales experience and expertise. After realizing she was much more interested in the account management side of the business than in actually practicing law, Kelly decided to quit working as a lawyer and lean fully into sales. 

Eventually, Kelly joined a learning and development tech company, which she felt would align with her interests and values. “I'm a really avid learner,” she said. “I’m constantly reading and listening to podcasts, and I've usually got three or four books on the go at one time. That's a huge part of who I am.” 

After a few years working at this company, Kelly came across a job listing for Go1 – one of her company’s competitors. “I thought to myself, ‘Well, we keep losing business to this Go1 lot. What is this that they've got going on? I want to find out more,’” she recounted. “And when I learned about the aggregation model, it made complete sense to me in terms of scope of learning and customer needs. So that was why I moved across.” 

Kelly joined Go1 as a senior account executive. She loved her role but soon realized she missed coaching and mentoring junior salespeople, which she had loved doing in previous jobs. Three months into her time at Go1, Kelly met with her boss and discussed her desire to lead a team and support others in their development. Just a few weeks later, Kelly’s boss told her that the perfect role had just opened – the company was building a new sales development function and needed someone to lead the team. 

Kelly stepped into the sales development manager role and has continued to move up since then, first as the head of sales development, then as director of partner success, and now in her current role as director of strategic alliances. “It's been incredible,” Kelly said. “I've learned so much already and I’m just getting started.” 

One of Kelly’s favorite aspects of her job as director of strategic alliances is the fact that no day is the same. “It might be that I'm working with the team in Germany to build a lead gen campaign,” she said. “It might be that I'm presenting alongside one of our AEs. I might be flying to Paris to attend an event. Or I could be up to my eyeballs in a contract trying to work out where we stand on a legal point.” 

Kelly also loves the people she works with, as well as the opportunity to work with many different teams across the business. Partner marketing, product, and legal are just a few of the teams she collaborates with, and she also loves working with her own team. “The strategic alliances team are this powerhouse group of women who have so much experience and knowledge and are so accommodating and so helpful and supportive,” Kelly said. “I just feel so at home in that team, which is really lovely.” 

Most of all, though, Kelly is passionate about Go1’s mission, especially as it relates to her personal experience. While Kelly loves learning, she didn’t take a traditional path through education. “Having dropped out of university and then qualified vocationally, I did that through the support of my employers at the time,” she said. “So not only have I seen firsthand the importance of upskilling, reskilling, and being supported by your employer in that way, but the mission of reaching a billion learners, I'm so passionate about that.” 

Kelly feels that with the rise of AI, reaching learners is now more important than ever. “What's going to change for people in the workplace, and how do we safeguard humans and livelihoods in the best possible way that we can while we work through this transition of AI assisting and supporting in roles?” she asked. “The mission of reaching a billion learners – I actually think it's an absolute necessity now given where we are technologically.” 

But it’s not just about the product for Kelly; she also loves working for Go1 because of the people. “I have worked at a few different organizations where the culture has varied considerably,” she reflected. “When I joined Go1, I was just blown away. I used to say really frequently that it was the only place I'd ever worked where I really felt like other people were rooting for your success as much as you wanted your own success. And I still think that that is true. The power for Go1 is in the product, but it's also powered by the people, and that's where they've really got it right.” 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

Find out how Go1’s Director of Strategic Alliances created a career built on her passions and values.

Meet the team: Kelly Jenkins

Is your organization ready to go beyond soft skills? This month, we are featuring some of our top technology providers! Check out the providers below to see how you can upskill your technology teams to ensure they are prepared for what’s coming next. 

What content providers should you check out this month?

Topic coverage: Technology, DevOps, Networking and Security, Programming and Web Development, Mobile App Development, Web Design and Development, IT Skills

5,100+ courses in Premium ranging from 1 to 12,000 minutes in duration

Top courses: Installation - Python Programming for Beginners, Python Programming for Beginners, Print and Strings - Python Programming for Beginners, Math - Python Programming for Beginners, Strategic Planning Skills

Topic coverage: Technology, DevOps, Networking & Security, Computer Science and Engineering, Programming and Web Development, Blockchain

70+ courses in Premium ranging from 35 to 800 minutes in duration.

