Bazaarvoice
Building Business Acumen Case Study
Introduction
As the tech industry continues to evolve, companies must adapt and innovate to remain competitive. This is particularly true for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies, which face unique challenges due to the constantly changing nature of their business. One of the key challenges that companies like Bazaarvoice must address is the need to develop business acumen skills among their employees. In response to this need, Bazaarvoice's executives recognized the gap in their employees' business acumen and partnered with Acumen Learning to provide customized business acumen and sales training programs.
​“As a leading SAAS organization specializing in user-generated content programs, Bazaarvoice understands the unique challenges and opportunities that come with this industry. By prioritizing leadership development in business acumen, Bazaarvoice is taking a proactive approach to addressing these challenges and positioning itself for continued success. I have no doubt that the investment in their future leaders will pay dividends in the years to come.”
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GREG KANDARE
Senior Financial Consultant at Acumen Learning
Benefits of Developing Business Acumen Skills
Business acumen skills are essential for future leaders in the tech industry. These skills enable employees to make informed decisions and align their goals and strategies with the company's objectives. By developing these skills, future leaders can better understand their company's financial and business operations, analyze data and trends, and make strategic decisions that align with the company's objectives. This not only benefits the company as a whole but also enhances employees' career prospects and increases their confidence in their decision-making abilities.
Furthermore, developing business acumen skills can also lead to increased innovation within a company. When employees understand the financial and operational implications of their decisions, they are more likely to propose new ideas and take calculated risks. They can identify market trends and opportunities, and make informed recommendations on how the company can capitalize on these trends. Additionally, employees with strong business acumen can effectively communicate the financial benefits and risks of new ideas to decision-makers, increasing the chances of those ideas being implemented. This fosters a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, which can be a significant competitive advantage in the tech industry.
Challenges Faced by SAAS Companies and the Importance of Business Acumen
SAAS companies face unique challenges such as high customer churn rates, rapidly changing market dynamics, and fierce competition. To succeed in this environment, employees must have a solid understanding of business acumen. With the ability to analyze data and identify patterns, employees can identify areas for improvement, reduce customer churn, and make informed decisions that lead to sustainable growth.
In addition to high customer churn rates, rapidly changing market dynamics, and fierce competition, SAAS companies also face other challenges such as the need to constantly innovate and stay ahead of industry trends, compliance and regulatory issues, and managing a remote workforce. These challenges require a deep understanding of the company's financial and business operations, as well as the ability to analyze data and identify patterns to make informed decisions. Developing business acumen skills among employees is crucial to overcoming these challenges and ensuring the company's success in a constantly evolving industry. By investing in the development of their employees, SAAS companies can position themselves for continued growth and success.
Customizing Training Programs to a Company's Specific Needs
Bazaarvoice recognized the importance of customized training programs to address the identified gap in business acumen among its employees. The company partnered with Acumen Learning, which tailored its Building Business Acumen course to incorporate Bazaarvoice's own data, challenges, industry, and competitors. This approach ensured that the training was relevant and specific to Bazaarvoice's needs, enabling employees to apply their newly acquired skills directly to their work. By customizing training programs, companies can ensure that employees receive the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their specific industry, resulting in more engaged, efficient, and effective employees.
Additionally, it is important to note that off the shelf and generic simulations that use dated or fake business scenarios and financial statements are not the answer. Such training programs may provide a general understanding of business concepts, but they often lack the specificity and relevance required to make a real impact on employees' decision-making abilities. And while customized simulations may seem like a viable solution, they can come with their own set of challenges. These simulations can be expensive to develop and require constant updates to remain relevant. Even a slight change in a company's strategy or operations could render the simulation outdated, leading to the need for another costly development cycle. This can create a never-ending cycle of development and costs, making it less practical for companies to invest in highly customized simulations as a sustainable business acumen training solution. Customizing business and financial acumen training programs to a company's specific needs and challenges, as Bazaarvoice did, is crucial to ensuring that employees are equipped with the right tools and knowledge to address the unique challenges of their industry. By incorporating real-time data and addressing the specific challenges facing a company, customized training programs can provide employees with timely and relevant information that they can apply directly to their work. This approach not only ensures that employees are up-to-date with the latest industry trends and developments, but it also helps to increase engagement, boost productivity, and drive growth.
