News

Intellum Survey Finds Platforms Designed To Educate Multiple Audiences Yield Positive Business Outcomes

As companies brace for an economic downturn, the business outcomes of employee, customer, and partner education initiatives are more critical than ever

ATLANTA, GA, Aug 16th, 2022 -- Intellum, the leader in EdTech for Business, today announced the results of a study it conducted to measure the ROI of employee, customer, and partner education in the U.S. The survey, which took place in Q2 of 2022, with a sample size of 502 full-time decision-makers involved in organizational education, revealed specific activities that drive positive business outcomes such as increased retention, decreased support costs, increased revenue, etc. Key findings include:

  • Ad hoc education initiatives drive poor outcomes. Companies with “ad hoc” strategies are least likely to report positive business outcomes as compared to all other types of education strategies. Whereas 60% of companies with “curriculum-based” education initiatives — and 50% with “formalized” education initiatives — report increased revenue since beginning their programs, only 22% of companies with ad hoc initiatives report the same success. 
  • Platforms designed to educate multiple audiences yield positive benefits. Companies that use a “platform built to educate multiple audiences” are most likely to report positive business outcomes compared to all methods for delivering education. Outcomes include “improved employee retention” (62%), “improved customer retention” (61%), and “increased revenue” (57%). 
  • Scalability is critical as leaders today must do more with less. Shrinking budgets and leaner teams will be the reality going forward, which means leaders must maximize their investments. Companies that say “scalability” (the ability to support additional learners with minimal administrative effort) is the most important platform capability are most likely to experience increased revenue. Additionally, C-level leaders say scalability is the No. 1 most important platform capability.

“With worries around the looming economic downturn, every company needs to find a path to stability and operational fortification,” said Robyn Hazelton, VP of Growth and Marketing, Intellum. “Companies that fail to act on key market insights and learnings could suffer. This survey details how employee, customer, and partner educational initiatives bolster performance, drive broad retention, and lead to revenue. We’re proud to continue our tradition of delivering unique insights to our customers and partners.”

The State of Organizational Education 

  • The main organizational education challenge is learners who abandon training—due to poor content, poor delivery, or both. In fact, 28% of learners abandon training, while 22% of companies struggle to deliver high-quality training to every learner. Additionally, only 15% are set up to educate multiple audiences.
  • 79% of companies educate customers, 76% educate employees, and 25% educate partners.
  • More than half of the companies surveyed use a platform built to educate multiple audiences; however, some are doing double work in additional platforms.

Best Practices That Drive Positive Business Outcomes

  • Confirm a dedicated education program owner – companies with no clear education program owner are 22% less likely than average to experience improved customer retention.
  • Utilize a formalized education program – companies with a formalized education initiative are most likely to experience improved customer and employee retention.
  • Companies with curriculum-based education initiatives are most likely to experience increased revenue. In fact, 60% of companies with curriculum-based education initiatives reported increased revenue
  • Companies that use a platform built to educate multiple audiences experience far more positive business outcomes – 61% of companies that selected “platform built to educate multiple audiences” experienced improved customer retention compared to just 32% of companies that selected “platform built to educate customers only.”

Methodology

Learning Science, powered by Intellum, conducted this report in conjunction with Censuswide in Q2 of 2022. They survey captured responses from 502 full-time decision-makers involved in educating employees, customers, and partners within the U.S. The margin of error was 5%.

For more information, visit: https://www.intellum.com/transforming-organization-education-initiatives