Embora o ecossistema de parceiros da Degreed seja composto por muitas empresas inovadoras, oito delas se destacam pela forma como transformam em realidade uma estratégia com foco em habilidades. Cada uma delas deixou isso muito claro ao patrocinar o Degreed LENS 2025. E o mais importante: cada uma resolve um desafio distinto e urgente da força de trabalho.

De insights sobre o mercado de trabalho à infraestrutura de aprendizagem, esses parceiros nos ajudam a transformar visão em ação. Juntas, essas empresas materializam o poder de um ecossistema integrado que acelera o impacto, descomplica operações e turbina resultados mensuráveis para cada cliente da Degreed.

Pearson: aprendizagem para o futuro com inteligência de mercado

A Pearson une o poder da Faethm, sua ferramenta de análise de dados da força de trabalho, com a Credly, sua plataforma de credenciais digitais. Combinadas com a Degreed, essas ferramentas ajudam as organizações a transformar insights em ação, identificando quais habilidades serão necessárias no futuro, proporcionando desenvolvimento direcionado e validando resultados de maneiras mensuráveis.

No LENS, a mesa-redonda conduzida pela Pearson, RH à prova do futuro: o impacto da IA e das tecnologias emergentes, e outras discussões mostraram como as organizações podem alinhar a aprendizagem a objetivos de negócios, prever e sanar lacunas de habilidades de forma proativa, transformar o desenvolvimento da força de trabalho em uma iniciativa de nível executivo e muito mais. Por fim, a Pearson demonstrou como a parceria com a Degreed beneficia líderes de gestão de talentos interessados em escalar estratégias com foco em resultados.

A ideia é simples: a conexão de inteligência preditiva com programas de aprendizagem e validação de conquistas é um caminho de transformação respaldado pela comprovação de impactos. “Trabalhamos de modos muito distintos e também fazemos muitas integrações com o ecossistema de gestão de talentos ao longo de toda a jornada de habilidades, e tudo começa com a pergunta: ‘Como sua organização se prepara para o futuro e com que talentos vocês querem trabalhar?’”, pontuou Melissa Matlins, head global de soluções para a força de trabalho da Pearson, para o público do LENS.

Workday: desenvolvimento de habilidades com mais inteligência

A integração bidirecional do Workday com a solução Degreed Habilidades+ transforma dados estáticos de habilidades em um recurso dinâmico. Isso acontece porque a integração cria um jeito fluido de intercambiar, enriquecer e dar utilidade aos dados de habilidades entre ambos os sistemas. Os perfis de habilidades se mantêm automaticamente atualizados, o progresso da aprendizagem alimenta diretamente os sistemas de gestão de talentos, e os líderes corporativos passam a ter mais clareza sobre as capacidades da força de trabalho, sem precisar se basear em relatórios desconexos.

Para clientes em comum, como o Citi e a BP, essa interoperabilidade acelera a mobilidade de talentos, traz mais inteligência para o planejamento da força de trabalho, reduz o trabalho manual e aumenta a agilidade da gestão de mudanças. Para equipes de TI em setores de RH, a integração Workday-Degreed acaba com a fragmentação de dados e reduz tarefas manuais, garantindo uma visibilidade mais precisa das habilidades em todos os sistemas de gestão de talentos.

O palco principal do LENS foi o cenário da sessão marcante Como maximizar o impacto de forma conjunta, com representantes do Workday e do SAP SuccessFactors. Os painelistas fizeram algumas recomendações ao público: focar em habilidades que fazem a diferença, aderir a parcerias de tecnologias abertas, fazer experimentos e assumir uma postura arrojada em seus próximos passos com a IA.

“Seja qual for o desafio, planeje, coloque esse plano em ação e documente tudo”, recomendou Michael Goldberg, principal gerente de produto outbound do Workday. “Quais são os resultados? Quais são as métricas? Como vocês mensurarão esse valor? … Deixe claro quem é responsável por cada tarefa e quem toma as decisões finais”, concluiu.

Michael Goldberg, principal gerente de produto outbound do Workday (à esquerda), Josh Gosliner, vice-presidente de estratégia de produto do SAP SuccessFactors (no centro), e Ashley Gammie, vice-presidente de parcerias da Degreed (à direita), no palco principal do Degreed LENS 2025

CredSpark: a integração das avaliações à aprendizagem personalizada

O CredSpark transforma a teoria da mensuração de habilidades em realidade. Ao integrar avaliações diretamente à plataforma da Degreed, o CredSpark permite que equipes de aprendizagem mensurem de forma contínua o crescimento das habilidades, personalizem a aprendizagem conforme o desempenho em tempo real e gerem dados que alimentam ferramentas de BI e sistemas de relatórios.

O Credspark oferece a líderes incumbidos de demonstrar a eficácia de programas de suas empresas os dados de habilidades necessários para comprovar o impacto e alinhar a aprendizagem aos objetivos dos negócios. Essa mensagem ficou bastante clara na animada recepção de abertura do LENS que o Credspark ofereceu com a diretoria de key accounts da Degreed.

Lightcast: estratégia fundamentada em dados do mercado de trabalho

A Lightcast alimenta estratégias sobre a força de trabalho com dados de inteligência do mercado em tempo real. Integrada à Degreed, a Lightcast ajuda organizações a compreender quais habilidades estão em ascensão, quais estão em alta e como as capacidades internas podem atender às necessidades dinâmicas de cada setor.

No LENS, a Lightcast levantou um questionamento interessante: se quase metade dos requisitos de habilidades do seu setor está prestes a mudar, não seria bom sua empresa saber como mudar?

Ethena: a reinvenção do compliance com conteúdos interessantes

A Ethena está comprovando que os treinamentos de compliance não precisam imitar o preenchimento de checklists. Baseando-se em ciência comportamental e pensados para provocar o engajamento dos colaboradores, os conteúdos da Ethena ajudam empresas a estimular uma mudança duradoura de comportamentos, indo além da conclusão de conteúdos. 

Totalmente integrada à Degreed, a Ethena simplifica a disponibilização de treinamentos obrigatórios, tornando-os mais relevantes para objetivos de aprendizagem mais abrangentes. 

