How MetLife Increased Enablement Engagement by 29% with Highspot

Manual Workflows Consume Enablement Resources

MetLife’s enablement team recognized that sales training was an essential priority, but a collection of disconnected training tools made it difficult to efficiently develop and execute critical programs. Training soon became the team’s only priority — there just wasn’t time for anything else. “There was so much that was done manually, which took time, resources, and capacity,” shared James Petkovski, director of enablement technology at MetLife. 

These manual administrative tasks placed a significant burden on the team’s time, which in turn pulled them away from more strategic work. Compounding this issue was the fact that their training systems struggled to provide comprehensive insights. While the data was there, it first had to be tracked down, pulled from different sources, and manually analyzed. “We were pulling reports from various platforms to understand how effective learning was and how it was attended,” added Petkovski. All these roadblocks made the most foundational elements of any training program — enrolling learners, tracking progression, and validating completion — incredibly painful. As a result, the team was forced to spend countless hours on tasks that, with the right tool, could be completed in seconds. 

The experience was equally frustrating for learners, who grew accustomed to swivel chairing between several different tools over the course of a learning program. “Reps taking training programs had to email their weekly trackers and take all their activities in different systems,” noted Petkovski. “They were bouncing around. We had Excel trackers to guide them through their quote-unquote learning pathways.” The team recognized that their current process placed unnecessary strain on their time and hurt reps’ trust in enablement programs. Fuelled by the belief that training should be easy to develop and just as easy to consume, MetLife chose Highspot.

A Day-and-Night Difference in the Training Experience

From day one, MetLife knew Highspot had been the right choice. Learners no longer had to swivel-chair between tools and could instead intuitively engage with guided experiences that built essential knowledge. “Providing a one-stop-shop environment meant learning activities could be accessed right from the Highspot platform,” shared Petkovski. “It made the training journey truly about learning and not about ‘how do I need to complete this and what system was I doing it in?’” The improved experience soon won over the organization, with 91% of users regularly using the platform. 

The impact was even more keenly felt by the enablement team, as the unified platform significantly simplified essential tasks. For instance, they could instantly surface real-time insights that had once taken hours to compile. “Highspot allowed us to capture data and quickly look at completion statuses,” explained Petkovski. “Having that insight allowed us to adapt faster.” With the platform automating key parts of their workflow, the team also regained considerable capacity. They had a wealth of data to explore and, finally, the time to devote to developing strategic, insight-informed programs. “Looking at data helps me deliver the best strategy and make sure we’re putting the best learning forward,” continued Petkovski. 

Now, training isn’t a one-and-done activity. Because Highspot content is directly embedded into learning experiences, learners can easily revisit key assets. The team is encouraging this approach by directing learners to proactively use the platform to surface content and prolong the learning moment. “Having Highspot allowed us to create continuous learning,” added Petkovski. “Once reps are out of, for example, a new hire program, they know that that content is still there in Highspot and they know how to locate it.” With content, training, and analytics woven together into a unified experience, the team has increased active learners by 38% and, in doing so, redefined what learning looks like at MetLife.

A Superior Workflow for Learners and Administrators

With Highspot, MetLife reimagined how training was executed and consumed. More than that, it gave its enablement team the ability to work with new velocity. They’re saving days worth of time, resources, and capacity and are now able to get back to the work that matters most: sharpening their programs to ensure they best support sellers on their development journey. “From an administration side, the time to build Learning Paths, Courses, and Lessons has drastically decreased,” enthused Petkovski. “We have saved days with Highspot, as everything is really simple to create.”

But the benefits go well beyond simple time savings. With data at their disposal, the team has strategically honed their training tactics and, as a result, tangibly moved the needle on key metrics like ramp time. “From a ramp-time perspective, we’ve been able to give reps a quicker timeframe to get ready for their role and get them familiar with the platform, which helps with that easy transition,” shared Petkovski. Better yet, the unified platform and improved experience have streamlined the learning experience for sellers, and as a result, engagement with enablement has increased by 29% since implementing the platform.