Energy Exemplar’s simulation and forecasting software is used by a highly technical audience of Transmission and Generation Planners, System Operators, Data and Market Analysts, Marketers, and Risk Managers in the energy industry.

Prior to working with Skilljar, Energy Exemplar had an instructor-led training program, but its success was limited by a global team of trainers who were challenged to deliver technical information without a formalized set of resources. Upon purchasing Energy Exemplar’s software, and based on the type of package, clients received a specific number of training hours, delivered live via Zoom or in-person. Clients were also dependent upon a trainer to help answer all of their questions.

Further, once the purchased support hours were completed, Energy Exemplar’s customers were left without additional training resources or post-training materials. Ultimately, Energy Exemplar needed a centralized, standardized education program that would provide in-depth, consistent training for the company’s global workforce and a tool that will scale alongside the company’s growth in the coming years.

Goals

• Accelerate time-to-value for clients and increase the number of skilled modelers

• Position Energy Exemplar as a leading provider of optimization modeling education

• Increase the business’ ability to scale over the long-term

Given the importance of developing a formal, consistent Customer Education program, Energy Exemplar made the decision to hire Dallas Jensen as the company’s Head of Global Learning.

With Dallas at the helm and support from a wide variety of internal departments, in just three months Energy Exemplar launched its training program, xPert, which included two training portals targeting customers and internal employees.

Dallas works closely with the company’s Support Team to create and repurpose valuable content. Prior to working with Skilljar, the company had an existing archive of presentations that were delivered to clients via live and virtual instructor-led training. Using these slides as a starting point, Energy Exemplar updated the content and used them as the foundation for its early video content.

In terms of the development process, for each course, Dallas creates a Learning Project Plan and works with the Support Management Team to determine who should own the creation of the content. Once the key subject matter experts and content developers are identified, Dallas manages the rest of the process with regular check-ins and communication.

Results

• In just three months, Dallas and his team launched two unique training portals – one for customers and one for internal employees
• Across its domains, Energy Exemplar has an average 30-day completion rate of 70%
• Three months after launching xPert, the average student now engages in nearly 3.5 hours of training
• Energy Exemplar’s “Getting Started with xPert” course has more than an 80% average completion rate

What’s Next

• Implement role-based learning paths in xPert
• Launch PLEXOS Core & Aurora Core Certifications
• Launch role-based Certifications
• Release a university student learning path and certification program