Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo Case Study

How LinkedIn Learning empowered Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo employees to make learning a habit and shape company strategy

In a competitive marketplace, which features several players and a myriad of external pressures, developing your workforce is key. To remain competitive, and to ensure you attract, retain, and develop talent, a robust learning and development strategy can play a critical role.

Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo, which have offices in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, know only too well how important it is to train a workforce and arm it with the right skills. Learning has always been at the conglomerate’s core, and so it is no stranger to e-learning initiatives. However, Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo all wished to take learning to a higher level.

Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo wanted to engage their employees further and offer a platform that could provide courses in numerous subjects, targeted at different levels of proficiency. The businesses, with offices in four countries, chose LinkedIn Learning and found exactly what it was looking for, not only from a product standpoint, but also from a partnership perspective.

Adolfo de LaRosa, Regional Learning and Development Manager at Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo, explained why LinkedIn Learning was chosen: “Service,” he said. “Honestly, service. The way LinkedIn Learning approached us and positioned the service, the offering as a whole and the relationships built – even during the purchasing process – was the main differential.”

LinkedIn Learning supported Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo as they embedded the new learning platform within the company, including 500 learning licences across multiple sites and offices. The challenge was clear – the learning platform had to work for all employees, and content had to be available in multiple languages and aimed at differing competencies. LinkedIn, Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo were up for the challenge.

Adolfo continued: “Our communications team had a conversation with the LinkedIn Learning team and together, they designed a launch plan. We also had conversations with our leadership team and end users to highlight our investment and our expectations. But most importantly, it was critical that they understood how they could benefit from this initiative from both a personal and professional perspective.”

Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo did not only want to train their employees – the businesses had a “wider vision”. They wanted employees to learn from each other, creating an opportunity to learn within a more social setting.

Believing that learning could also be driven by empowering colleagues to support engagement, motivate and take a bigger role in the project itself, they created the “Learning Connectors” program, which enabled specific learners – that stood out in terms of learning activity – to lead learner groups within the organisation and set up learning sessions with colleagues. From recommending content to having online sessions where groups shared their expertise, this initiative drove engagement even further, allowing direct input from employees towards learning and development initiatives.“The Learning Connectors Program gives learners an opportunity to lead,” Adolfo said. “Regardless of seniority level or department, a learner is encouraged to give suggestions on which skills we should develop according to their group’s experience and feedback. This gives them a feeling of ‘ownership’. Also when we have meetings, we listen to their advice and guidance on which direction we should take. Again, this empowers employees and highlights the important part that they play in shaping the business, including learning strategies.”

Adolfo added: “If employees turn learning into a habit, and if leaders empower their employees on their development journey, the success of any project will be translated into positive results for all parties involved.”

Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo have had incredible results. For instance, one month after launching the project, 90 per cent of employees were already active on LinkedIn Learning. One year in, learners are close to completing 10,000 courses on the platform and breaking the milestone of 75,000 videos watched.Adolfo concluded: “The fact that employees could access training on demand, without the bureaucracy of requesting training, budget, and going through multiple layers of approval, was key to driving learning as a habit. Previously employees could spend 16 hours on face-to-face training and come away with three concepts. With LinkedIn Learning, they can easily obtain useful information, which they can implement in their day-to-day role, from watching a short video online. That’s why we value LinkedIn and look forward to continuing our work with the platform in the future.”

The results

About Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo

Gerdau Metaldom and Gerdau Diaco are two of the main players in the steel sales and distribution industry, with commercial presence and operations in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, serving more than 30 countries in the Americas and Caribbean region. Cyrgo distributes construction materials across the Colombian market. Together, the businesses’ presence is felt across the continent.

The Challenge
● To provide employees with opportunities for self-development

● To support employee career progression and personal growth through multilingual courses

● To engage multiple audiences, with different backgrounds and interests, across a vast continent

The Solution
● 500 LinkedIn Learning licenses, rolled out across strategic audiences within the company

● Content recommendation for employees in line with company culture, values and performance goals

● Empower employees to be champions of the platform, selecting leaders in the program to curate content and run study groups across the company

INDUSTRIES : Building Materials

NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 1,001-5,000

Company page on LinkedIn

Company website

What the learners say

“LinkedIn Learning awakens the curiosity within me – when I’m unfamiliar with important topics, I know that knowledge and development are one click away. I just have to search for it and explore a world of possibilities. LinkedIn Learning has contributed heavily to develop different skills such as leadership, communication, innovation and finance in a simple way. It’s been a friendly network that has helped me to overcome many challenges.”

Jennifer Taveras
Innovation, Information Technology

“LinkedIn Learning is a wonderful tool. It has allowed me to access the skills that I need. COVID-19 has disrupted the way we work but LinkedIn Learning has allowed me to develop my remote working skills, because I have been able to access and manage virtual tools (Teams, Office 365, digital documents, Excel, Power BI, among others), to obtain skills in creativity, business acumen, information management and digital transformation. I have achieved positive results that have added value to the objectives set by my organisation.”

Franklin Felix Alcantara
Procurement – Treasury

“Continuous development is fundamental and necessary; the most pressing example is the current situation, due to the sanitary emergency, which has caused us to adapt to information and communication technologies. LinkedIn Learning is the best tool to acquire knowledge, keep updated, adapt and reinvent yourself to optimise and improve. In my case, to develop communication skills with my team and customers, strengthen the use of technological tools and data analysis, among others. Most importantly, I can share the knowledge and information in a seamless way, much like LinkedIn Learning does also.”

Nelson Enrique Novoa Torres
Lamination, Muña Plant

How LinkedIn Learning empowered Gerdau Metaldom, Gerdau Diaco and Cyrgo employees to make learning a habit and shape strategy

Taking e-learning to a higher level

Why LinkedIn Learning was the learning platform of choice

Adopting a learning platform that works for all

Let employees take ownership of their learning

Making learning a habit

The results

Courses completed & videos watched

Learning hours