Top courses: DevOps Fundamentals, DevOps on Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes Fundamentals, Google Kubernetes Engine - The Basics, AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam CLF-C01 Crash Course 2021 

Topic coverage: Technology, Programming & Coding, Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity

5,000+ courses in Premium, some shorter videos to comprehensive courses. The catalogue includes eBooks

Top Courses: Introduction to Internet of Things, Data Visualization with Python: The Complete Guide, What is IoT?

What new content providers have been added to the Content Hub?

Topic coverage: Business Skills, Finance, Accounting, Insurance

100+ courses in Premium, ranging from 10-20 minutes in duration

Top courses: Role & Purpose of Markets; Navigating the Industry: Institutions and Corporations; Central Banks and their Policy Role; Sustainable Finance; ESG Investing (Asset Management/Wealth Management)

Trusted by the top firms on Wall Street and equivalent financial hubs around the world

What great new content have our current content providers added to the Content Hub?

Coorpacademy  added a variety of new courses in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, spanning a wide range of topics, from Bioinspiration to Brand Engagement

Global Ethics University added 10 different global compliance courses are available in 15 different languages

isEazy continues to expand its offering with 23 new courses in English and Spanish on technical topics such as Metaverse, Web3, and SEO

Is your organization ready to go beyond soft skills? In this month's Content Insider, we'll feature some of our top technology providers! 

The Go1 Content Insider - October 2023 edition

During a recent Go1 webinar promoting our latest eBook, our panel offered expert insights on purchasing a learning platform, digging into topics such as getting stakeholder buy-in, creating a learning culture, measuring workplace learning ROI, and much more. The webinar was hosted by George Ellison-Bunce, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Go1, who was joined by expert guests Kelly Jenkins, Director of Alliances at Go1, Ally Monaco, Senior L&D Partner at the Oliver Agency, and Sebastian Tindall, Strategic Enablement Director at Vitality.

We’ll recap the highlights of this insightful discussion, but if you want more, you can also catch up on the full webinar replay below. Or, to delve deeper into these subjects, check out our eBook on choosing the right learning platform for your business.

Firstly, the panel set the scene by discussing a seemingly simple question: why should learning be a business priority? For Ally, it was all about practising what you preach when searching for a learning platform for the Oliver Agency.

“One of our company values is learning, so you have to put your money where your mouth is,” she said. 

“For us to reasonably encourage everybody to learn the system, the offering that we give them needs to be robust. It needs to be developed, but it also needs to be strategic and relevant to them.

“We needed an LMS that could deal with specific content for different regions, but also to be able to target individual audiences and cover a huge variety of topics.”

Sebastian expanded on this, explaining that when Vitality was looking for a learning platform, it was all about aligning learning goals with business goals. 

“Learning isn't a business priority, performance is,” he said.

“So, I think when we're looking at a system to deploy, it has to be linked to what the organisation is trying to achieve.”

Following this, the panel shared their tips for getting stakeholder buy-in.Ally kicked this discussion off, sharing her story of trying to get buy-in at the Oliver Agency.

“The main collection of stakeholders when we were choosing a platform were obviously finance - people with the purse strings - but also [people from] Systems. We needed an LMS that spoke to our current system. That was an essential aspect, and also the compliance department as well, because we were looking to integrate,” she said. 

“So big, significant departments within the business. None of which had anything to do with learning and development. It is a difficult concept, but I think sharing the extent of the platform's capabilities was the most important thing because I don't think the various other departments expected one platform to be able to do so much for us.”

Next, the panel offered insights into measuring ROI after implementing your new learning system. Again, Sebastian emphasised the importance of aligning learning goals and business goals to clearly define your learning system's purpose.

