Uptick Reduces “Launch Anxiety” with a Structured Digital Onboarding Program

Uptick, a leading fire inspection software company, faced significant challenges in scaling their customer onboarding due to the complexity of their software and resource-intensive training sessions. Gainsight CE allowed them to establish a structured onboarding framework and modular learning paths that transformed their educational approach, making it more efficient and personalized. This strategic overhaul not only reduced onboarding times and streamlined training processes but also increased customer satisfaction and adoption, setting a robust foundation for continuous improvement and future enhancements in customer education.

Before adopting Gainsight CE, Uptick encountered formidable challenges in its customer training and onboarding processes that impacted its efficiency and scalability. As a developer of software critical for maintaining life, health, and safety assets in buildings, Uptick required a comprehensive and effective training program to ensure users could fully leverage their platform’s capabilities.

The complexity of Uptick’s product made it challenging to provide customers with the necessary information to be operational in their first few days. The initial onboarding process was heavily reliant on lengthy, 1:1 human-led sessions that were both resource-intensive and difficult to schedule. These onboarding sessions, while tailored to each customer’s needs, end up totalling 9+ hours over the course of weeks to months, which was hurting the onboarding process and frustrating customers and the onboarding team alike. Aleks Petrovic, Product Learning Architect at Uptick explained, “Training would be three one-hour sessions a week for three weeks. What tends to happen across a nine session gap is you have people missing sessions, or someone is sick or needs to reschedule. Very quickly three weeks becomes three months.”

This method proved unsustainable for Uptick. The team frequently faced scheduling conflicts and delays, which not only stretched the onboarding duration but also escalated costs significantly. Furthermore, the extensive personal involvement required from the team prevented them from focusing on strategic goals and other value-added activities, creating a bottleneck in customer education.

Recognizing these issues, they saw the urgent need for a transformation in their training approach to accommodate growing demands without compromising the quality of education provided. They sought a robust platform capable of delivering structured, scalable, and engaging learning experiences that could reduce the direct involvement of their onboarding specialists.

With the aim of overcoming these challenges, Uptick began its search for a solution that could not only streamline their educational offerings but also enhance the overall efficiency of their customer training program.

Gainsight CE revolutionized Uptick’s approach to customer education, introducing more structured onboarding and tailored learning paths that significantly improved the efficiency and impact of their training programs.

These enhancements not only streamlined the onboarding process but also personalized the learning experience, ensuring that each customer received focused and strategic support tailored to their specific needs.

Uptick embraced Gainsight CE to establish a more structured and efficient onboarding framework. This allowed the team to meticulously organize the onboarding journey into distinct, manageable phases aimed to decrease the overall time to value and reduce the manual burden of the onboarding team.

By leveraging Gainsight CE’s capabilities, Uptick was able to standardize the initial stages of onboarding through automated, self-guided modules that customers could complete at their own pace. This foundational training covered the essential aspects of Uptick’s software, preparing customers for more complex topics before engaging in live sessions. The automation of these initial stages allowed for a more consistent delivery of critical information, freeing up their internal teams’ valuable time.

Without the live 1:1 sessions, the Onboarding team and Customer Success Managers (CSMs) were no longer burdened by how-to tutorials and could then focus on more strategic issues specific to each customer’s unique operational needs. These sessions became opportunities to delve into advanced functionalities, customization options, and strategic implementations that could drive significant value for the customers. This shift not only enhanced the effectiveness of the training but also increased customer satisfaction, as users felt their specific needs and challenges were being directly addressed.

Learning paths, a curated set of courses, became a pivotal component for Uptick to deliver a personalized approach to education. They focused on crafting learning experiences that could be tailored to individual needs, enhancing engagement by connecting with users on a personal level and addressing their unique learning styles and knowledge gaps. Petrovic shared “I really like Gainsight CE’s learning paths because it lets customers go on a specific journey, learning exactly what they need to know.”

By segmenting complex training content into organized, manageable modules, Uptick enabled customers to navigate through the learning process on their own. This approach not only made learning more efficient but also more enjoyable. Customers could also focus on specific areas of the software at their own pace, returning to modules as needed, which reinforced understanding and retention without becoming overbearing.

Moreover, the modular design of Gainsight CE’s learning paths meant that Uptick could offer varied content formats making the educational journey feel less like a mandatory training session and more like a personalized learning experience. This customization ensured that each user’s training felt directly relevant to their daily tasks and challenges, significantly enhancing the practical application of knowledge gained. This shift not only made learning more accessible but also more engaging, as users could interact with the material on their terms, leading to a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the software.

Using Gainsight CE has yielded substantial improvements in onboarding efficiency and customer engagement at Uptick. These enhancements have not only accelerated the onboarding process but also deepened user understanding and adoption, fundamentally transforming how customers interact with the platform.

The introduction of Gainsight CE dramatically accelerated Uptick’s onboarding process. They shifted away from heavy reliance on live onboarding and used the Uptick Academy to reduce 75%-80% of constant training repetition. Petrovic shared that, “There’s been a lot less derailing since Uptick Academy launched, things stay on schedule.”

Previously, the onboarding consisted of nine 60-minute sessions, totalling 9 hours of training, spread across three weeks, often extending to two to three months due to scheduling issues and the need for recaps caused by memory gaps. With Gainsight CE, this process was condensed into three focused 90-minute sessions complemented by one or two enablement sessions. This streamlined approach not only reduced the time to onboard but also minimized the cognitive load on new users, enhancing their ability to retain information and apply it effectively.

Gainsight CE transformed the onboarding experience for both customers and the onboarding team. Customers now arrive at training sessions better prepared, having engaged with self-directed, interactive courses within Uptick Academy. This preparation allows for deeper, more strategic conversations and exploration of technical topics and system setup during live sessions. The reduction in time spent addressing fundamental questions has freed the onboarding team to focus on more complex inquiries and personalized training needs. Petrovic noted, “Uptick Academy has become the backbone of our onboarding sessions.” Additionally, it provides a reliable resource for users to refresh their knowledge and find answers more efficiently than ever before.

Since launching Uptick Academy, course completion rates surged 500%, demonstrating not only a heightened level of engagement, but also an increased adoption of the platform among users. “Because of this engagement,” according to Petrovic, “there’s been a noticeable decrease in ‘launch anxiety’ among customers.”

The interactive and engaging format of the Academy courses has led to better retention of the material compared to the previous reliance on help center articles. This enhanced learning experience during onboarding has not only facilitated initial product adoption but also contributed to long-term customer retention. Customers are more confident in using the platform from the outset, which translates into sustained engagement and loyalty.

Building on the success of Uptick Academy, Uptick plans to further enhance its training programs by exploring advanced analytics and possibly incorporating more personalized learning experiences. As the platform evolves, Uptick is committed to continuously improving its educational offerings to meet the growing and changing needs of its customers.