FEI boosts retention with Kallidus

Forward Emphasis International (FEI) is a growing company that relies on training to deliver superior customer relationship management experience on behalf of its customers.

FEI has experienced significant growth, expanding from 180 to 345 employees within a short span and aiming to grow to 800 by 2027. FEI, headquartered in the rural northwest of Ireland, has been actively enhancing its employer branding and recruitment efforts to attract talent from larger population centres and local communities. JP McGonigle, FEI’s Head of Business Improvement, told us how Kallidus has transformed its operations and how the platform supports the company’s growth strategies.

The challenge

Before partnering with Kallidus, FEI faced challenges in managing and tracking training, particularly in a heavily regulated environment requiring consistent compliance refreshers. Their process was largely manual, relying on paper-based methods and spreadsheets, which stretched resources thinly to achieve necessary compliance. Further, in an industry with high employee turnover, FEI wanted to prove career longevity was possible in a call centre environment. Looking to offer employees career development opportunities and mobility, FEI needed a platform to support a complete and encouraging employee experience. Finally, with a growth strategy aimed to onboard more than 800 people in 5 years, FEI needs an easy and reliable solution to ramp up and retain new hires.

The solution

Kallidus’ learning management system, Learn LMS, transformed FEI’s approach to training and development. The system’s automation and real-time reporting capabilities have significantly improved efficiency, with compliance rates now at 100%. Ease of tracking and the ability to conduct regular refresher training has been instrumental in FEI’s growth strategy.

“We barely do any chasing at all, and we are fully compliant because the system is doing the chasing for us.”

Thanks to the dashboards and prompts provided by Kallidus, managers at FEI now find it easier to engage with their teams, set objectives, and monitor progress. The platform, which includes Kallidus off-the-shelf courses and is supplemented by custom content built by FEI employees through the Kallidus + Articulate partnership, offers engaging and interactive e-learning content to further enhance the learning experience for employees.

Moreover, an influx of new hires added a new demand for managers. FEI’s growth strategy was part acquisition and part retention. Without a retention plan in place, its hiring would be cannibalized. Hence, FEI worked with Kallidus to add management and leadership courses to the platform.

“With growth comes opportunity, and that requires leadership. We started our team leadership development plans because we knew we would need team leaders this year. We took 12 or 13 through our first cohort, and probably 5 or 6 have already become team leaders. We are ready.”

Business outcomes

Most notably, Kallidus has contributed to a 4-5 percentage point improvement in employee retention at FEI. Key factors in this achievement have been the system’s ease of use and the engaging nature of the training content. Additionally, the reporting features have enabled FEI to serve and satisfy their clients better by providing insights into training compliance and effectiveness. Kallidus has played a pivotal role in FEI’s growth strategy by improving training management, enhancing employee engagement, and contributing to higher retention rates, which are crucial for the company’s continued success.

FEI is excited about the release of Kallidus’ new Reporting and Analytics functionalities, supported by Microsoft’s Power BI and scheduled to release in Spring 2024.

“Today, what’s proven effective is that we have one source of truth for our people data, which we showcase in great reports. We didn’t have this before. We get real-time reporting around attrition and headcount and with PowerBI we’ll get a lot more.”

Check out the latest updates around our all new Reporting and Analytics here.