“The first thing you've got to do is align your reporting to business strategy and the performance metrics around that. You're not a disparate function going in reporting on L&D, you're a function that's enabling a business and is there to support performance,” he said. 

Adding to this, Sebastian also explained that one of Vitality’s key metrics was around decreasing training minutes to increase efficiency and future-proof skills. 

“We have been really clear to say, we're not trying to promote an increase in training. Training is a cost. So, when you take people away from their job, they're not contributing to performance. What we want to do is make people better at their jobs in a more efficient way. And the way you do that, ironically, is by driving your training minutes down. So how do you rationalise the cost versus the performance of that individual?” he added. 

Next, Kelly emphasised the importance of thoroughly testing your learning platform before launching. 

“You must make sure your platform is ready for public consumption. Because I have seen a number of times when a platform gets launched and there are some glitches in the matrix, right? And the learners who are utilising those platforms, if they have a bad experience typically that's just gonna put them off and create formal barriers,” she said. 

“So I say, test, test, test, test, make sure that your implementation is absolutely on point where it needs to be.” 

Additionally, Kelly noted how vital it is to build a culture of learning to ensure your L&D efforts are supportive and sustainable. 

“Building a culture of development feels more holistic and supportive and makes people feel like they're more in control of that journey. Therefore, just by virtue of that, you're gonna get more buy-in from people, typically from a psychological perspective,” she said. 

Finally, the panel signed off by briefly sharing their predictions for the future of L&D in 2024 and beyond. 

“Learning needs to not feel like learning, users just need to be interested in the content. And then one word: AI and everything that comes with it,” Ally said. 

“I'll go with two words: hyper personalised,” Sebastian added. 

Want more? Catch up on the full webinar replay below: 

Your expert guide to purchasing a learning platform

For more insights, download our eBook on choosing the right learning platform for your business. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

During a recent Go1 webinar, our panel offered expert insights on purchasing a learning platform, digging into topics such as getting stakeholder buy-in, creating a learning culture, and much more.

UK webinar recap: Your expert guide to purchasing a learning platform

During a recent Go1 webinar promoting our latest eBook, the panel offered expert tips on purchasing a learning platform, digging into topics such as getting stakeholder buy-in, creating a culture of learning, measuring workplace learning ROI, and more. The webinar was hosted by Melinda Potente, Senior Customer Success Manager at Go1, who was joined by expert guests Luke Barnes, Director of  Partner Success at Go1, Anj Jipp, from the Enabling Team at Chorus, and Olivia Tsen, Development, Performance, and Inclusion Group Lead at Hassel.

We’ll recap the highlights of this insightful discussion, but if you want more, you can also catch up on the full webinar replay below. Or, for further insights, check out our eBook on choosing the right learning platform for your business.

To kick things off, Melinda asked Olivia what prompted her organisation, Hassle, to start on their journey and why learning was a business priority for them. According to Olivia, her key focus was delivering best-in-class learning. 

“We have a lot of learning and knowledge sharing needs and actually purposeful learning is at the core of our strategy and our culture. So one thing that I was very keen to work on straight away when I joined the company was to make sure that we had a best-in-class learning platform and solutions to support our best-in-class work,” she said. 

“For us it was a huge priority, and I'm really pleased that the business got behind and supported the implementation of a new system.”

Anj added to this, noting that her organisation’s learning journey was all about flexibility.

“We already had an LMS, but we were finding it wasn't particularly flexible. It was very, very hierarchical in its structure. And that's quite different from our organisation. We want anyone that joins the organisation to be able to choose not only to complete any mandatory elements, but also what kind of pathways they're interested in,” she said.

“So, the new LMS that we have now allows that sort of flexibility. People can lean into something they're interested in and passionate about as well as completing things that are mandatory.”

Following this, the discussion moved on to getting stakeholder buy-in. For Anj, this was a case of engaging learners throughout every step of the process.

