In our latest success story, we caught up with Rebecca McDonald, People and Development Associate Director at Silverbean. Over the past 12 months, Rebecca has been leading Silverbean’s talent management strategy, which focuses on providing their team with clear pathways for gradual career progression. We chatted with Rebecca about Thinqi’s role in achieving those ambitions.
The Silverbean Leadership Academy
Silverbean has found great success in addressing leadership and skill gaps by turning to its internal team and identifying how its existing people can grow and flourish to reach the next step in their careers.
Rebecca spearheaded the Silverbean Leadership Academy, created on the Thinqi platform. The academy provides structured, multi-level training programmes that give employees a clear view of their career progression opportunities. The programmes are CPD-qualified, reinforcing the importance of employees dedicating time to learning and development initiatives like The Leadership Academy.
This structured approach offers employees a clear roadmap for development, helping them envision their next steps and ensuring they are ready to step into the future of leadership roles. By prioritising internal talent development, Silverbean secures the long-term retention of specialised expertise, which is essential to its business strategy.
A Streamlined Approach to Accessing Learning Content
Before partnering with Thinqi, Silverbean relied on a browser-based file-sharing platform to store its learning content, including onboarding materials and resources for face-to-face training. However, this system was disorganised, making it difficult for employees to find relevant content at the point of need, resulting in low engagement with learning materials.
The lack of structure also made it difficult for Rebecca and the senior leadership team to track employee progress and engagement with learning content. Without access to data and analytics, it was nearly impossible to identify skill gaps or address learning needs effectively.
That’s when Silverbean turned to Thinqi to create a more streamlined and data-driven approach to learning. By centralising all learning materials within Thinqi’s platform, Rebecca transformed the learning experience for employees. Interactive learning content is now easily accessible whenever needed, leading to a more efficient and seamless learning journey for the team. Rebecca reflected on these improvements:
“People know that if they need to refresh their knowledge on a particular topic, they can easily refer back to the platform. We’re no longer dealing with multiple versions of outdated files. The team trusts the platform and actively engages with it.”
Easily Tracking Training Progress
Centralizing learning content with Thinqi also provided Silverbean with valuable insights into employee engagement. Using Thinqi’s Reward and Recognition features, such as Badges, the team can now track who has successfully completed training programmes. This not only improves accountability but also enhances employee motivation to participate in learning initiatives.
As part of Silverbean’s talent management strategy, they leverage Thinqi’s Success Profiles and Competency Frameworks to assess employee development. These tools allow the leadership team to measure employees’ progress against career objectives and identify the necessary steps for future growth and skill development.
Identifying skills gaps
With Thinqi’s Success Profiles and Competency Frameworks, Silverbean now has a clear overview of how employees are performing against their progression goals and whether they need further support. This is especially important given the niche nature of the affiliate marketing skills that Silverbean requires.
Rebecca explained, “We need people who understand affiliate marketing, and those skills are hard to come by in the job market. Because these skills are so niche, we find it easier to look internally when we need to fill a role and focus on how we can upskill or reskill individuals to take the next step in their careers.”
This data-driven approach has also streamlined Silverbean’s feedback processes. “We use this information in our monthly 1-to-1s,” Rebecca shared, “which makes giving feedback easier and provides employees with a clear pathway to progression.”
Impressive Results: 18% of Staff Promoted Within 12 months
The results speak for themselves. By embracing a centralised and structured approach to learning with Thinqi, Silverbean has seen significant progress in developing internal talent. In the past 12 months, 18% of Silverbean’s staff were promoted, demonstrating the success of their leadership academy and L&D strategy.
Conclusion
Silverbean’s partnership with Thinqi has transformed its approach to learning and development. By streamlining content, tracking engagement, and using data to drive progression, Silverbean is successfully nurturing in-house talent and preparing its team for future growth. With a focus on upskilling employees and promoting from within, Silverbean continues to strengthen its position as a leader in affiliate marketing while retaining and developing top talent.