Impact of the Partnership
The partnership between Bazaarvoice and Acumen Learning has already had a positive impact on the company's future leaders. According to Gayle Wiley, Chief People Officer of Bazaarvoice, "Partnering with Acumen Learning has been instrumental in bridging the identified gap in business acumen among our employees. We look forward to continuing this partnership to support the growth and development of our future leaders." The recent business and financial acumen course received an NPS score of 86, with feedback indicating that the course exceeded expectations. Employees cited numerous benefits, including improved decision-making skills, increased confidence, enhanced career prospects, better financial planning, and improved communication skills. By investing in the development of their future leaders, Bazaarvoice is taking a proactive approach to addressing the challenges and opportunities that come with the tech industry. This partnership has positioned the company for continued success by ensuring that employees have the business acumen skills needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving industry.
Moving forward, Bazaarvoice is confident that their partnership with Acumen Learning will result in continued growth and innovation for the company. Keith Nealon, CEO of Bazaarvoice, states that, "Our partnership with Acumen Learning has provided us with the tools and knowledge to make more informed business decisions, enabling us to drive growth and innovation in the rapidly evolving tech industry. We are excited to continue working with Acumen Learning to further develop the business acumen of our employees and stay ahead of industry trends." By prioritizing the development of their employees' business acumen skills, Bazaarvoice is better positioned to adapt to changes in the tech industry and maintain their competitive edge.
The Importance of Ongoing Training and Development
Recent research by the Center for Creative Leadership reveals that a mere 15% of the knowledge gained through classroom learning is actually implemented on the job without any additional support or follow-up. This highlights the importance of providing employees with ongoing training and development opportunities to ensure that they are able to apply their learning effectively in the workplace. Without proper reinforcement, valuable knowledge acquired through training programs may go to waste, resulting in missed opportunities for growth and success. Organizations must make a concerted effort to support employees in their learning journey to maximize the benefits of employee development.
To address this, Bazaarvoice recognized the significance of knowledge and skill transfer and partnered with Acumen Learning to provide employees with a comprehensive and sustained learning experience. The Building Business Acumen course offered by Acumen Learning is followed by the Acumen In Action, a learning portal which provides employees with access to a growing library of on-demand videos, twelve short lessons that can be shared by graduates as part of a team meeting, real-world case studies, and the same job aids that participants learned to use in the classroom.
This exemplifies Acumen Learning's commitment to providing graduates with the necessary resources for continued learning and skill development, positioning Bazaarvoice for ongoing success. The Acumen In Action portal ensures that employees can apply their learning effectively in the workplace, leading to improved performance and growth opportunities.
Conclusion
The tech industry is rapidly changing, and Software-as-a-Service companies face unique challenges that require employees to have strong business acumen skills. Developing these skills is essential for future leaders to make informed decisions that align with the company's objectives, analyze data and trends, and identify areas for improvement. As demonstrated by Bazaarvoice's partnership with Acumen Learning, customizing training programs to a company's specific needs is crucial to ensure that employees receive relevant and specific knowledge and skills. The positive impact of this partnership on Bazaarvoice's future leaders highlights the importance of ongoing training and development to stay competitive in the tech industry. L&D leaders in technology or SAAS companies must recognize that if business and financial acumen is not a training priority, it should be. Investing in the development of their employees' business acumen skills will not only benefit the company but also fast track employees' career trajectory and increase confidence in their decision-making abilities.
​“We are committed to investing in the development of our future leaders, and that includes ensuring they have the business acumen skills needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving tech industry. Partnering with Acumen Learning has been instrumental in bridging the identified gap in business acumen among our employees. We look forward to continuing this partnership to support the growth and development of our future leaders.”
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GAYLE WILEY
Chief People Officer of Bazaarvoice
“The instructor made finance fun! Complex themes well distilled into easy-to-understand lessons on what matters in P&L / SaaS.”
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“Excellent, I learned about the key finance terms and how to apply changes and levers to move these in our org.”
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“Loved it! Great overview of business acumen with specific examples from our organization. Also, great job using SaaS language to make it super relevant.”
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“Fantastic course. Simplifying complex topics! Engaging instructor. Leaving with a lot more confidence and understanding of business acumen.”
Net Promoter Score​
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About Acumen Learning
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Founded in 2002, Acumen Learning’s highly customized business acumen and sales training programs have helped organizations develop more engaged, efficient, and effective employees. To further support its mission, Acumen Learning published, Seeing the Big Picture – Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, in 2012 which quickly became a #1 Wall Street Journal and a New York Times bestseller. More than 20 years later, Acumen Learning has been trusted by more than 200 organizations on six continents to help employees understand how their company makes money, and to take real steps towards improving that process.