“Most of the time, [our workforce] are accessing learning from their mobile device. They're not coming into the office every day. And so it's really important that the LMS is responsive on a mobile and that you can access it and play content. It didn't require you to have a laptop, and because of that, we really wanted [our learners] to be involved from the beginning,” she said.

“We wanted people to feel engaged and excited, and choose to log on to the LMS because they want to see what’s there rather than ‘oh, I need to do this again.’ So, it's really kind of getting that enthusiasm and excitement about something that's new.”

Olivia expanded on this, explaining her approach to getting stakeholder buy-in at Hassel.

“I truly believe that learning is something that everyone needs to be involved in, either teaching or sharing information and as well as consuming it. So that was definitely part of that consideration in terms of getting stakeholder buy-in, is that we have subject matter experts and people that will be potential users of the platform across every team, at every level of the organisation, whether it's senior leaders or a grad or a business support person,” she said. 

“So, really trying to understand what each of those stakeholder groups needed from it and making sure the platform that we chose and the content that's available through it is flexible and adaptable enough to be able to meet all their needs.”

Next, Luke shared his perspective on what factors can influence an LMS purchasing decision, emphasising that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

“I think that ease of use is vital, but also some organisations are quite hierarchical, and they need a very structured learning management system that goes along with that. Others are very self driven, and so they need a system where people can easily input their own content and start sharing that content and have more social elements to it. So, it really is finding the right system to fit your style of organisation and what you're trying to kind of get out of it,” he said. 

Following this, the panel discussed the LMS implementation process and how to avoid any potential hiccoughs along the way.

“Test, test, test. I cannot stress enough, just getting that feedback from people. So testing and getting some feedback and involving people in those early stages. I think that's probably by far the biggest thing that we needed,” Anj said. 

Melinda added to this, sharing her insights on reporting and tracking ROI after implementing a new learning system. 

“I find that a common thread with some of my customers that I speak with is that reporting and insights can really support and uplift the organisation. You can say where top learners, top teams or departments are within the business. And they can start to be some of your learning champions and pilot groups to get that feedback and then try to replicate it across other parts of the organisation,” she said. 

“And that's where you can start to build that learning culture as well, which we all know is so important.”

Finally, the panel cast their eyes to the future, sharing their predictions for L&D in 2024 and beyond. According to Luke, the future of L&D will rely heavily on adapting to change and learning from others. 

“Now, there is a really diverse range of pathways and what someone has done previously isn't necessarily the same thing that you're going to be doing or the same pathway you're gonna take. So, being able to find your own things and your own pathway through, but being able to learn from what a wide variety of people have done is gonna become really important.”

During a recent Go1 webinar, the panel offered expert tips on purchasing a learning platform, digging into topics such as getting stakeholder buy-in, measuring workplace learning ROI, and more.

APAC webinar recap: Your expert guide to purchasing a learning platform

Welcome back to another enlightening edition of The Extra Mile, the blog series where we interview Go1 customers and their Customer Success Managers (CSMs) about their relationships, challenges, learning goals, and everything in between. 

If you haven’t already, catch up on the inaugural edition of The Extra Mile, where we chatted to Mandy Rutherford, L&D Manager at Wave Utilities, and her Go1 CSM Emily Reynolds. 

In this month’s edition, we’ll talk to Dan Ritchie, Assistant Director of Learning & Development at H2M Associates, and Peter Pietro, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Go1, about their first impressions, lessons learned, obstacles overcome, and how Peter went the extra mile to help H2M source industry-specific content to meet their learning needs. 

From the outset, Dan knew there was something different about Go1 compared to other learning providers he had dealt with. Whereas some platforms offer a CSM in name only, he believes that Go1 delivers Customer Success in the truest sense — a crucial point of difference in their selection process. 

“A designated CSM isn’t something new, but most platforms never deliver a true CSM, where Go1 truly has an educated partner that will resolve and help you navigate through challenging situations. It is their competitive advantage,” he said. 