No LENS, Melanie Naranjo, diretora de pessoas da Ethena, se juntou a líderes da Ericsson e da Truist no painel A IA e a mudança provocada pelas habilidades: a redefinição da liderança. 

“Os colaboradores respondem a iniciativas acessíveis de aprendizagem”, pontuou Naranjo. “Faça algo que traga empoderamento, e não temor.”

LearnUpon: a conexão da aprendizagem formal ao crescimento

A LearnUpon oferece estrutura e escalabilidade para a aprendizagem, especialmente em setores nos quais compliance, certificações e prontidão para auditorias são inegociáveis. Por meio da integração do LearnUpon LMS com a Degreed, as organizações podem gerenciar requisitos de treinamentos formais e ainda prestar suporte ao desenvolvimento personalizado. 

Para equipes de aprendizagem, a metodologia unificada alivia a carga administrativa e aumenta a visibilidade sobre objetivos de aprendizagem regulatórios e estratégicos. Com isso, nasce uma metodologia mais inteligente e equilibrada em relação ao compliance, promovendo responsabilidade e crescimento.

Learnexus: a escalabilidade da aprendizagem com gestão de talentos conforme a necessidade

Com a Learnexus, as organizações têm acesso rápido e flexível a especialistas em aprendizagem sem a clássica lentidão nas contratações ou limitações de recursos. A Learnexus conecta empresas a profissionais que passaram por processos de validação, tais como designers instrucionais, consultores de aprendizagem ou gerentes de projetos, conforme a necessidade. Dessa forma, iniciativas importantes não ficam paradas por falta de mão de obra interna.

A Learnexus deixou uma mensagem clara no LENS: o acesso a especialistas não deveria ser uma barreira ao suporte em larga escala. Ideal para atender a líderes de RH e de aprendizagem com poucos braços na equipe, a Learnexus agiliza o contato com profissionais que acelerarão lançamentos de programas e iniciativas de transformação.

SPA: mensuração do progresso com foco nas habilidades

A SPA (Skill Professionals Association) ajuda organizações a adotar uma estratégia de habilidades com clareza e confiança. Sua metodologia recém-lançada de maturidade do foco nas habilidades oferece às organizações uma forma estruturada de avaliar capacidade, identificar lacunas e priorizar os próximos passos.

No LENS 2025, a sessão da SPA Novo padrão da força de trabalho: como certificações de habilidades podem gerar resultados e vantagens competitivas desafiou o público a liderar a mudança, e não apenas reagir a ela — colocando as habilidades como uma vantagem estratégica.

Colaborações catalisam a mudanças.

A mensagem dos patrocinadores do Degreed LENS ficou clara:

A transformação da força de trabalho não acontece do nada. É preciso mais do que uma única ferramenta, um único fornecedor, uma única ideia. É preciso haver um ecossistema.

No LENS, esses oito parceiros caminharam lado a lado com a Degreed com o intuito de ajudar organizações de todo o mundo a transformar os talentos que elas têm nos talentos de que elas precisam. Temos muito orgulho de trabalhar com tantas empresas incríveis e estamos muito animados para o que está por vir!

The post Por que estes 8 parceiros da Degreed estão dando o que falar appeared first on Degreed.

Eu participei de mais de 100 sessões de roadmap e conversei com líderes de aprendizagem em 28 cidades.

Independentemente do lugar, os assuntos se repetem: CEOs querem preparar a empresa para o futuro, COOs querem automação e CFOs exigem resultados mais expressivos.

O ritmo de trabalho de todos está mais acelerado do que nunca — com uma pressão cada vez maior.

A necessidade fundamental de transformar a força de trabalho

Cinco anos atrás, o Fórum Econômico Mundial estimou que 50% da força de trabalho precisaria aprimorar as habilidades até 2030. Hoje, com a magia da IA generativa, esse número está próximo de 60%.

Até mesmo eu, que não sou cientista de dados, sei que há mais habilidades a serem desenvolvidas na metade do prazo para se fazer isso.

Equipes de aprendizagem do mundo inteiro estão trabalhando de forma incansável. Sabe por quê? Porque empresa nenhuma hoje em dia está conseguindo contratar as habilidades necessárias. Não há mão de obra no mercado. As empresas precisam desenvolver essas habilidades, e essa situação está assustando a liderança. Os líderes sabem que os colaboradores de seus quadros — e as habilidades que cada um oferece — não são os ideais para conquistarem o sucesso no futuro.

Por isso, muitos líderes de aprendizagem estão colocando a capacitação em IA como a prioridade máxima dos CEOs. E estão certos em fazer isso.

As empresas de hoje precisam de pessoas que entendam as novas tecnologias e a essência dos fundamentos de negócios. Não basta conhecer a IA. É preciso entender os negócios e saber como aplicar a IA a eles.

É para isso que a Degreed existe. Com a nossa plataforma, a aprendizagem de qualquer coisa fica acessível. Deixamos a aprendizagem corporativa mais prazerosa. Viabilizamos um sistema que estimula o engajamento e ajuda as organizações a fomentarem uma cultura de curiosidade.

Seria uma pena se, neste momento de grande mudança, não fosse possível usar esse sistema para ajudar nossos colegas a terem êxito em um mundo tão dinâmico.

A IA e seu imenso potencial

A Degreed está focadíssima em ajudar as organizações a:

• Identificar necessidades
• Personalizar o desenvolvimento
• Mensurar mudanças

Sabemos que precisamos oferecer às empresas um jeito mais fácil de alinhar os gostos dos colaboradores aos resultados que os farão relevantes no futuro.

Imagine se as equipes de aprendizagem pudessem oferecer, sem custos, conteúdos incríveis e relevantes para os negócios. Agora, imagine se fosse possível personalizar esses conteúdos. Não estou falando de personalização conforme o cargo ou função, mas para cada colaborador.

E se um departamento de aprendizagem pudesse reformular o T&D do zero do jeito que os líderes de aprendizagem imaginam?

Ter um sistema de gestão de aprendizagem (LMS) é bom para fins de compliance. Já um marketplace de talentos só atende de 5% a 10% dos colaboradores. 

Organizações visionárias sentem a necessidade de ir além, e a Degreed está sempre trabalhando com esse horizonte em mente.

