Empowering Problem-Solving: How Integralis Used Udemy Business to Enable Delegation and Independent Thinking

Integralis initially trialed Pluralsight, but the company found the platform too techfocused. It was at that point Almero and his team landed on Udemy Business. “We trialed Udemy Business and right off the bat it covered the broad range of skills training we needed,” says Almero. “The platform offers a lot of content across technical and soft skills — including business analysis, writing, and negotiation — at a very competitive price point.”

In fact, Integralis realized significant cost benefits from the off, reducing the need for internal content library maintenance. “With Udemy Business, we were able to eliminate some costs associated with travel and accommodation for training, and we are saving so much time that used to be spent on creating content for certifications, exams, and training,” says Almero.

What’s more, technical and non-technical team members now have access to specific training courses on the Udemy Business platform that were otherwise difficult to obtain within each department’s budget.

Achieving 100% platform adoption rate and meeting training demand

While Almero was careful to ensure buy-in to the platform, team members hit the ground running, driving a 100% adoption rate within the first few weeks. When Integralis changed its annual reviews to once each quarter, giving everyone a target amount of training to achieve, they experienced heavy strain trying to keep up with training demands, but Udemy came to the rescue, making it viable.

“We expect our people to complete two to four courses each quarter, but many often exceed this,” says Almero. “Our team members now work closely with their managers to blend skills for company needs with their own personal goals. We also offer a monetary incentive, where everyone gets a proportion of their salary in return for learning.”

Freeing up resources to focus on L&D strategy

With access to thousands of courses in the Udemy Business platform, Integralis’ leaders no longer worry about curating content or the time commitment it demands. Rather, the platform has helped the company’s management teams focus more on the mechanics of L&D and strategy surrounding its future development, mapped against business needs.

Plus, company directors have found they can delegate decision-making more effectively to their lines of business managers. For example, rather than escalating decisions to directors, more people in the business now have the skills and confidence to deal with a wide range of issues, helping reduce bottlenecks and enabling more people to step up in their roles as the company grows. “People feel more empowered to take more ownership and responsibility, it helps create a culture of problem-solving and innovation,” says Almero. This newfound ability to delegate is a direct benefit of the changes the company made to its hiring strategy, prioritizing character over competence. Udemy Business is now critical for assessing skill levels in the business and helping people think more independently — and ultimately, using their initiative to problem solve.

“We give a Udemy Business license to everyone — including contractors and interns,” says Marlize Swart, HR Officer at Integralis. “In fact, our internships are more successful with Udemy Business; it gives them greater direction and structure, and helps us to measure their capabilities. One person who joined us as an unskilled intern has risen to become an IT governance professional in just four years. That wouldn’t have been possible without structured online learning.”