Driving change starts at the top. Propelled by the shared belief that the world needs better leaders, for more than 70 years, YPO has brought together chief executives from businesses and organizations across industries to engage in peer learning and exceptional experiences in an inclusive community of trust. By sharing ideas, best practices and knowledge, members are inspired and supported to make a difference in the lives, businesses, and communities around them.

“It can be lonely at the top of a company for CEOs,” explains MarLa Smith, Learning Platforms Manager for Forum and Learning at YPO. “There’s typically no one at their organization who shares the same level of responsibilities and concerns. YPO provides a place where leaders can come together, make friends and business connections, and participate in lifelong learning.”

Today, more than 30,000 chief executives from 142 countries are proud YPO members. The nonprofit is organized into 14 regions and more than 400 chapters. Each local chapter is run by member volunteers who organize educational events, recruit members, and support forums where small groups of members forge deep, trusting relationships by sharing insights and perspectives in an atmosphere of confidentiality. Each chapter has around 10 leadership roles, which include positions such as chapter chair, membership officer and learning officer. Members’ spouses/partners are also afforded learning opportunities as a benefit of YPO membership.

With hundreds of chapter leaders worldwide, YPO offers learning courses, known as the Officer Essentials courses, to help incoming officers understand their roles and the evolving YPO best practices. Today, Adobe Learning Manager supports approximately 30 on-demand Officer Essentials learning modules and an additional 20 modules open to all members who want to absorb some new knowledge on their own time.

“Adobe Learning Manager met all of the requirements that we had for an accessible, mobile- first digital learning platform for our members,” says Smith.

Eliminate guesswork, test everything

For decades, YPO primarily promoted learning through in-person learning sessions. But in recent years, the organization began searching for a learning management system (LMS) that could reliably support digital lessons. “Particularly as our CEOs become more tech savvy, we wanted a mobile-friendly learning platform that would allow us to reach members anywhere,” says Smith.

With Adobe Learning Manager, YPO can deliver courses grouped into specific learning pathways depending on the officer’s role. Gamification elements such as badges encourage officers to complete courses year after year. If YPO updates best practices for the organization, Adobe Learning Manager makes those updates seamless. YPO also takes advantage of multi-tenancy where chapters customize and manage their own Learning Manager instance, role-based reporting, and self-paced learning plans.

“Reusable modules mean that I don’t need to make changes to 20 individual courses,” says Smith. “Instead, I upload one new module to Adobe Learning Manager, and it updates courses in a fraction of the time.”

Visibility into course engagement

YPO also chose Adobe Learning Manager for its robust reporting and tracking. While Officer Essentials courses are not required, they are encouraged, and understanding completion rates can help chapters and regions boost participation. YPO uses the Adobe Learning Manager APIs through MuleSoft to integrate with Salesforce. Chapter managers, regional directors, and other administrators use Salesforce as a central hub to view all member needs, including course participation.

“The Adobe Learning Manager APIs open the doors for customization and integration with the larger YPO digital ecosystem,” says Smith. “For example, we can integrate it into the YPO web application to make it easier for members to access on-demand digital courses.”

While YPO originally released just a handful of on-demand courses for officers, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption. Today, all members have the option to participate in free on-demand continuous learning as part of their YPO membership. One popular course focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion — important topics for any modern CEO to understand. Another introduces best practices for forums to help CEOs get the most out of their peer-to-peer discussions.

YPO membership continues to grow, and one big reason is the way that the organization provides learning and knowledge-sharing opportunities for CEOs and other leaders. Whether through in-person learning, live virtual classrooms, or on-demand learning through Adobe Learning Manager, YPO is helping nurture better leaders.

“I saw how important YPO could be during the pandemic,” says Smith. “Members took the opportunity to engage more with YPO offerings. By connecting our members with the support and resources they need, we’re helping make a difference for businesses and communities around the world.”

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