Alinhamento dos colaboradores às necessidades

Ao longo dos últimos 12 anos, a Degreed já indexou quase 40 milhões de conteúdos e mapeou mais de 250 mil habilidades.

Já atendemos mais de 10 milhões de usuários e vemos o impacto disso no mundo real. Na State Street, mais de 70% dos colaboradores aprendem com a Degreed todos os meses. Na Volkswagen, uma estratégia com foco em habilidades aplicada com a Degreed já economizou € 2 milhões.

E, agora, estamos integrando a IA diretamente no fluxo da aprendizagem. Tanto que, há pouco tempo, fizemos três grandes anúncios relacionados à nossa plataforma:

Degreed Maestro Studio

Com essa ferramenta poderosa, sua empresa cria e implementa experiências de aprendizagem personalizadas e nativas de IA projetadas para atender às suas necessidades. O Maestro já está sendo utilizado para democratizar o coaching de liderança, disseminar simulações para capacitação em vendas e personalizar o desenvolvimento e a avaliação de habilidades. O Degreed Maestro Studio possibilita personalizar ainda mais cada interação de IA conforme as necessidades da sua organização.

Degreed Open Library

Esse rico recurso já está disponível para todos os clientes da Degreed sem custos adicionais, com 500 trilhas criteriosamente selecionadas sobre os assuntos em alta no mercado. Usando IA e especialistas internos, essas trilhas passam por um processo contínuo de refinamento para garantir que sua organização sempre tenha acesso a conteúdos educativos relevantes e de alta qualidade.

Degreed Maestro Services

Esse pacote de serviços ajuda a sua organização a maximizar o impacto da IA na aprendizagem e ainda reduz custos. Dentre os serviços, está o desenvolvimento de trilhas com o auxílio da IA e de especialistas da Degreed, a fim de criar jornadas de aprendizagem estruturadas e de alto impacto. O pacote também oferece um serviço de implantação de experiências personalizadas com IA para projetar, desenvolver e implementar coaches de IA e simulações feitas para as prioridades exclusivas da sua organização.

Estes são os resultados que oferecemos:

• Mais agilidade. Desenvolva os colaboradores em menos tempo usando o Maestro, a Degreed Open Library e muitos outros recursos.
• Menos custos. Economize com milhares de trilhas da Degreed Open Library e aplicações de IA.
• Impactos mais expressivos. Vincule a aprendizagem aos resultados da empresa, rastreie habilidades e comprove o ROI.

Enquanto falamos de conteúdo…

Vale a pena repetir: a IA vai transformar a experiência dos conteúdos.

Conteúdos de alta qualidade mexem com as pessoas, pois acompanham o ritmo de cada uma e as estimulam a querer mais.

As organizações provavelmente terão mais desses conteúdos em seus acervos daqui para frente.

Afinal, elas terão orçamento para isso. O que sai de cena são os conteúdos de qualidade mediana que atrapalham o dia a dia.

As empresas não precisarão mais comprar bibliotecas corporativas que conquistam míseros 5% de adoção quando alguém pedir um treinamento sobre postura de executivos em um idioma exótico. Essa mudança gerará economia. E as equipes de aprendizagem poderão destinar esse dinheiro que não foi gasto para investir em novas experiências nativas de IA, gerando mais engajamento e mais resultados. 

Os colaboradores consumirão conteúdos educativos e, quando tiverem uma dúvida, poderão focar no conceito, interagindo com um mentor de IA, testando suas habilidades e desfrutando de experiências de desenvolvimento muito mais marcantes.

Uma última reflexão

Quinze anos atrás, eu me propus a pensar rapidamente: “Que cara terá a Quinta Avenida, em Nova York, no futuro?”

O comércio não acabou, mas evoluiu.

Da mesma forma, o trabalho não vai acabar; ele está se transformando. E isso quer dizer que as pessoas também precisam se transformar.

Saiba mais

Confira nossa série Degreed em Ação composta por sete webinars e fique por dentro das nossas inovações em IA e muito mais.

The post Mais agilidade, menos custos, impactos mais expressivos: a aprendizagem na era da IA appeared first on Degreed.

“This concealment took a toll, creating a disconnect between who I was and who I felt I had to be,” said Stephen, Degreed Vice President of Global Professional Services. “When I finally embraced my identity, it was like stepping into the light after years in the shadows. This journey has taught me the importance of authenticity, and it’s a lesson I strive to impart to my daughters every day.

“Pride, for me, is about ensuring that my children see the value in being true to oneself.”

Working at an organization dedicated to the advancement of lifelong learning has some undeniable advantages. What’s one of the biggest? At Degreed, it’s a company culture that celebrates self-discovery and cherishes the life-affirming, life-changing positivity unleashed by personal growth. This ethos is baked into our products too; they’re intentionally designed to democratize learning so it’s easily accessible and inclusive.

At Degreed, these values become particularly salient in June during LGBTQ+ Pride Month. They give us reason to reflect and importantly provide us with the opportunity. 

As we reflect, we also recognize that big-picture challenges persist when only 45% of LGBT+ employees feel comfortable being out at work, according to a recent Deloitte survey across 13 countries including the United States. 

Join us as we share and celebrate perspectives on the meaning of Pride, what it means to be out at work, and what it means to be out at Degreed.

Hali Linn, Learning Strategy Consultant

The first time I came out at work, I scribbled down a nearly illegible identity on a sticky note at a work-sponsored Pride event where attendees were asked to participate in a survey. It was the first time I felt like I was being invited to claim my full self at work, and accepting that offer was a milestone for me.

I came to New York City drawn to the bold anonymity and adventurous spirit of this provocative place—qualities entirely disparate from the environment where I had grown up. On the streets of New York, no one has time to care what you’re wearing or how you identify, and many queer and questioning folks soon find, at worst, a swarm of busy indifference and, at best, a welcoming and vibrant queer community ready to embrace and love them.

My professional journey, however, did not quite align with the “out and proud” sentiment of the queer community that I cherished. Even in big cities, pockets of prejudice still exist, and I remained in the closet at company after company, sometimes due to hostile work cultures, and, if I’m being honest, sometimes because I wasn’t then ready to be fully out. (A reminder that not everyone is ready to “come out” in every space, and that’s okay!)

