Procter & Gamble fuels innovation with online learning
- Location:
United States headquarters
- Size:
Enterprise
- Industry:
Fast moving consumer goods
- Topics:
Employee engagement, Tech and Data
Overview
Leading consumer goods company Procter and Gamble (P&G) is undergoing a digital transformation, and that means many employees need to upskill to help extract value from the company’s data. When some employees in the Research and Development (R&D) division discovered Coursera, they felt the in-depth, university-developed content would be valuable for their colleagues who wanted to upskill in areas such as data science, machine learning, and AI. The champions in R&D recommended courses and distributed Coursera access to interested team members, igniting enthusiasm for online learning.
Since then, more than 1,600 employees have used Coursera to upskill. Coursera users powered product and process innovations using data and became better leaders and collaborators across the organization. Several employees have become advocates for Coursera, encouraging their colleagues to make time for learning so P&G can continue to innovate.
Challenge
Turning industry experts into digital innovators
Consumer goods company Procter and Gamble (P&G) has a presence in homes around the world, with products ranging from dish and laundry detergents to health, hygiene, and grooming products. The Research and Development (R&D) division plays a key role in using innovation to help P&G create new products that delight consumers.
Innovation at P&G goes beyond creating products consumers love. The company is digitizing massive amounts of research data into new systems as it undergoes a digital transformation. As a result, P&G has focused on upskilling employees so they can use data to glean insights, and improve products and processes.
“Now that our innovators have access to more data than ever before, we need to power them with the right skills to extract value from that data,” says Heather Rocchetta, Vice President of Data & Modeling Sciences, Corporate R&D. “When it comes to product research, that could mean identifying data insights that help us improve formula designs to meet consumers’ needs as well as keeping up with the evolving demand for sustainable offerings.”
ABOUT PROCTER AND GAMBLE
Procter and Gamble is a leading consumer goods company designing and manufacturing products that improve the lives of consumers worldwide. The company promotes global stewardship and innovation in everything from employee development to environmental conservation and strives to stay at the forefront of the consumer products industry by encouraging ongoing and sustainable innovations.
What I’ve learned through Coursera has helped me grow into new roles, which has allowed me to increase my income and has changed my family’s life. The ability to learn everything from leading with emotional intelligence to the Internet of Things, on my own time, is a powerful advantage.
Solution
Reaching all levels of learners with Coursera
P&G offers several pathways for employees to upskill and grow professionally, including training led by internal experts. When some R&D employees discovered Coursera, they were impressed with the in-depth, university-level content available on demand in a wide variety of subject areas, including data science and machine learning. They thought it would be a valuable resource for upskilling, so they started sharing Coursera licenses through internal interest groups called Communities of Practice. During the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in online learning increased dramatically and more employees requested access.
Since then, more than 1,600 P&G employees have used Coursera to upskill. A few R&D employees act as Coursera champions, spreading the word about Coursera through internal emails and newsletters and distributing licenses to R&D employees who request access. Employees from a variety of roles and levels of expertise have used Coursera to learn about everything from Python programming to speaking with confidence.
“Coursera helps us reach three types of learners at P&G,” says Rocchetta. “We have power users who are hungry to stay current on industry knowledge and earn certifications. Our second group is advanced practitioners, who are scientists who want to upskill in an area beyond their core expertise. The third group is leaders who want to increase their digital literacy so they can make the best use of their teams’ skills.”
Applying new skills leads to innovation
The Coursera champions in R&D recommend courses to help learners get started with Coursera, but learners are ultimately free to choose the classes that spark their interests and serve their roles.
Christopher Pulliam, a senior scientist at P&G with a PhD in analytical chemistry, had already begun exploring Python programming through online courses when he discovered that he could access Coursera through P&G. He started with the University of Michigan’s Python for Everybody Specialization and Applied Data Science with Python course to build a strong foundation.
As he gained confidence, Pulliam started to look for projects where he could apply his Python skills to dig into data differently. For one project, he needed to quickly evaluate a new material that P&G wanted to bring to market soon. Within a day, he was able to test the material with models he built using his new skills.
“We were able to quickly empower the team to continue on their innovation strategy under tight deadlines by using these tools that I built with skills I learned through Coursera,” Pulliam says. “Our traditional approaches wouldn’t have worked under those timeframes.”
