IBM’s Think Academy is a model for employee education

IBM’s Think Academy is a multi-faceted program through which the organization’s 370,000-plus employees can learn about the company’s strategic imperatives and develop the skills required to succeed in them. Its effectiveness has earned IBM first place in the “Employee Education” category of Ragan’s 2016 Employee Communications Awards.

Employees use Learning Maps to move step by step through various personalized training programs to acquire the knowledge they need based on their roles. Think Academy also uses contests in which IBMers share photos, videos, and personal narratives. Internal marketing drives ongoing awareness of the program and alerts employees to new modules available to them. 

Ninety-six percent of all IBM employees have availed themselves of Think Academy’s 32 courses, available in 11 languages in 97 countries. That includes 10.2 million video views and 80,000 mobile app downloads. 

Ann Rubin, Amy Loomis, Jennifer Vickery, Tiffany Lawton and Christopher Luongo are to be commended for their amazing work.