Pride events were a beacon of hope and acceptance before I was fully out at work; I witnessed other members of the LBGTQ+ community seamlessly integrate their personal and professional lives, claiming their identities with pride and confidence. If these queer elders and peers could be out, then so too could I!

I still wasn’t fully out at work, however, until I got to Degreed. Much like my arrival in New York, when I came to Degreed I felt welcomed, embraced, and included. I was not merely tolerated and passively celebrated during the month of June. On the contrary, I was invited to bring my whole self to every conversation. 

I’m not just a participant, but a leader, and I work for an organization that embraces my unique experience as an LGBTQ+ individual. Here, my identity is seen as an asset, enriching our workplace with diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of genuine inclusivity. At Degreed, I found the courage to be openly myself, knowing that I am valued for who I am every single day, and this has made a huge difference in my professional and personal life.

Pride, to me, means having the courage to take those first small steps toward self-acceptance and authenticity, even in environments where it feels challenging. Now I embrace the ability I have to be fully out, and I hope I can be a meaningful example to others. Pride means finding and building communities that support and celebrate who you are, inside the walls at work and outside of them as well. Most importantly, Pride is about recognizing and honoring the bravery it takes to live openly and authentically, at the workplace company and beyond!

Ryan Niehaus, Marketing Automation Manager

I have been with Degreed for almost four years. I live in Denver, Colorado, with my husband and rescue pup, Summit.

I came out as bisexual toward the end of 2016 and got married to the love of my life in 2022. My coming out story could not be any blander.

When I approached my friends and family about my sexuality, I was greeted with nothing but love, acceptance, and a “so what” attitude. Because not everyone shares that same experience, I have spent as much time as I can dedicate to educating myself about human rights-related issues and reading about other’s coming out experiences. I have developed a stronger personal appreciation for the importance of making Pride Month more inclusive and celebrating both the bland and anything-but-bland stories, struggles, and successes of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. 

All too often, the word “pride” is associated with notions of excessive love of oneself, vanity, or hubris. But that is not and has never been a foundation of Pride Month. Pride means living a life that is authentic to who I am—without shame, fear, or guilt. 

At work, it means I do not have to behave or act in a certain way because of the threat of being exposed, humiliated, belittled, or rejected. It means I am not ashamed to mention my husband when asked in a meeting what my plans are this upcoming weekend. It means I have the freedom to express my preferred pronouns on my company Slack profile. Lastly, it means I am not afraid of being held back from advancement opportunities because of the person I married. 

What many people don’t know is that we don’t just come out once at work. A constant conversation occurs when meeting new colleagues and introducing ourselves in meetings. And because of that, I am lucky to work for a company as open-minded as Degreed.

I am able to be my authentic self each and every day at work. This allows our Business Resource Group (OUT@Degreed) to spend our time educating, celebrating, and reflecting on the people who put their lives at risk to stand up and demand equality, instead of fighting stereotypes and bigotry internally. And for that, we’re lucky and proud to celebrate Pride Month with Degreed.

Stephen Elrod, Vice President of Global Professional Services

Pride holds a special place in my heart, not just as a celebration but as a profound expression of who I am as a queer dad to two amazing daughters. For me, Pride is about authenticity—showing up as my true self both at work and at home. This authenticity is not just a personal choice but a crucial part of the example I want to set for my children.

In a world that can sometimes feel daunting and unaccepting, I want my daughters to know that they can always be who they are without fear. By living authentically, I hope to show them that self-acceptance is not only possible but also empowering. I want them to understand that being true to oneself is not a privilege but a fundamental right.

At work, bringing my whole self means being open about my identity and experiences. It’s about creating an environment where diversity is not just accepted but celebrated. This authenticity fosters a culture of inclusivity, where everyone feels valued for who they are. When we bring our whole selves to work, we contribute to a healthier, more innovative, and more compassionate workplace. It encourages others to do the same, building a community where authenticity is the norm, not the exception.

At home, being my true self means showing my daughters that it’s okay to be different. It means sharing my journey with them, including the struggles and the triumphs. I want them to see that authenticity is a strength, not a weakness. By being open about who I am, I hope to give them the confidence to embrace their own identities, whatever they may be.

Pride is a reminder that being authentic at work and at home is essential for a healthy, balanced life. It’s about showing my children that it’s possible to be successful and happy without compromising who you are. This balance is vital as a parent because our children learn more from our actions than our words. When they see us living authentically, they learn to value honesty, courage, and self-love.

In conclusion, Pride is more than just a celebration; it’s a testament to the power of authenticity. As a queer dad, I embrace Pride as a time to reflect on my journey and reaffirm my commitment to living truthfully. We can create a world that is more accepting, more loving, and more true to every one of us.

The post Pride at Degreed: Reflecting on the Power of Authenticity appeared first on Degreed.

That timeless take is reflected in Degreed’s history, and perhaps even more so when we’ve got big news — like the $153 million in Series D funding we announced today, valuing the company at $1.4 billion. The investment will be used to fuel innovation and generate value for our clients by accelerating product development, enhancing data infrastructure, and continuing our global expansion as we pursue new, strategic acquisitions.

That’s not all, though. Dan Levin, former COO of Box, will succeed Chris McCarthy as CEO of Degreed. Chris is stepping back after almost eight years here to address a chronic back issue, but he’ll remain in a strategic advisory capacity and sit on the Degreed Board of Directors. It was a very difficult decision for Chris to make, and he was heavily involved in the months-long succession process to ensure this transition is smooth and successful. 

We’ve always worked to plant new seeds — for our own growth and our customers’ success — from our scrappy start nearly a decade ago, through every strategic evolution, and continuing today.

To understand where we’re going with this new resourcing and leadership, we always remember where we’ve been.

The Beginning: A Fresh Look at Learning

Degreed was created on a simple premise: Education is too important to stay the way it is.

Co-founders David Blake and Eric Sharp set out to jailbreak the college degree. “It should be our skills, irrespective of how or where we develop them, that should be what determines our opportunities, and I wanted to be part of the solution,” Blake said.

The Early Years: Culture and Momentum

McCarthy, who joined Degreed as COO in 2013 and succeeded Blake as CEO in 2018, frequently slept at the office and cold called learning leaders to get product feedback. “We’ve built something brick by brick,” he said.

