Case Study: CDW – Cornerstone Learning Management System Implementation

Client Challenge

Implement a new LMS seamlessly in a centralized Cornerstone Talent Development Platform before the contract on the incumbent LMS expires.

CDW found itself in this position when they realized their current Learning Management System (LMS) was not optimal for their needs. CDW decided to expand their CSOD investment to include Learning after experiencing increased efficiency following their CSOD Performance and Succession implementations. They wanted a heightened end-user experience with their new Learning platform for their user population along with realizing similar efficiencies.

The big challenge then became: How do we implement the new CSOD Learning suite without interrupting end user usage in our current system? Adding to the stress, the quickly approaching end-of-contract with their current LMS created a near impossible-to-meet accelerated timeline to implement the new LMS for their staff. Could the new implementation be accomplished without interruption and no lost monies spent to extend their current contract while waiting to go-live on their new learning system?

Factoring in the volume and depth of their existing data further increased the project’s complexity. The Learning migration included a vast amount of data compromised of 1 million+ historical records, 2,500 online courses, and 17,000 ILT sessions.

No interruption to the end-user population, an extremely compressed timeline due to the current LMS contract expiring coupled with a high volume of diverse Learning data made this implementation appear to be an insurmountable feat.
ANSWER: eSkillz, a trusted partner known for its industry-leading consultative expertise and best practices.

Working closely with CDW, eSkillz consultants provided end-to-end care for all of CDW’s data migration needs by:

• • • Successfully extracting all the data from their existing LMS
    • Programmatically coding and transforming the data into proper formats required for upload into Cornerstone
    • Accurately and efficiently loading the content and completion data into the new Cornerstone LMS

eSkillz Solution

After a successful three-year partnership, CDW confidently looked to eSkillz for our expert guidance and best practices for migrating their unique learning programs and large amounts of data and content to their new system. Their overall goal was to ensure that CDW processes and programs were seamlessly continued into CSOD. eSkillz provided highly customized support to CDW throughout the project by devising an implementation plan using our extensive knowledge of their existing data and processes combined with paramount respect for their mission-critical data. eSkillz completed an analysis of both systems identifying the critical functionality differences between the systems. Our consultants utilized industry-standard best practices to build the required adjustments into their customized plan to ensure a smooth and logical transition for employees and to positively impact user adoption of the new CSOD system.
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Success is also contingent upon excellent communication and coordination. Careful coordination was needed to safeguard no disruption to CDW’s existing processes including their data feeds. eSkillz closely coordinated with both CDW’s Learning and Development team, the existing system owners and administrative team to provide a seamless addition of the Learning system to their existing Cornerstone platform.

The long-standing relationship between eSkillz and CDW allowed eSkillz to begin immediately with CDW’s customized implementation plan that included data preparation and clean up functions for CDW. eSkillz completed an analysis of CDW’s training data and proceeded efficiently with transforming the data into the format needed for a successful upload into their new CSOD Learning platform.

Results

A new learning platform achieved seamlessly and on-time provides an optimal foundation for the future.

The agile implementation approach eSkillz used in combination with applying years of best practices that eSkillz consultants brought to the table resulted in a successful deployment before the incumbent system’s contract end date.

Now CDW can accomplish all of its Talent & Development system needs, including Learning, in a single location, providing a true one-stop shop for employees and allowing CDW’s HR team to increase their overall efficiencies and offer deep insights into Talent & Development analytics.

Experience the eSkillz Difference for Yourself