How Wasserman replaced LinkedIn Learning and hit 96% utilization
A global sports, music and entertainment agency swapped a fixed-fee content library for a marketplace it only pays for when people learn. Client: Wasserman. Industry: Sports & entertainment. Location: Los Angeles, CA.
Results by the numbers
- 96% — utilization after six months
- 50% — of employees requested at least one resource
- 2+ — average resources delivered per employee
- 1 month — to beat their previous platform's results
The challenge
Wasserman operates at the epicenter of sports, music, entertainment and culture, serving talent, brands and properties on a global scale. Headquartered in Los Angeles, its presence spans 27 countries and more than 66 cities.
The culture prized curiosity and continuous learning, but the enterprise learning platform behind it did not. LinkedIn Learning's one-size-fits-all, course-based catalog did not match the needs of a diverse global workforce, and Wasserman was locked into a fixed rate of spending for every employee whether or not they used it. Utilization was low, and there was little visibility into what the few active learners were actually studying.
- High fixed cost and low utilization on the incumbent platform
- One catalog that could not serve specialized, global teams
- No real visibility into upskilling activity or skills gained
- A small L&D team supporting a rapidly growing organization
What they were looking for
VP of Recruiting and Learning & Development Mary Reiling Spencer wanted more learning formats and far more individualized recommendations. She also needed a model that produced clear ROI — something she could pitch to her executive team in year one and defend every year after as the organization grew.
The solution: OneRange Atlas
OneRange Atlas opened up courses, books, publications and conferences from across the market rather than a single vendor's catalog. Employees could also submit any resource they found elsewhere — often niche material specific to sports, music and entertainment — and have a manager approve it in one click.
Atlas tags every resource with keywords and skills, which let the L&D team map content against the core competencies already defined in Wasserman's performance management process. Working with OneRange subject matter experts, Mary built hundreds of learning pathways for skills including creative problem-solving, leadership, people management, data analysis, business development, emotional regulation and project management.
The commercial model closed the loop: Wasserman pays when an employee requests a resource and it is approved, not for a seat that may never be used.
The results
Within one month of launching, Wasserman was already outperforming its LinkedIn Learning results. After six months, utilization reached a record-high 96%. More than half of all employees had requested at least one learning resource, and the average was more than two resources per person.
The qualitative feedback mattered as much as the numbers. Employees valued the range of formats and the flexibility to learn when and how they wanted, and singled out the responsiveness of the OneRange team. Wasserman now uses the platform across the full employee journey, from recruitment through promotion.
The OneRange business model aligns with how we want to spend our learning budget. There are no sunk costs or annual fees; we only pay when employees choose to learn. That makes it much easier to pitch — and continue to justify — to our executive team.
Mary Reiling Spencer — VP, Recruiting, Learning & Development, Wasserman
We're now using OneRange to support our employees at every step of their journey, from recruitment to promotion. The positive feedback has been wonderful to see — this has not been typical of my experience with other learning platforms.
Mary Reiling Spencer — VP, Recruiting, Learning & Development, Wasserman