Blog Post

Wrapping up 2023 and embracing the future: Cornerstone's Q4 highlights

Cornerstone Editors

In Q4, like so much of 2023, we continued to navigate the global evolution and modernisation of the workplace. We remained nimble as the new world of work demanded new levels of business agility and workforce resilience. We helped organisations meet high expectations and new demands from their people. Most importantly, amidst so much transformation, we watched as learning transformed with it.

As we look back on another jam-packed quarter, there's a lot to be proud of. From a successful Connect Live Tour to celebrating incredible customer wins to uncovering important trends across our industry, Q4 was a clear reflection of our passion for leading the way in talent and learning.

Each of these moments and milestones has undoubtedly set us and our customers up for another standout year ahead. But don't just take our word for it — keep reading for some of our greatest hits from Q4.

Building the future of talent together with our customers


Is there really a better way to wrap up the year than by connecting with customers around the globe? We don't think so. This is why we were delighted to round out our 2023 Connect Live Tour in Q4, traveling to London, Paris and Chicago and bringing together thousands of our valued customers and partner community.

Together, we tackled the most pressing talent trends we're seeing today, engaged in thoughtful conversations and peer inspiration and served up unique opportunities to learn, connect and collaborate on solutions that will shape the future of talent experience.

Rooms overflowed with insights from renowned thought leaders, product experts, and our customer community. We're already cooking up our plans for customer connection in 2024 — keep your eyes peeled for what's to come.

Recognising the accomplishments of our customer community

If you're familiar with these roundups, you know we never pass up an opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of our customers, and the recognition they receive from some of our industry's most reputable awards.

In Q4, Cornerstone customer MGM China was named a Gold winner in the 2023 Chief Learning Officer Learning in Practice Awards, recognising their incredible achievements in curating world-class learning and career opportunities for both team members and communities.

We also proudly celebrated our customers who were recognised by eLearning Journal’s 2023 eLearning Award for their dedication to learning and development. Join us in congratulating DHL Group for their win in the "Competence Management" category, DKV Mobility for their win in the "User-generated Content" category, and Flottweg SE for their win in the "Occupational Safety" category.

You can learn more about all of our incredible customer awards from 2023 in our recent roundup here.

The list of award wins wasn't the only thing growing in Q4. Our Cornerstone family got stronger, too, as we welcomed several new customers on board:

  • Acentra Health

  • NEX Building Group

  • State of Utah (Office of the Governor)

  • Texas Department of Public Safety

And expanded our existing relationships with incredible customers like:

  • Burns & McDonnell

  • Dairy Farmers of America

  • Danone

  • Inspire Brands

  • Santander

  • UCLA Health

  • Wisconsin Department of Administration

Identifying key content trends shaping the talent landscape

In Q4, with the help of our Cornerstone Content Anytime (CCA) insights, we called attention to employees' desire for continuous skills development opportunities inside their organisations, with a clear and sustained focus on professional skills development and self-directed learning.

Our research highlighted the growing disconnect between employees and employers and the uncertainty it has created among today's workforce.

Here are some key findings from our research:

  • Data showed a 30% increase in overall active learners since 2022, with more than 50% of total minutes spent learning dedicated to professional skills development.

  • Consumption of online learning content across all topics and skills saw a 38% increase in the time spent on training year over year.

  • Self-directed learning continues to show strength as learners spend 72% more time consuming content they actively seek out than learning assigned to them.

  • In the first half of 2023, employees proactively consuming learning content grew 43% YOY.

Looking ahead to the new year, HR leaders have a real opportunity to prioritise and invest in increased learning content that employees actively seek. We believe it's through this investment that organisations can build both future leaders and higher-functioning teams inside their organisations.

Marking a decade of DisasterReady

Q4 brought a monumental moment for Cornerstone as we marked ten years of DisasterReady.

DisasterReady, an online learning platform managed by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, has spent the past decade empowering humanitarian and development professionals worldwide with free, high-quality online learning content on disaster preparedness, response and recovery. This milestone was, and is, a testament to our unwavering commitment to increasing equitable access to education and the skills of humanitarian professionals as they prepare for the critical work they do.

If you're interested in learning more about the great work of the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation, you can read more here. To learn more about DisasterReady.org, visit www.disasterready.org.

Welcoming recognition from our industry experts


We were proud to receive abundant industry recognition for our continuous product innovation, industry leadership and company culture this past quarter. We welcomed a lineup of new awards, including:

  • Brandon Hall Group Technology Excellence Awards – Best Advance in Learning Management Technology

  • Chief Learning Officer Learning in Practice Awards – Excellence in Technology Innovation

  • SoftwareReviews Learning Experience Platforms – Data Quadrant Awards

  • Training Industry Top 20 LMS Companies

  • Training Industry Top 20 Advanced Learning Technologies Companies

  • eLearning Industry Best Learning Management Systems

  • eLearning Industry Top Employee Training LMS Platforms

  • Training Magazine Network Choice Awards

  • Newsweek's America's Greatest Workplaces

  • Newsweek's America's Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families

We also saw continued industry recognition for our product and market leadership from key industry experts and reports, including:

  • Nucleus Research Talent Management Value Matrix – Leader

  • Fosway 9-Grid™ for Talent & People Success – Strategic Leader

  • The Craig Weiss Group Best Learning System for Skills, Best Gen AI Learning System and Top 20 Learning Systems in the World

This recognition is humbling and continues to motivate us as we seek out new and innovative ways to align people and organisational goals for our customers.

Welcoming 2024 with open arms

As we look ahead to what 2024 has in store, our intentions are clear: deliver the outcomes that matter most to our customers, their people and their organisations. For L & D leaders and their organisations to truly thrive in the new year, learning must be at the core of everything they do to keep up with the changing pace of the workforce. Only then will organisations and their people reap the true rewards of holistic talent experience.

You'll have to stick around to see exactly what's in store for Cornerstone in 2024, but if this past year was any indication, the possibilities are limitless.

Happy New Year from all of us at Cornerstone!

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