A year of the pandemic turned out to be the most intensive year of learning for SoftServe employees. SoftServe University has launched its Annual Report 2020 with stunning figures (SoftServe University Report 2020).
SoftServe associates spent 244,116 hours during 2020, improving their skills and strengthening their knowledge at the corporate University. The learning also affected employees’ career growth. Those who took part in at least 25 SoftServe University educational initiatives over the past year reached the next career level 18% faster than others. The corporate University covers seven main directions that help employees enhance personal and professional skills – technology and development; business and management; language and cross-cultural communications; certification; project management; personal development and leadership; business analysis and product management. 622 mentors, 225 trainers, and 16 coaches were involved as teachers.
“Despite that 2020 was full of challenges, it opened the potential for new opportunities in a special way. We transferred all learning initiatives into the online format in a few days, significantly increasing the audience. We implemented solutions that have helped our employees adapt to the new working conditions. Many strategic projects were implemented due to the new reality, allowing our associates to gain expertise and unlock potential even during the pandemic,” – comments Galyna Datsiv, AVP of Learning and Development at SoftServe.
The pandemic, uncertainty, and new working conditions, namely the online format, lead to the need for learning in a context of new challenges. The company organized the Risk management month, Remote management fundamentals course, and workshops between projects.
The company organized Mental Wellbeing Week with lectures and workshops from internal and invited experts during the year. Also, SoftServe University, in collaboration with the International Coaching Federation, launched The Coaching Week. The best coaching practices of organizations and communities were discussed within the event. More than 3000 employees participated in both initiatives. During the year, 24 associates participated in the D&I certification program and became the ambassadors of implementing the corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives.
SoftServe continued to implement the leadership development initiatives such as Delivery Directors’ Leadership, Future Vice-presidents, Tech Leads Ramp-up, Project Managers Leadership, Quality Control Leads. 1430 employees participated in more than 80 master-classes from the company leaders, and 171 leaders mentored the colleagues, helping to cope with new challenges and shape the new business vision. SoftServe associates also shared their experience, knowledge, and best practices within The Talk initiative, the community for informal education, and cooperation. In general, the need for individual learning and mentorship has increased by 43% compared to the previous year.
More than 2000 SoftServe employees learned English, German, Polish, Spanish, and French languages during the year. More than 1000 students graduated from SoftServe IT Academy; 600 started their first job at the company.
2020 also turned out to be a year of global recognition for SoftServe University: it was praised with ATD Excellence in Practice Award 2021 by the honored Association for Talent Development for building up a learning ecosystem.