At first, Degreed was a business-to-consumer (B2C) platform, satisfying consumer demand for a portal that connects people with lifelong learning from a wide range of aggregated sources. But there was more to come.

Evolution and Expansion  

A key product evolution came in 2015 with a shift from B2C to a predominantly business-to-business (B2B) strategy. The goal was to build something scalable, secure, and most importantly, impactful — an experience laser-focused on the needs of workers.

This led to new features that are still core to our product today: Pathways and Groups. The product we pioneered became known as a learning experience platform (LXP) — a reflection of our initial focus on integrating learning resources from a variety of systems and apps. As we added more sophisticated capabilities, we evolved into an intuitive workforce upskilling platform, broadening our customer base from learning leaders to talent, HR, and technology leaders, too. 

Our 2016 acquisition of Gibbon brought depth to our content curation and product design. And our 2018 acquisition of Pathgather made Degreed more social while adding admin functionality.

Today, Degreed has expanded to three core products: Learning Experience, Career Mobility, and Skill Analytics. We help business leaders understand the supply and demand for skills across their organizations and connect people’s skills to internal opportunities like projects, stretch assignments, and gig work, creating value for both the business and your people.

Explosive Growth: Funding, People, Customers 

Including today’s announcement, Degreed has received more than $335 million in total funding, enabling us to expand significantly.

More than 570 employees across 13 countries work at Degreed, and we expect to employ more than 600 people by the end of this year. Drawn to Degreed by its mission and culture, people like it here and tend to stick around. 

In 2019, we acquired Adepto to help our customers identify skills that are in demand and bridge skills gaps by intelligently matching internal and external workers to new work opportunities. In another important milestone, we partnered with LearnUpon in early 2020. Now our customers can easily access the LMS features they need along with our learning experience platform in a single investment. Since then, we’ve gained additional partners, such as TED and Pluralsight, among others.

Along the way, we’ve consistently expanded our customer base domestically and internationally. Today, we serve hundreds of the world’s most innovative organizations in over 27 countries. Owing to this success, our flagship virtual conference, the annual Degreed LENS Lite, last year drew more than 12,000 registered participants from more than 90 countries.

We’re Not Even Close to Being Done

Throughout our history, we’ve been highly intentional about how Degreed has developed as a company and as a product. This remains a top priority, said Kat Kennedy, President and Chief Experience Officer. She was employee No. 1, hired by the co-founders. 

“Thriving employees are eight times more likely to work for a company that they trust will provide them with career opportunities, even if their job changes or goes away,” Kat said. “And businesses that can quickly reallocate talent to the most critical strategic priorities are more than twice as likely to outperform their competitors on total returns to shareholders. That’s exactly what Degreed does, and it’s the picture we are working to make a reality at each of the organizations we are lucky to serve.”

The post The History of Degreed: Mission-Driven Momentum appeared first on Degreed.

While we wish you plenty of hot cocoa, holiday movies, and snowball (or dirtball if it’s dry where you are?) fights, there’s bound to be some downtime where this survival guide can be the antidote to your kids’ holiday boredom. As a companion to our April activity book, Everything’s Canceled!, A Holiday Survival Guide is here to fill the next few weeks with winter trivia, craft projects, brainteasers, and — most importantly — dad jokes. 

So what are you doing still reading this? Download your copy and get started (the Madlibs are extra spicy this year). From everyone at Degreed, we wish you safe, happy holidays and a Happy New Year. Thanks for riding this crazy wave called 2020 with us. 

The post Our Holiday Survival Guide: A Kid’s Winter Break Activity Book appeared first on Degreed.

We’ve come a long way. The business has quadrupled over the last two years and the number of people using our platform has tripled in the last year alone. We’ve built a more engaging platform, which helps our customers unlock new insights about the supply of skills within their companies. That’s why one-third of the Fortune 50 companies are using Degreed today to put their employees’ needs first.

The next step is helping our customers identify and respond to shifts in the skills that are in demand. So today, we’re pleased to announce that we have acquired Adepto to complete our vision and empower our customers to bridge the divide between the supply and demand for skills.

Where We’ve Been

Seven years ago, we realized that the HCM suites had forgotten about the end-user. Across the board, the existing platforms focused more on HR and administrative requirements than on the value delivered to employees.

So, we set out to build a different type of product — one that’s enterprise-class, meaning it’s scalable, secure, and most importantly, impactful — by being laser-focused on the needs of the employee.

Degreed is both platform- and content- agnostic, so you and your people can learn your way. It also includes a simple yet powerful toolkit that enables both users and administrators to personalize the experience based on everyone’s unique skill sets, interests, and ambitions. And by focusing on what the users really need, Degreed is able to generate a unique and valuable dataset on the learning and skills of your workforce.

The Demand to Our Supply

Listening to our clients, we consistently hear one thing loud and clear: they need more than inconsistent or inferred data sets from their HCM systems or yearly performance reviews. They want a system that not only promotes continuous user engagement, but also offers insight into how their people’s skills match with projects, career opportunities, and business priorities — and helps people bridge those gaps. This is where the acquisition of Adepto comes in.

Adepto enables organizations to build private Total Talent networks that intelligently match internal and external workers to open projects, gigs, and job opportunities that fit their abilities and career goals. It also provides business leaders with easy-to-use tools to track and access the skill sets of their entire pool of available talent, including current and past employees, as well as contractors, freelancers, consultants, and potential new hires.

Through the acquisition, Degreed will become the destination for business executives, team managers (as well as talent and HR leaders) to understand and manage the supply and demand for skills inside their organizations. Paired with Degreed’s award-winning Learning Experience Platform, Adepto’s technology will give our customers a talent marketplace to enable internal mobility along with the visibility and capabilities to respond to shifts in the demand for skills as they’re happening.

Adepto at a Glance:

• Offices in London, UK, Brisbane, Australia, and New York, USA
• 41 employees
• Leadership team includes Chris Milligan (Founder/CEO), Linda Davies (Financial Controller), Brenton Worley (CTO), Joel Luther (Head of Product), Vicky Holdsworth (VP, Marketing and Partnerships), Oli Meager (VP, Sales, and EMEA), Louise Anderson (VP, Solutions, and APAC), April Lea (Head of Delivery), and James Griffin (VP Customers)
• The company has grown by 150% per year for three consecutive years
• Clients include Atos, Capita, and Cisco, as well as public sector employers, such as the Queensland Government.