Peter adds to this, providing insight into what sets Go1 CSMs apart. 

“We take the time to learn the customer's goals and try to understand what they need from the Go1 solution to be successful, and then try to enable them with the tools and knowledge to achieve that success,” he said. 

Of course, while having a CSM was significant, it wasn’t the sole factor in H2M’s decision. Dan also emphasised that Go1’s integration capabilities were vital.

“Another factor was Go1’s integration with our LMS,” he added. 

With the partnership off to a strong start, they began working together in earnest, with both Go1 and H2M Associates finding the relationship to be rewarding and professionally beneficial.

For Dan, the qualities that stood out most about Peter were his responsiveness and willingness to go above and beyond to solve any issue.

“Any time we have an issue or need something added to the offerings, [Go1] are always responsive,” he said.

Similarly, Peter praised Dan for being extremely clear and communicative about the type of content he needed. 

“Dan is easy to work with and very clear on what he is looking for in regard to Go1,” he said. 

As with any partnership, challenges can arise. How you overcome these challenges is what matters. And Dan and Peter were no exceptions. 

As Dan recalls, their first big task was integrating Go1 with H2M’s existing LMS, which proved relatively straightforward. 

“At first, the Go1 platform was not integrated with our LMS,” he said  

“Once it was, Go1 trained us on the capabilities.” 

Following this, their next major goal was sourcing industry-specific technical content that met H2M’s unique learning needs. According to Peter, this was trickier — though far from insurmountable. 

Ultimately, you’re bound to learn a thing or two from each other while working so closely together. 

Peter says he learned several valuable lessons from Dan, many of which he plans to apply to working with future clients to make himself an even more well-rounded CSM. 

“I have learned a lot about the industry [Dan] is in and what companies like his are looking for from an L&D perspective,” he said. 

Likewise, Dan summarised his key lesson from working with Peter with one pearl of wisdom: “If you ask, you might just get exactly what you need.”

In this month’s edition of the Extra Mile, we’ll talk to Dan Ritchie, Assistant Director of L&D at H2M Associates, and Peter Pietro, Enterprise CSM at Go1.

The extra mile: How Go1 helped H2M Associates level up their training

As a global leader in licensed sports merchandise, Fanatics aims to be number one – not just for their customers but also for their employees. However, Dawn Stopha, Director of Global Programs, was faced with numerous requests for employee development opportunities. She knew that to be number one, her team had to make some changes to Fanatics’ learning and development offering. Enter, Go1.  

Fanatics’ workforce is comprised of 10,000 employees across the globe, from salaried corporate workers to hourly distribution center workers. With such a vast and varied employee base, the company needed to find diverse learning content that could meet a plethora of unique needs. 

Providing employees with learning content wasn’t a new endeavor for Fanatics, but they knew their content offerings needed significant improvement. Before they started their vendor search, Fanatics primarily used off-the-shelf content and push training. “We would develop things quickly using PowerPoint and just push out content, not really getting to know who our audience was,” Dawn reflected. “Nothing was translated; nothing was done from a high-level safety or compliance standpoint.” 

To ensure they got exactly what they needed from their new content provider, Dawn and her team created a checklist of priorities they used to evaluate different vendors. While the list featured many diverse needs, their main priorities were top-notch compliance training, learning content in a variety of languages, and an easy-to-use content library. 

Thirteen vendor interviews later, Dawn and her team had settled on their top two contenders. When they presented these options to the entire learning and development team, Go1 stood out as the crowd favorite. Next, they presented their options to the chief people officer – and her response solidified their decision. “When we reviewed it with her, we [presented] Go1 first,” Dawn recounted. “She pretty much said, ‘I don't need to see anything else.’” 

So, why did Dawn’s team ultimately decide to partner with Go1? Dawn says many distinct factors made Go1 the obvious choice. 

