Case study
Industry
Information Technology
Company HQ
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Number of Employees
4,000
Office Locations
Multiple locations worldwide
Getronics Saves £420,000 through Unified Online Global Learning and Development Program
Udemy driving business outcomes
Case study details
Founded more than 130 years ago specializing in electrical installations, Dutch IT services provider Getronics now serves thousands of companies across more than 180 countries.
With 4,000 employees spread across 30 locations worldwide, Getronics found that its existing learning and development (L&D) program —while well established — lacked consistency across different countries. Getronics sought to deliver a standard L&D program for every employee and upskill its people to enhance their careers and increase the company’s capabilities. Getronics realized a proven online learning platform was the only way to deliver standardized training at scale and in a way that would cater to each individual’s training needs.
Maintaining consistent L&D across the world
With an already popular learning and development program, Getronics is committed to giving its employees the skills they need to enhance their existing roles and improve their career prospects. But with its teams spread across the world and each location having its own HR lead responsible for the company’s L&D initiative, maintaining a consistent approach to employee development was a significant challenge.
“In addition to a lack of training consistency across Getronics locations, local HR leaders were also using a multitude of different online learning platforms,” says Salvatore Baglieri, Head of Learning and Development at Getronics. “This made it very difficult to comply with local employee training and development laws and ISO certifications.”
Getronics was also heavily reliant on external training and assessment providers for its employee accreditations — such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications. With reporting capabilities and visibility into training schedules lacking — including which employees had completed certain courses — Salvatore knew he needed to consolidate the company’s L&D program.
Head of Learning and Development
Unified online learning that prioritizes personal development
With Getronics already a Udemy Business customer, Salvatore was keen to get the most from the platform, including its wide range of courses. Using Udemy Learning Paths, each line manager can now create custom training schedules for individual employees quickly and in a way that accurately reflects their needs. “In just a few minutes, group managers can set up nuanced learning paths for their people,” says Salvatore. “Without Udemy Business, this process would normally take several hours.”
Getronics is now also using Udemy to augment its resource planning, identifying the skills its employees need to take on certain projects or clients. In fact, the company constantly reviews its data to anticipate skills demand up to two years in advance.
“We encourage our people to own their own learning, meaning they’re completely in charge of what training and development they receive,” says Salvatore. “Our workforce also give us a very good indication of the skills we’ll likely need in the future. By trusting them to upskill in the right areas, we can increase our capabilities and reduce the need for external recruitment.”
Even as COVID-19 forced everyone to work from home, Getronics discovered additional benefits to having a robust online learning platform in place – not least for its flexibility. It’s what’s led the company to create its Plus One program, a scheme where every employee is entitled to an additional Udemy Business license for a friend or family member. “We all know someone who’s lost their job or suffered mental health issues during the pandemic,” says Salvatore. “By offering people outside Getronics access to Udemy Business, we hope that those we care about the most can stand to benefit from the platform’s extensive learning and development courses.”
Salvatore also benefits from a monthly catch-up with Getronics’ dedicated Udemy Customer Success Manager (CSM), offering the opportunity to resolve any outstanding service tickets or simply discuss the company’s current and future needs.
“Udemy’s CSMs are invaluable and always looking for ways to provide better support — I can’t think of many other vendors that provide the same service,” says Salvatore. “Udemy Business has helped open huge opportunities for us. And while everyone has nuanced training and development needs, the platform’s wide range of content ensures we’re all working at our best.”
Head of Learning and Development
£420,000 cost-savings for Getronics, better-defined career paths for employees, and much more
Since adopting Udemy Business, Getronics has become an AWS Silver Partner, helping it to attract more clients from a wider range of industries. The company has also improved employee attrition, retaining 38% more staff at one of its locations.
What’s more, by switching AWS certification training from Amazon to Udemy Business, Getronics has saved £420,000 (more than $500,000), allowing it to reinvest in its wider training program. And because the company has greater visibility over who’s taking certification training and exams, Getronics has also increased its employees’ pass rate — helping reduce certification costs, but more importantly, improving employee morale and satisfaction.
Getronics is also an early adopter to integrate Docebo — the company’s course design platform — with Udemy Business, helping it create its own courses from scratch and provide two-way data to help refine its course offering.
With clear learning paths and future skills identification now in place, Getronics can effectively anticipate its resourcing needs to ensure it has the right in-house capacity to take on new projects and clients. Udemy is truly helping the company stay at the leading edge of technology, development and giving employees more opportunities to work on innovative projects.
Developing talent even before they start
Looking to the immediate future, Salvatore is planning a digital induction program for all new hires, meaning every new employee will be given access to Udemy Business before they start in their new roles.
“We want our people to get off to the best start — even before their first day,” says Salvatore. “Giving Udemy Business licenses to our new recruits before they arrive not only reinforces our culture of learning and growth, but also helps identify any skills gaps or training requirements before they begin working.”
Head of Learning and Development
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