Why Cornerstone: A partner for Sommet's HRIS, talent, and learning frameworks
After a rigorous evaluation, Sommet Education selected Cornerstone Workforce AI™ as their intelligence platform for workforce readiness because it could support a multi-brand, multi-country organisation. Cornerstone also covered the core HR, talent, and learning processes within a single environment that they needed.
At Sommet Education, Cornerstone actively supports:
- Learning and development through the LMS and the My Learning Catalogue, providing employees with access to curated learning paths and shared group-wide content
- Talent and performance processes, including annual performance reviews and feedback discussions
- Structured onboarding workflows for new joiners that are connected to recruitment and core HR data
- Core HR data management, serving as the main reference point for employee records, organisational structure, org charts, and HR reporting
- Recruitment activities, from requisition creation to candidate management, with a direct link to onboarding and employee lifecycle data
Rather than focusing on technology alone, Sommet Education has built its practices from clear frameworks, strong HR governance, and intentional process design. In this context, Cornerstone Workforce AI acts as an enabling platform that supports consistency, scalability, and operational efficiency across brands and geographies.
Dedicated customer success support from Cornerstone contributes to a collaborative and consultative approach when implementing enhancements and rolling out new functionalities, ensuring alignment with how Sommet Education works and their top priorities.
Our people are our greatest asset and our most important investment. In a world where skills evolve rapidly and talent expectations are higher than ever, we know that empowering our employees with the right tools, the right content, and the right development pathways wasn't optional. It was essential to who we are and where we're going.
Miguel Regalado
Director of HR Digital Transformation at Sommet Education
Building a learning ecosystem worthy of a world-class institution
First on the Sommet Education HRIS Team's list was designing a learning ecosystem rooted in a clear talent development framework. They started by segmenting their workforce into three cohorts, executives, managers, and employees. Each cohort had its own tailored pathways that balanced transversal skills and role‑specific competencies. This approach provided employees with a shared language for development and greater clarity around their individual and collective growth journeys.
My Learning, Sommet Education's branded learning environment, became the single entry point for learning and development across the organisation. Structured curricula, a shared learning catalogue, and dedicated language learning pathways supported the needs of their diverse and international workforce.
As a result, everyone – whether individually or as a team – can access and share content, or a collection of contextually relevant content, that has been carefully selected for this purpose. This is undoubtedly a win-win situation for everyone involved: employees, managers, and the company!
Stéphane Rousseau
Chief People Officer at Sommet Education
A key element of the Cornerstone ecosystem is the use of "Learning Playlists." These playlists are curated and themed learning journeys designed to guide learners through relevant content on topics, such as leadership, emotional intelligence, digital skills, and emerging trends. By focusing on curation rather than volume, playlists help reduce friction, support self‑directed learning, and improve engagement. Sommet Education used these playlists to target learning streams for faculty, finance, and IT to ensure relevance at local and functional levels.
They also reinforced learning through human interaction and recognition. "Learning Cafés" offer short, interactive live sessions, helping employees:
- Navigate available resources,
- Understand how to apply learning in practice
- Exchange perspectives across brands
In parallel, the "Hospitality GEMs" programme connects learning with culture by recognizing behaviors and achievements that reflect Sommet Education's values, leadership principles, and commitment to excellence.
To support live and facilitated learning at scale, Sommet Education also leveraged Cornerstone Workforce AI events and sessions. These functionalities enabled employees to register for internal workshops and programmes, such as ability to execute (A2E), manage attendance, and waitlists and receive automated confirmations and reminders. Internal facilitators deliver sessions, while the platform supports participant tracking, feedback collection, and completion or participation certificates.
Together, these elements create a learning ecosystem that combines structured frameworks, curated content, human facilitation, and cultural reinforcement, embedding learning as an active and visible part of everyday work at Sommet Education.
Investing in people improved engagement over time
Sommet Education's partnership with Cornerstone created swift and significant benefits, particularly when learning initiatives are actively promoted and facilitated.
- A clear increase in active users and course registrations during targeted learning campaigns, Learning Cafés, and facilitated programmes
- Noticeable engagement peaks following curated playlists, live sessions, and internal communications
- A recurring pattern where engagement levels stabilise once campaigns conclude, highlighting the importance of ongoing animation and facilitation
- Improved visibility and participation in learning activities supported by clearer learning pathways and shared frameworks
- More structured and consistent performance and learning processes across brands, using common tools and governance
Overall, the results underline that learning engagement at Sommet Education is driven less by the platform itself and more by continuous curation, communication, and human facilitation, reinforcing learning as an ongoing journey rather than a one‑time rollout.
Putting people at the centre of sustainable growth
Sommet Education's journey reflects a clear conviction that people's ability to learn, adapt, and grow is the core of their long-term organisational performance. By combining structured frameworks, curated learning experiences, and consistent human facilitation, they have progressively built a learning and performance ecosystem that supports both individual development and collective ambition.
In this journey, Cornerstone Workforce AI plays an important enabling role as an intelligence platform that supports Sommet Education's priorities around learning, performance, and people development. The experience shows that meaningful impact emerges when technology is aligned with clear intent, strong governance, and continuous engagement.
For HR and business leaders navigating increasingly complex and skills-driven environments, investing in people is not a one-off initiative, but an ongoing commitment that requires intention, focus, and sustained effort.
