Sun-drenched Corpus Christi, Texas is home to a number of institutions of higher learning, including a branch of Texas A&M. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the City of Corpus Christi has long recognized the importance of training and educating its 3,000 employees. Until recently, though, the City’s system of classroom training and manual tracking consumed too much time and too many organizational resources. With OpenSesame, the City has been able to grow its training program and seamlessly integrate its courses with the City’s learning management system (LMS), all while still saving money.

“Our Human Resources department launched a new training initiative, the Learning Institute, in 2014,” explains Liza Wisner, learning and organization development manager for the City. “We recognized that online training is one of the best ways to cost-effectively train our staff, and we set out to find the solution that offered the most value, the largest variety of courses, a solid reputation, and the ability to integrate with the learning management system (LMS) we planned to implement. Our search led us to OpenSesame.” Wisner notes that while other vendors offered much of what the City was seeking, OpenSesame’s offering was substantially more affordable than the competitors they reviewed. She was also extremely impressed by the company itself. “Unlike other vendors that try to offer both LMS and training content, OpenSesame doesn’t try to do it all. They focus on providing training content and they do it extremely well. I continue to be impressed by OpenSesame’s level of service and expertise.”

The OpenSesame implementation was a quick success. “We explained the various training paths we wanted, including a Leadership Training and Compliance series, and OpenSesame curated online course bundles for us, using the courses from their library that best matched our needs,” explain Wisner. “They completely exceeded our expectations, going above and beyond in every interaction.”

Employee feedback for the new training portal has been overwhelmingly positive, and OpenSesame has been rolled out to other city departments, including Airports, Police, and Parks and Recreation. “The various department managers love how easily they can assign training to their employees.” One of the City of Corpus Christi’s single biggest wins with OpenSesame is in its Airport department. To meet federal and state compliance mandates, the City must provide proof of employee training in various topics. “With OpenSesame, we can instantly check and see who has taken which courses,” says Wisner.

With literally thousands of available courses, the city has access to a library of courses they need. “OpenSesame has added thousands of additional courses just in the two years we’ve been using the program. And just recently I discovered microlearning courses on OpenSesame,” says Wisner. “They are quick, direct, three- to five-minute long courses that we can view on our mobile devices.”

Wisner has high praise for the customer service the city receives from OpenSesame. “Whenever we’ve needed to contact OpenSesame for support, the service has been amazing. Their service sets the standard; it is the best I’ve experienced.” OpenSesame is helping the City of Corpus Christi demonstrate its commitment to employee development, and promotes engagement and retention. “The city has always invested in employee training, from leadership development to compliance, safety, and technology courses, but that training required a great deal of time and effort to offer and administer. With OpenSesame, we are able to focus our investment and our time on helping our employees and the organization reach our strategic goals.”