Where We’re Going

With our expanded set of resources and capabilities, we will combine Adepto’s technology and data with the core parts of Degreed. That will include:

1. Enhancing our core LXP features, such as Search, personalized recommendations, and on-the-job development opportunities.
2. Expanding our integration capabilities to include the broader HCM and work ecosystem.
3. Enriching our analytics, reporting, and decision-making functionalities.

The acquisition also expands Degreed’s ability to serve our global and multinational organizations with 40+ new product, professional services, and commercial teams on the ground in Europe and Australia.

Delivering the most comprehensive, user-first learning and skills platform remains our north star and we are proud to add Adepto on this journey.

To be clear, Degreed is still an open, integrated ecosystem. If our customers have content or data stored on a different platform, we will always allow users to access and utilize it.

Our partnership with Adepto is simply another critical step to demonstrate our dedication to ensuring no one becomes irrelevant due to lack of new skills, and that organizations have the ability and insights to support their growth.

If you have any questions or thoughts to share, we would love to speak to you and offer a variety of avenues to reach us. Read our press release, get in touch with your Degreed or Adepto contact or visit the Degreed blog.

The post Degreed Acquires Adepto appeared first on Degreed.

The Challenge: You’re Only As Strong As Your Biggest Skill Gaps

We know employees want guidance. In fact, in our most recent study, 61% of workers said they wanted help aligning learning efforts to their skills gaps. And for years, companies have tried to offer guidance and structure through competency models, systems that were thought to clearly define the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for every individual role.

But while two-thirds of organizations utilize workforce competencies, only 33% of those organizations believe they are effective. With a workforce that changes this rapidly, a top-down approach will never be able to keep up.

Organizations need a structure that can help their people build skills at the rate of change we’re seeing across the workforce. By 2022, it is predicted that 133 million new roles will emerge within the workforce, largely focusing on the interaction between humans, machines, and algorithms.

From technological advancements to unique job titles, the new world of work is progressive and fluid. In a recent Gartner survey, 70% of respondents said they didn’t feel they had mastered the skills their current jobs demanded, and 80% said they lacked the skills they needed for both their current and future roles. On a larger scale, companies are struggling to keep up with new required skills such as technology design and system analysis.

Now we see a plethora of different tools trying to find an alternative for a competency model. HCM systems are trying to “infer” the skills required for an organization’s workforce from job applications or performance reviews, for example. There are new tools hitting the market constantly, claiming AI will do the job, and still we see clients spending significant resources on outsourcing this work to consultants and still the same struggle. The skills economy demands a creative tracking solution — one that isn’t from the top down.

Cisco is a good example of what this alternative skills structure looks like in a large yet dynamic company. They recognized that their competency model couldn’t keep up with their growth, resulting in disparate job titles throughout the organization, despite role similarities. So they created a simpler solution. First, Cisco categorized about 3,000 unique job titles by the skills they required. Then, they mapped those skills onto a more manageable group of 221 similar “role profiles” for all 75,000 of their people. The result is a simpler, more agile system that can grow with the modernization of work and their company. It also allows for a clearer for internal career mobility.

While Cisco had the resources, data, and business directive to simplify this complex and time-consuming mapping problem, many companies are facing the same problem without the resources to solve it. Luckily, these are the problems that Degreed was born to solve.

We know that skills are the foundational piece to a new system. We can link learning opportunities to skills, which can then link to roles. But let’s start with the basics: What is a skill, anyway? Well, most businesses and industries have their own lexicon, as do providers of skill library solutions, such as Korn Ferry, HRSG, and IBM Watson Talent Frameworks.

Before businesses can effectively address their skills gap, they need to identify it — which is difficult to determine if not everyone is speaking the same language around skills. The first step to addressing a skills gap is identifying which skills are functionally the same and compiling those together by a common name.

We’ve found that our individual users like adding skills in creative or unique terms, but these additions don’t tend to gain steam within the organization. Only 12% of all skills that are tagged in Degreed came from our taxonomy or a client administrator, which means 88% came directly from users in their preferred language. But it turns out that the standardized skill tags (the 12%) generate 80% of the “actions” we see — e.g. people following or actively seeking to develop them through individual learning plans and goals. Streamlining these crowdsourced skills into a common language creates a standardized structure. This then translates them into an actionable skills library around which administrators can use in crafting development plans. 

The Solution: It All Starts With Your People

So how can we help our clients simplify and standardize their existing skills? We’ve spent the better part of the last year working with some of our most innovative clients to create a fresh new approach. This approach still relies on standardization but draws on a different source for this guidance: your people.

Instead of following a top-down competency model, we want to allow the workforce to help shape the company skills taxonomy. This process can help surface evolving skills and allow businesses to study and understand their strengths and weaknesses. Then they can endorse certain skills and incorporate them into training tools to stay one step ahead of the curve.

Administrators can use this data, consolidate it, and build it back into their skills structure to ensure standardization. This generates a live, dynamic taxonomy that can build more responsive learning programs, guiding employees to help them identify and close their skills gaps.

That’s why we’re releasing an exciting new feature to help you get there. With Degreed’s latest release, there is now an intuitive and editable skill list in the Skills tab. While only in Beta initially, it will be released to our full audience in the next few months. This means that we now offer the guidance our users want with the flexibility to use the lexicon of your unique businesses.

For instance, say your company has a specific skill of “Engineering Excellence” that is commonly used and well-defined by the business. Now you can add “Engineering Excellence” to the system, track it, and endorse it. Administrators can either edit them right in their Skills Tab or download their existing skills list to easily edit or load new ones straight into the system, as seen below. 

The best part is that skills can also be associated with roles, Pathways, and Plans in the system, so users can actively build skills within the same platform they’re tracking their development. It can also help illuminate paths for internal career mobility based on shared skills.

The Benefit: Everyone’s Better Together

By decentralizing the initial control of skills and crowd-sourcing this data, we unlock the benefits of more relevant learning programs for the users and create more talent mobility paths across the organization. Together with your people, you can build a structure of standardized skills, a template that can enable employees to identify for themselves the skills they need to build for their futures. 

