Visually compelling and interactive experience improves employee engagement
Background
The in-house Human Resources Talent Development team at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), responsible for designing, building, and maintaining learning and development programs, was at a crossroads. The team had built several comprehensive learning programs to support the professional development needs of their faculty and staff. For two programs specifically, the Competency Based Learning (CBL) Program and Career Navigator program, the team was concerned with improving the user experience of learners within the program.
Client
SNHU is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution and is one of the largest online universities in the U.S., serving over 135,000 online students. Since its founding in 1932, the University has transformed from a school of accounting and secretarial science into an institution offering over 200 programs and employing more than 10,000 staff and faculty.
Challenge
The SNHU team sought to build a visually compelling and interactive experience within their LMS to engage employees in the Competency Based Learning Program. This program is not only beneficial for SNHU employees looking to progress in their professional careers across various core competencies, but it also has compensation impacts.
Additionally, for the Career Navigator program, SNHU wanted to create a visually interactive “learning journey” designed to take employees along a prescribed path of learning and guide them to meet certain milestones.
The Educe team brings an uncommon combination of business, learning, and software development expertise to each of our projects. They have a way of breaking down the most complex process and simplifying it for end users. But what really stands out about Educe is that they listen to us, and they care as much about our success as we do. Educe was, and continues to be, one of SNHU’s most trusted partners.”
Brandon Kovler, LMS Team Lead
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)
Solution
SNHU engaged Educe to develop two custom microapps that worked in conjunction with their existing LMS to create a more engaging learner experience. The first microapp, Competency Based Learning (CBL), connects with other LMS modules to create a visually engaging learning path that allows users to engage with each milestone, launch related learning, and track real-time progress against goals. In addition, a manager’s dashboard enables supervisors to track the progress of their direct reports. The second microapp, Career Navigator, enables learners to navigate along a prescribed path of learning milestones, directly engage with each, and track real-time progress of milestone completion.
Results
SNHU’s learning team has received incredibly positive feedback on both microapps. Employees have shared that the improved user experience is a big reason they engage with their LMS as often as they do, and the metrics prove that to be true.
What’s Next
Educe has maintained a collaborative relationship with SNHU since deploying the initial microapps. SNHU continues to identify new ways to engage its learner population and Educe has continued to develop new microapps to fill any identified gaps within their LMS, and more broadly, their overall talent management system.