First, it was important to Dawn that her team would be able to establish a strong relationship with whichever vendor they selected. “You can enter into a contract with any vendor, and if the relationship with them is not there, then it just doesn't work,” Dawn said. “You're in it for the long haul over the life of the contract, and you really need to have great relationships with everyone that you're going to be talking to.” 

Dawn was pleased to find that Go1 exceeded her expectations for the relationship between the two companies. “There's not been any situation where Go1 has not helped us find something,” she said. “It has been the easiest vendor relationship that we've had." 

Go1 also fulfilled Fanatics’ need for high-quality compliance content. When choosing compliance training, Dawn had to consider many different state laws and regulations. “I think about states like California, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, where their laws for employees are so strict. We needed to be able to say, let's take this training, we're going to review it, and then we're going to be able to provide it to our employees so that they're covered,” Dawn said. “We found a couple different [Go1] courses. Anytime we went back to our legal team, all of them were top-notch.” 

In recent years, Fanatics has undergone a generational change and, consequently, a shift in their company culture. Fanatics employees currently span six generations, with 82% of the workforce made up of millennials and Gen Z. Dawn loves that Go1’s wide range of content means there’s something for all learning styles, including the younger generations. 

“What we had to do was really shift to meet the changing culture of the employees that were coming into Fanatics,” Dawn said. “The Go1 content is everything from podcasts to short, quick microbursts of learning, to now, they're moving into virtual reality. It really, really entertains the generations that we have now in our culture.” 

What’s more, Go1’s content has allowed Fanatics to provide learning in various languages, catering to the company's global workforce. “Two months ago, we had gotten a call from someone in our Japanese office that said that they were looking for content,” Dawn said. “So, we worked with our contact at Go1, and we were able to provide them with 435 courses in Japanese. That was like a slam dunk home run because we've never provided learning to the countries that we support.” 

In addition to self-serve learning, Fanatics has incorporated Go1 content into other areas, like new hire training. Their new hire orientation supports employees through their first 90 days at the company, providing them with learning content on topics like business etiquette and business writing. 

Go1 has also enabled Fanatics to launch its first leadership development program. “We have 38 global leaders that are going through this program. All of the content is from Go1,” Dawn said. “We started the pilot two weeks ago and we've gotten rave reviews. The impact that this is having and will have down the line is going to be exponential.” 

Dawn and her team have seen incredible outcomes since partnering with Go1. Over the past year, employee engagement has risen significantly. “We increased employee engagement by 7%,” Dawn said. “And we can attribute it to the Go1 content because of the fact that we could see it in the comments. There were probably close to 9,000 comments that said, ‘Thank you,’ ‘You heard us,’ or ‘Our career growth and development has increased and here's why.” 

Dawn says the biggest impact Go1 has had on Fanatics is providing their workforce with diverse content. “What I would tell someone considering using Go1 is that I've been so pleasantly surprised with not only the foundation course topic information that's available but also the diversity,” she said. “The content is engaging. It's not boring. It's content that will keep you energized.” 

Find out how Go1’s diverse content library has helped Go1 customer Fanatics meet their goals.

Customer story: A slam dunk for Fanatics learners

Brenda Lazarus, Manager of Learning and Development at Daylight Transport, is passionate about making learning accessible for everyone. “I really care about bringing education to the people,” she said.

And in today’s world of work, where virtual and hybrid employees are more common than ever, making learning accessible means making learning virtual.

In partnership with Go1, Brenda successfully implemented a remote learning program for all Team Members across Daylight Transport. Read on for her advice on how you can facilitate remote learning, too.

To get started, you must ensure your remote learning solution is flexible enough to support employees across various times and locations. 

Daylight Transport's workforce is dispersed across the U.S., posing a unique logistical challenge. So, when Brenda set out to find a learning program, she needed a solution that would work across several time zones. Once she discovered Go1’s asynchronous content  which can be completed anytime, anywhere, she knew it was the perfect fit.

The workplace has changed, which means learning must change, too. Find out how one of our customers implemented remote learning for their entire workforce.