Don’t take our word for it, log into your accounts upon the release and explore the new functionality in your Skills tab. And we’re not stopping here, so stay tuned for more Skills I/O enhancements coming soon!

The post Product Insider: Building a Common Language for Skills appeared first on Degreed.

Now think about the customer experience with enterprise software – can you think of a time when you would say your experience was great?

At Degreed, we aspire to something far better than the typical enterprise software experience. We aspire to provide you with an experience that not only exceeds your expectations of what our software can do to transform the learning journey in your organization but also provide you with support and a partnership that is second to none. As Chris, our CEO, noted in his year-end summary, Degreed has made a considerable investment in our Client Experience team, all with the goal of creating a truly exceptional experience for our clients.

To deliver this exceptional experience, the first thing we focus on is getting the foundation right.

Hire the right team

There is a lot of work that needs to happen behind the scenes to ensure a seamless customer experience. This starts with ensuring that we hire individuals with a passion for service. That sounds basic enough but it is absolutely essential. For example, I personally interview every candidate for roles on the client experience team to ensure – without exception – my team is focused on service. For reference, we added 30 people to the team last year. We challenge ourselves to not only hire deep experience and expertise (our Engagement team has 10 years of L&D experience on average) but we actively work to hire from diverse backgrounds to constantly challenge our own status quo.

Create great training and processes

With the right people in place, we work hard to train our internal team not only on the Degreed solution but the learning ecosystem as a whole. We use Degreed, as you would expect, to power this learning and have developed pathways for on-boarding and growth. Our internal culture of learning ensures that the latest content and resources are organically shared across the team. Beyond training, we also invest time in ensuring that the handoff between implementation and customer success teams is seamless, that we have strong implementation methodologies augmented with best practice recommendations. These best practices aren’t hopes and dreams, they are tried and true – acquired from years of experience. We specifically designed our resources to allow our team to truly focus on each customer and creating a white-glove experience.

Standing up a disruptive learning technology solution in an enterprise environment can be surprisingly complex. Doing this well would set us apart from most enterprise technology implementations but that’s not what we would consider “a great experience” yet. It doesn’t fully realize our aspiration of exceptional.

Add value

So how do we deliver something more? It’s more than hiring the right service-minded individuals and putting them in a position to be successful with training and smart programs. We want more. And we deliver it. As an example of how we go further, we provide our customers with free services like customer marketing. This is a small dynamic team focused on supporting customers with their own internal marketing of learning to end users. This team provides customers with sample collateral, best practices, hands-on partnership, creative development and swag (everyone loves those socks!) to help our customers deliver high impact launch and change management. As another example, we provide free training including things like the latest insights and exposure to experts in the field so our clients to stay on top of evolving fields like content curation which helps our customers become experts.

Listen and act on feedback

We invest a considerable amount of time in listening to our customers and, most importantly, acting on that feedback to continuously improve our product and services. Twice a year, we facilitate a Client Experience Survey using the Net Promoter Score framework to ask both our L&D partners and end users whether they would recommend Degreed, our services, our product, and our Support.

For each implementation, we survey our L&D partners to ask what worked well and what we could improve upon. For each Support interaction, we ask how we did. But most importantly, we act on this feedback.

As an example, last year our customers told us they wanted better visibility to the Product Roadmap so they could plan right along with Degreed and the future of L&D. Our Product team listened, stepped up, and now not only do we have a customer facing roadmap available but we also host webinars and individuals sessions with customers to share this roadmap. And you guessed it – our clients noticed. In our survey results this year, customers said thank you.

Engage beyond the CX team

Surveys are important but exceptional requires even more. The broader Degreed team including Product, Engineering and Leadership teams actively engage with our customers to listen, learn and then act. Our Chief Product Officer is constantly on the road meeting with customers and listening to inform our roadmap and share our vision for the future of learning. We also facilitate regional user group meetings to get customers together to learn from one another. We facilitate product advisory board meetings and last year we hosted our first annual Client Summit with more than half of our customers attending in person to engage with and learn from one another.

The job is never done…

A moment of honesty. Do we always achieve our aspiration of delivering an exceptional experience? No. There is always more that we can do. In cases where we fall down and don’t deliver the experience we expect, we work hard to quickly course correct, look at root causes and act on feedback to ensure that we are constantly improving and learning from what didn’t work well. Without constant experimentation, without constant learning and growth, we can’t deliver the exceptional experience we aspire to provide.

I am proud to share that our focus on exceptional is working. We have heard, “You set the standard for software vendors” and “Oh, and the Degreed team? They. Are. Everything. The -only- vendor team I’ve ever partnered with that I feel truly cares and always has my back.” Yes, those are direct quotes, and we hear similar anecdotes often. Our customers also recommend us at a level that is consistent with the best in consumer shopping, technology, and travel experience. Our customers continue to partner with Degreed giving us customer retention numbers above 90% and even stronger growth with customers expanding their partnership.

There is always more to do and we will continue to challenge ourselves to go even further we are well on our way to exceptional.

The post 5 Ways to Create an Exceptional Customer Service Experience appeared first on Degreed.

We chose the mission of creating a better way to develop and communicate skills not because it was easy but because we believe everyone deserves earning and career potential, regardless of their formal credentials.

We’re pleased with our progress, but there’s clearly more to do. Which is why today, we are excited to announce we have combined forces with Pathgather.

The acquisition immediately increases our ability to deliver our industry-leading learning experience in technology and services, and more importantly, to help you build and measure the skills of both your employees and your organization.

A force to be reckoned with

Founded in 2012, Pathgather is a fast-growing and highly-respected innovator in learning experience platforms. The company, which is based in New York City, brings another 30 smart, creative and dedicated people onto our team starting today. That means we’ve now got the largest team in the industry – more than 230 people – dedicated exclusively to improving people’s learning experiences, and linking career growth to business priorities.

Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. This acquisition brings together the two real innovators in learning experience platforms – our two organizations literally created this market. It also solidifies Degreed’s lead in the fast-growing learning experience platforms market, with a combined client base of more than 200 organizations, over 4 million licensed users, and nearly $100 million in funding.

