What tools come to mind when you think of business productivity applications? The majority of the population will come up with two: Google Suite and Microsoft Office 365. If you had to guess which one is utilized more, most would pick Office 365. That is in fact correct, however that doesn’t mean Google isn’t gaining ground.

Google Suite offers many business productivity tools such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drive, Gmail and more. About four years ago, Google underwent a major development overhaul with an aim to improve their enterprise tools. This initiative was successful, bringing in around 4 million new enterprise users over the course of the next two years. Since it launched in 2006, G Suite’s main user base consisted primarily of schools and start-ups due to its lower prices and the ability to collaborate on a document in real time. With a strong grasp on this demographic, expansion into enterprise applications was the next logical step for Google.

Conversion

In a 2018 survey of 135,000 organizations worldwide, conducted by Bitglass Inc., they found that 25% of the organizations used G Suite and 56% used Office 365. That may seem like a big gap, but Google is steadily growing their market share. Among companies listed on the S&P 1500 index, 7% switched from Office to G Suite in the last two years. This includes large organizations such as Verizon, Nielsen Holding PLC, Colgate-Palmolive and Salesforce.

So what is motivating companies to switch to G Suite? A major factor is the pricing. At $25 per monthly user, G Suite is $10 cheaper per head than Microsoft Office’s top list price. Other reasons that sweeten the deal include:

• • Cloud-based storage
  • Real-time work collaboration
  • Wider array of in-suite applications such as Hangout, Google’s communication app, Photos and Forms. Comparable apps are not offered as a part of Office 365
  • Mobile apps for Docs, Drive, Sheets and Slides

It’s worth noting that a natural part of G Suites’ growth has been its large presence in the academic space. Young adults just entering the workforce grew up using Gmail and Docs for school, creating continuous gradual conversion over time.

Is it for you?

Want to learn more about specific differences between G Suite and Office 365? Feel free to check out this article for a more in-depth comparison. Regardless of which one you use, we have the right training course for you and your team. Check out our OpenSesame training courses for employees from our curated catalog of G Suite training courses or our curated catalog of Office 365 courses.

About the author: Parker Abena, a summer marketing intern at OpenSesame, is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He looks forward to moving out to PNW after school.

The post Why Are Companies Using Google Suite? appeared first on OpenSesame.

1. Consolidate learning strategy

Chertok emphasized the importance of using your LMS to connect with the wider organization. Over 76% of industry leaders use LMS, but less than half are using them for development. To maximize your LMS, it is imperative to create real-time performance management that measures employee contribution to overall organization goals. 35% of industry leaders are consolidating departmental learning strategies to fit the core competencies of the organization.

2. Assess employee goals with the company’s goals

Consider what tasks appeal to specific employees and what their long-term development goals are. Connect personality assessments with performance data and employee goals in order to understand what will motivate employees and help them contribute to organizational goals. Link these goals to your organization’s learning strategy by creating individualized employee development goals and learning programs. For example, McLeod software needed high levels of training for certain positions. How could they create positive ROI when these positions were high turnover? To create a culture of learning and promote retention, they trained employees for their current position and future goals. Additionally, everyone took management skills courses leading to long-term growth for the company.

3. Pass data forward

Chertok urges organizations to look at labor is an investment, not a cost. Employee development can result in a number of long-term benefits for performance. For example, the 18% of industry leaders who focus on employee goals were 2.6 times more likely to have seen retention improve in the last 12 months. Chertok also states that industry leaders are 3.5 times more likely to try to make internal talent as competitive as external talent, making them more likely to see long-term career growth, increased motivation and improved tenure.

By integrating performance with rewards, wellness and workforce management data, organizations can create an adaptive learning program that matches individual career goals with that of the organization. By creating a holistic model, 76% of industry leaders feel that they will be able to successfully motivate employees. 64% felt equipped to resolve having low revenue per work week (FTE). For example, HMS had difficulty linking training with goals and experienced employee dissatisfaction with their programs. They created training tracks to nurture employees from customer service to sales to managers, resulting in a successful learning strategy with positive ROI.

To learn more about strategies and Aberdeen’s research on connecting training to long-term performance, watch the webinar recording here.

The post Connecting Training to Long-Term Performance appeared first on OpenSesame.