Leading non-profit now delivers a more consistent, comprehensive, and immersive training experience due to ExpertusONE’s unified formal and informal learning environment and next-gen, cloud-based architecture.
Challenge
With 360 agencies and hundreds of thousands of children (“Littles”), volunteer mentors (“Bigs”), families, and employees across the United States, the nation’s largest NGO was looking for a highly efficient and effective learning delivery system. While the organization already had an internal legacy LMS, online training programs, and traveling training seminars, it needed a more advanced, easier-to-use/access platform for delivering consistent, day-to-day training messages, practices, and processes to internal and external learning audiences nationwide.
“The ultimate goal for the NGO is helping our Littles find their spark (talent) and developing it into a rewarding career,” the President and CEO said. “Providing dynamic, best-in-class training is the number one way we can continue to accomplish this critical business objective.”
In addition to establishing a more prolific learning program with uniform messaging and 24/7 online access, the company was also hoping to:
- Broaden LMS reach to external learners − In addition to bettering the features and functionality of its legacy LMS (which only served internal employees), the organization wanted to extend its LMS’ reach to external learning audiences.
- Grow the learning platform exponentially − Initially starting with a test program of 1,000 users, the company needed a learning system that could dynamically scale to serve its goal of 630,000 learners and beyond.
- Improve learning access and adoption/usability − Since agencies are located across the country, the network sought to centralize all training courses and content and make them easier for learners to access and use.
- Capture best training practices − While many agencies had superb training policies, the nation’s largest donor wanted to enhance how they capture and replicate them, and improve agency-wide consistency… which would greatly benefit the entire network.
- Standardize certification programs delivery − With multiple programs and both online and in-person delivery, the nonprofit desired an easy, productive way to standardize its application certification training.
- Track performance and outcomes − To ensure ongoing success, the NGO needed a way to automate tracking of all “match” (Little and Big pairings) training-related performance and effectiveness.
- Provide multiple, customized learning portals − Since the company serves multiple learning audiences, it requires the flexibility to furnish custom, meaningful portals for volunteers and employees (and, in the near future, youth, families, and board members)… all pulling from one, centralized learning database/platform.
Solution
After an extensive search of top LMS providers, the leading non-profit signed a three-year contract to use PeopleONE’s new-gen LMS, ExpertusONE, to take its nationwide mentor matching, training, and support services to the next level.
One Solution, Big Benefits
The nation’s largest NGO chose ExpertusONE (rebranded internally as “Impact U”) because of its innovative unified learning environment that integrates formal, informal, and social learning for a more comprehensive and immersive experience.
Specific ways ExpertusONE has helped the mentoring organization hurdle its former training challenges are:
- Cloud-based Design, Access & Scalability – Learners gain instant access to 300+ online courses, webinars, in-person training materials, and other learning docs from anywhere in the world; this new-gen cloud architecture will also dynamically grow and evolve with the organization’s expanding internal and external user base.
- Enhanced Usability – Simple, intuitive navigation enables users to quickly search, review, and launch courses/documents and gain instant access to transcripts and course statuses, all from one location.
- Social Learning & Collaboration Tools – Online collaboration with network members is now offered via integrated social networking and informal learning tools.
- Best Practice Forums – Designated areas for sharing, tracking, and developing proven best training practices are also available.
- Standardized Certification Programs – Training offerings can now be grouped together with options for blended delivery methods; learners receive automated reminders about upcoming training and certification expirations.
- Advanced Analytics & Reporting – Curricula, such as Program Manager Certification and CEO Orientation, are displayed in an easily recognizable layout where users can view progress, track completion, and measure performance.
- Flexible UI Design – Thanks to ExpertusONE’s exceptionally adaptive architecture, PeopleONE has completed two branded user interfaces for volunteers and employees, with a third scheduled for families; all pull from the same centralized learning platform.
About the Company
As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network, their mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.
Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations, and others in the community, the organization carefully pairs children (“Littles”) with screened volunteer mentors (“Bigs”) and monitors and supports them in one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course.
The organization holds itself accountable for children in the program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships; educational success; and avoidance of delinquency and other risky behaviors.
Implementation Made Easy
PeopleONE and the leading non-profit’s implementation teams worked in tandem to quickly build a reliable technology foundation that seamlessly integrated existing training programs into the new learning system.
“It was also critical,” the manager clarified, “that the old LMS data being migrated into the new ExpertusONE platform was cleaned up so the organization could start fresh with error/glitch-free content and then stick to our LMS’s proven data entry procedures, which ensure clean and accurate data going forward.”
Additionally, the NGO recruited the help of prominent off – the-shelf eLearning vendors to enhance the value of their training programs. And to enlist full adoption of Impact U, they instituted a comprehensive communications program with multiple training sessions, a promotional video, email messaging, and personal demonstrations at their annual leadership conference.
“PeopleONE is known for delivering a high level of service and support to its clients. In addition to launching ExpertusONE, we’ll continue to work closely with the nation’s largest NGO beyond implementation – leveraging our years of experience, and applying best practices and lessons learned, to help them fully optimize their platform’s configuration and use,” the Manager said.
Results
The NGO’s ExpertusONE platform went live in March. Beginning as a pilot program, more than 7,000 volunteers and employees from 90 agencies have taken or will take Impact U training by year’s end. And the company predicts their inaugural participants’ learning will impact more than 250,000 affiliates in 2012 alone.
The new system provides the organization’s learners with a simple, dynamic learning platform for real-time, safe, online training – and enables them to:
- Save time and resources
- Easily track and measure learning progress and certifications
- Gain access across hundreds of training courses, webinars, and documents
All told, Impact U efficiently equips volunteers and employees with the skills they need to provide top-of-the-line service to the children the NGO serves.
84% Learners reported an average of 84% Improvement in their training readiness. “Although it’s early in our platform’s rollout, the advanced training features and functionality provided by ExpertusONE seem to be a big Improvement.”
“We look forward to compiling and analyzing the system’s results, and extending Impact U organization-wide,” the President and CEO concluded.
Success Statistics
The nation’s largest donor has already completed an Impact U “Readiness Survey” – a tool the mentoring agency uses to quantify training value and effectiveness – with exceptional results. Covering 10 key performance areas, respondents reported an average of 84% improvement in their training readiness.
Survey Results: Impact U Training Readiness
| As compared to before this training, how would you describe your readiness? | Much More/Somewhat More |
|---|---|
| Impact on a Little | 89% |
| Having realistic expectations about matches | 83% |
| Having realistic expectations about Little | 81% |
| Defining boundaries with Little | 89% |
| Defining boundaries with the parent/guardian | 87% |
| Selecting age-appropriate match activities | 76% |
| Following agency policies and procedures | 82% |
| Knowing your role in mandatory reporting | 83% |
| Knowing when/who to contact at the agency | 85% |
| Getting further involved with the agency | 84% |
As for general pre-match training that all Bigs must take before matching with Littles, over 80% of Impact U users feel more ready to build a positive, impactful relationship with their Littles. Additionally, 80% of the people who have taken Impact U learning feel they know how to work with their agencies better.
Next Steps
Based on the exceptional results they’ve experienced thus far, the leading NGO will continue to roll out ExpertusONE to their entire network of 630,000 employees, mentors, mentees, and families. This includes:
- Expanding the platform’s social learning components to include discussion boards and interactive special interest groups
- Piloting Impact U for youth, families, and board members in addition to their existing orientation
“Overall, we’re thrilled with our partnership with them”, the manager concluded. “We’re fully committed to delivering their next-gen training platform on time, on budget, and with the state-of-the-art features and usability they need to amplify their matching goals.”