Pulliam has also used Coursera to learn more about data visualization, which helps him to better communicate data insights with P&G leaders. “Some of our key stakeholders are people who are designing P&G products,” says Lori Woods, Pulliam’s manager. “Chris’ ability to better communicate data insights ultimately allows our stakeholders to use our data to more quickly get to a better formulation, which results in a better product.”
Finding inspiration in a vast online library
Other P&G learners have used Coursera to explore a broad range of topics, generating new ideas that ultimately lead to innovation. Research Fellow Sabine Metzger-Groom, a 25-year P&G veteran, leads consumer modeling for the fabric and home care products sector. Metzger-Groom treats the Coursera catalog as a passport to on-the-job inspiration, browsing for courses that interest her. She’s taken everything from psychology courses to the Futures Thinking specialization to spark and activate concrete ideas about how to translate consumer trends into scenario modeling capabilities, which ultimately helps to identify innovation strategies to drive business growth.
As part of her role as a senior technologist, she’s also leading digital transformation efforts and has used Coursera to increase her technical mastery. “Upskilling with Coursera has made me a more effective business leader,” says Metzger- Groom. “Though I’m a physicist and not a programmer by education, what I’ve learned through Coursera allows me to better guide and inform the professional data analysts on my team to solve tough business problems and accelerate the development of our digital capabilities.”
Results
Widened career pathways, one course at a time
Though it isn’t easy for busy professionals to make time for learning, P&G employees have enrolled in more than 7,900 courses through Coursera and logged more than 34,000 hours learning on the platform. Some learners have even incorporated Coursera into their work plans, acknowledging the importance of upskilling among their career goals. Managers like that Coursera gives their employees a convenient, accessible way to build skills in emerging technologies, and inspires them to explore their own interests with more than 5,000 courses from leading universities and businesses around the world.
P&G learners are building in-demand skills to support innovation and digital transformation efforts through Coursera. Programming for Everyone (Getting Started with Python), Machine Learning, and Python Data Structures are the most popular courses. Through the Coursera Skills Dashboard, the company can identify learners who have advanced their knowledge in key areas such as machine learning, probability & statistics, statistical programming, and computer programming.
Beyond these metrics, some employees say Coursera has had a major impact on their career trajectories.
Amista Phillips, software testing coordinator for the P&G subsidiary iMFLUX, says a Coursera course gave her the confidence to apply for her initial role as a programmer at iMFLUX. She continued to take Coursera courses after joining the company, starting with Python for Everyone, which helped her develop scripts to automate some software testing processes. Phillips dedicates time in her schedule for learning, and she continues to take courses through Coursera to grow in her career. She credits completing project management certifications in Coursera to helping her earn a promotion to her current role.
“What I’ve learned through Coursera has helped me grow into new roles, which has allowed me to increase my income and has changed my family’s life,” says Phillips. “The ability to learn everything from leading with emotional intelligence to the Internet of Things, on my own time, is a powerful advantage.”
More than 1,600 employees spent more than 34,000 hours learning through Coursera
Learners progressed skills in machine learning, probability & statistics, statistical programming, and computer programming
Employees developed technical and leadership skills to support innovation and digital transformation
Beyond these metrics, some employees say Coursera has had a major impact on their career trajectories.
Future
Growing enthusiasm for online learning
R&D employees continue to expand the ways they use Coursera. Pulliam, who has established a strong foundation in data analytics and visualization, now uses Guided Projects to quickly learn new skills and extend his Python knowledge. In one night, he learned how to build a data science web app with Streamlit and Python and was able to use it the next day to perform some critical calculations about raw materials.
Learners in R&D have also begun to use LevelSets to determine their proficiency in key skills and to identify areas for growth. “The LevelSets skills assessment capability has allowed me and my team of analytical chemists to rapidly and effectively learn new skills, especially in data science, a major focus area for us,” says Jennifer Morgan, PhD, Group Scientist at P&G. “LevelSets allow everyone to evaluate their current skill level, pick the courses that are right for them and quickly leverage these new skills to solve business problems.”
Power users like Phillips, Metzger-Groom, and Pulliam have become advocates, encouraging their peers, managers, and even family members to learn something new through Coursera. Pulliam authored a widely-read internal report titled “Is Coursera Worth Your Time?” His conclusion?
“Despite how busy we are, and how complicated our jobs are, it’s worth taking time out of our day to learn something new,” he says.