“Pathgather has always been dedicated to our customers’ success, and this merger ensures that our users and clients will now enjoy an even better product and experience, with the same level of continued dedication,” said Eric Duffy, CEO of Pathgather. “Joining forces with Degreed plugs us into the biggest and most vibrant community of innovative learning and HR executives in the world. We’re excited to tap into Degreed’s experience, insights and resources.”

The future

This is an exciting time for Degreed; it’s been just four months since we raised $42 million in our Series C, and appointed our new CEO. More importantly, though, this is exciting news for our clients, partners, and users. Degreed has always been committed to innovation, ever since our start in 2012, and our creativity and drive have been a key attraction for many clients.

“This combination makes us the unequivocal leader in learning experience platforms,” said Chris McCarthy, CEO of Degreed. “Corporate learning budgets are shifting fast, and LXPs have emerged as the new operating system for employees’ training and development. Pathgather and Degreed defined this market. Now, together, we have the products, expertise, relationships and war chest we need to accelerate innovation, and dramatically accelerate our growth.”

With our expanded set of resources and capabilities, we are now planning to expand our functionality to further enhance both our clients’ and users’ experiences. To start, that will include:

• Sustaining our lead with the best-in-class learner experience
• Expanding access to more and better learning content
• Improving administration, content management, and reporting capabilities
• Accelerating our use of data science and machine learning
• Continued investment in our proprietary skill rating and certification technologies

Obviously, we’re really excited about this. But we’d love to hear your feedback and ideas. So if you have any questions or thoughts to share, we’ve got a variety of ways. Read our press release, get in touch with your Degreed or Pathgather contact person, visit the Pathgather blog, or email me directly at chris@degreed.com.

The future is certain. It’s volatile and ever-changing. It will require all of us, working together to solve these challenges head-on. Degreed and Pathgather are, together, reinforcing our commitment to making skill development accessible for everyone and we’re looking forward to the future with you.

The post Degreed Acquires Pathgather appeared first on Degreed.

First, though, a huge thank you. We are incredibly grateful not just to our investors, but to all of you – our employees, our clients, our partners, and our families and friends – for supporting us in this journey, for sharing our vision, and for helping Degreed to get this far. I am excited and humbled, then, to share the details of our this funding and what that means for our product, clients, and team.

Our strong history

In the spring of 2013, Degreed raised $1.8M in a Seed Round from top investors in the world of business, venture capital, and edtech, including Deborah Quazzo, Mark Cuban, Mike Levinthal, Chris Eyre, Larry Rosenberger, Kaplan, and Walt Winshall. Since then, we have raised $32M more in our Series A and Series B financings, which added Jump Capital, Signal Peak, GSV Acceleration and Rethink Education to our investor list.

Mark Cuban explained his excitement about Degreed nicely. “Degreed allows organizations to inventory their existing employees, train them, and track it all,” he said. “And, when employees do have external training or experience, have the company give them credit for it—I think that’s critical.”

This $42M Series C financing brings our total funding to $75M. It was co-led by Owl Ventures, a fund that invests in the world’s leading education technology companies, and Jump Capital. Founders Circle Capital, along with existing investors, GSV Acceleration Fund and Signal Peak Ventures, also participated.

Why? Because “this methodology evolves the traditional learning model to today’s social environment through increased interaction and engagement,” said Paola Mazzoleni, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Tenaris, one of our customers. “Employees have autonomy and accountability in defining and designing their development plan to reach their professional goals; they are investing in their future.”

Our experts

At the beginning of 2013, Degreed was a team of five people. Today, we are 150 strong and growing weekly. Each of our employees are driven by a respect for the company principles and the desire to provide our clients the best experience possible. And we’re all guided by 12 core  principles:

1. Balance
2. Moderately flat
3. Equality
4. Empathy
5. Flexibility
6. Dedication
7. Family
8. Excellence
9. Candor and coachability
10. Transparency
11. Learning
12. Mission-first

Focusing on these values allows each member of our organization to be intentional about our time. We believe operating this way has set the foundation for healthy tension, growth and most importantly, trust among teams.

As we continue to pursue our founders’ original vision, a portion of the proceeds from this funding will also be used to expand on Degreed’s newest product, Degreed Skill Certification – the world’s first system to both certify and rate any skill. To guide those efforts, Blake, Degreed’s co-founder, has taken on a new role as Executive Chairman. Blake and the Degreed board named Chris McCarthy, formerly Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO, to lead the continued growth of the company and its award-winning learning platform.

“Keeping people’s skills in sync with fast-changing markets is the biggest challenge of our time,” said Chris McCarthy, Degreed CEO. “That’s why Degreed exists. We believe there’s a better, smarter way to help everyone keep their skills sharp for whatever’s next, to measure their progress as they grow, and to communicate their readiness – both to current and future employers.”

Our future

Innovation has always been our focus, and throughout our history, that’s been a key attraction for many of our clients. And it’s working. Nine out of 10 clients agree they’re building more productive learning cultures, they’re adapting to shifting business needs faster, and they’re investing in L&D more efficiently.

“Our people are our competitive advantage and Degreed is further optimizing the way that we address current skills and development needs in the short term, and how that will translate to performance as part of our longer-term strategy,” said Sarice Plate, Senior Director of Global Talent Acquisition and Development at Xilinx, another one of our clients. “Our learners are no longer having to guess at what’s quality or what might benefit them.”

With this new war chest, we are planning to develop new features and functionality that will improve the client and user experience, including:

1. Best-in-class learner experience with AI-powered content curation – making Degreed the daily learning destination for all of our clients.
2. The ability to unlock the ultimate currency of learning (skills) across each enterprise, along with the ability to enable targeted and curated skill development – fueling career mobility for all.
3. Enabling an ecosystem of HCM technology and content partners, empowering our channel to build and expand business with Degreed and with our customers.

“We face the biggest challenges humanity has ever encountered,” our co-founder and Executive Chairman, David Blake, likes to say. “We need extraordinary experts to solve those challenges and make the unthinkable reality. Experts who can heal, discover, challenge, and advance.”

The future depends on our commitment to be our best selves and discover our own personal missions. To become experts—each of us. The challenges of the future won’t care how you became an expert, just that you did. And that you made a difference.”

Thank you for joining us on this rewarding journey. We look forward to what the future holds, for all of us.

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