7 customer success strategies from Axonify Community Days in Atlanta

Axonify Community Days brought together leaders from frontline organizations to foster connections and share success stories. At this year’s event, which took place at the Epicurean in Atlanta, the Axonify team, together with HR, Operations and L&D leaders across the Axonify Community spent two days in conversation about what frontline work looks like today and collaborated on a vision of what the future could look like. And the future looks bright. 

The event offered vital networking opportunities, allowing professionals to find new connections and strengthen existing ones. Attendees shared inspiring insights and innovative strategies they’re using to elevate frontline performance within their organizations—and they’re just too good to keep to ourselves. 

Here’s a list of the must-read takeaways: 

1. Frontline enablement with AI: Empowering your frontline workforce

Empowering frontline employees is crucial for organizational success. Axonify Community Days showcased how companies are leveraging AI capabilities, using data to refine strategies, fuel content creation in a fraction of the time, boost engagement and lighten the load for frontline managers by equipping these essential workers with the tools and knowledge they need to excel.

Customer insight: Jeffrey Paduano, Multimedia & eLearning Manager from Archrock, an energy infrastructure company, explained how Axonify’s mobile accessibility and competitive elements make it a top employee benefit, noting they’re using “Max [Axonify’s conversational AI assistant] to help field technicians become problem-solvers by accessing OEM manuals and troubleshooting info, reducing operational costs and unnecessary replacements.”

2. Agile technology: Adapting to evolving needs

The discussions at Axonify Community Days underscored the critical need for agile and nimble technology ecosystems. Organizations are prioritizing platforms that can swiftly adapt to changing business needs and communication demands, particularly during significant transformations like growth of the business.

Customer insight: Leanne Kearney, VP of Training & Development at Citizens Bank, emphasized the importance of having the right tools and technology to adapt to any business needs. Leanne shared how Citizens upskill newly acquired associates during mergers and acquisitions before they officially start in their new roles, to help them hit the ground running.

3. Building trust: The foundation of strong relationships

Trust is vital in any successful organization. The event emphasized creating a culture where people feel heard and information is accurate, relying on strategies that include active listening, transparent communication and psychological safety to establish a positive work—and learning—environment. 

Customer insight: Alison Lambert, Director of Engagement & Insights at Eurest, explained how she establishes strong relationships with key stakeholders and leverages data to foster trust within the organization. Additionally, she emphasized the need for careful content curation for frontline workers, ensuring they receive a balanced blend of engaging and practical material that further builds trust.

4. Upskilling for a shifting workforce: Nurturing foundational knowledge and career growth

Addressing the realities of a dynamic workforce, particularly where new hires may lack foundational knowledge, like how to answer a ringing phone, emerged as a key theme throughout many panels and roundtables. Companies are focusing on providing targeted training that emphasizes problem-solving and customer service while fostering a culture of internal promotion and clear career paths.

Customer insight: Scott Kraus, Vice President Training at O’Reilly Auto Parts, highlighted the importance of “slowing down training for genuine retention,” emphasizing the O’Reilly commitment to ensuring employees have a deep understanding of core concepts in a sector where many customers seek solutions to problems. O’Reilly aims to create a culture that promotes from within, emphasizing career paths rather than just jobs.

5. Employee engagement: How interest and impact go hand-in-hand

An engaged workforce is the bedrock of productivity. During the two-day sessions, attendees explored diverse strategies for fostering engagement, including a variety of feedback channels, recognition programs and strong management that aligned with company values and comprehensive support systems.

Customer insight: Todd Lucas, Director of Family Culture at Family Farm & Home, shared how his custom-built product-centric learning videos, internally branded as “Todd Talks”, achieve 100% engagement on Axonify, leading to increased sales and reduced turnover. The secret to success with these videos? It makes learning fun, relatable and personal by using humor and putting internal subject matter experts, like store managers, in the spotlight to keep participation high and content fresh.

John Manousos, Learning Platform Optimization & Reporting Lead, and Cathy Campbell, Digital Analyst, Learning Solutions Excellence from Johnson & Johnson, shared how engaging, internal programs like “Trivia Showdown” and reinforcing product knowledge help to achieve 90% platform engagement. This builds trust in the organization’s commitment to continuous learning and accurate information. They’re able to drive significant cost savings and time reduction in training with learning empowered by Axonify. 

6. Change management: Navigating transformation with confidence

With the speed of business today, effective change management has never been more critical. Luckily, attendees were eager to share their proven tactics for aligning stakeholders, developing clearly defined roles and prioritizing people to successfully navigate transformations.

Customer insights: Amy Parman, Senior Director of Organizational Learning & Development at Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, stressed how “simple, video-centric communication” can emphasize the positive impact of shifting the focus of employee development from just being in a role to deepening competency with technological support. 

7. The power of partnership with a shared goal

Success in learning and development is amplified when partnerships are forged with a shared vision. Aligning learning initiatives with broader business objectives and prioritizing the learners’ needs creates a mutually beneficial outcome.

Customer insight: Khiawah Pearce, Associate Director, Learning Platforms Strategy from AT&T, highlighted this theme, explaining that, by putting the learner first and aligning with other business stakeholders across the organization, it creates a “win-win” situation for everyone involved.

Community and connection: When industry leaders start learning together

Beyond the insightful sessions, the Axonify Community Days event in Atlanta was a testament to the power of community, innovation and shared learning and we’re proud to say that attendees left inspired and equipped with new insights and strategies to drive success in their organizations. There’s nothing quite like being in a collaborative space to see new ideas bloom and blossom, producing a true sense of connection among like-minded leaders.