Measuring & Increasing Training Engagement: An ACDI Case Study

The Problem 

How could ACDI encourage greater adoption of training while giving member organizations a measurable way to track progress? 

The Solution 

ACDI started measuring member engagement across several areas—including training, using BlueVolt’s reporting features—and began sending out a quarterly scorecard to members, sparking regular conversations about BlueVolt and driving learner interest.

The Story 

ACDI, or Associated Construction Distributors International, is a co-operative association of independently owned and locally operated specialty construction distributors. They’ve been around since 1968, and currently serve 34 members. 

According to Samantha Lanier, Director of Operations, ACDI has been partnering with BlueVolt since mid-2022, after realizing that members had a need for an online platform that they could use to train their employees. 

Recently, ACDI started measuring member engagement with a scorecard, hoping to foster increased program usage and awareness, as well as to find areas to improve. 

“We wanted to find a way 1) to make sure our members were aware of all the programs we offer, and then 2) for the ACDI team to identify any gaps that there might be,” Lanier said. 

“If members aren’t participating somewhere, why is that? Is what we’re offering not relevant to them? Do they need it to be tailored to a different audience?” 

The scorecard is divided into four sections: information sharing, training, meeting attendance, and co-op. ACDI University (ACDIU), powered by BlueVolt, falls under training, with members receiving points for each active user, as well as course completions. 

Benefits to ACDI 

Since rolling out the quarterly scorecard, Lanier said, “we’ve really seen an increased interest in utilizing BlueVolt, including from members who hadn’t used it before and are now asking to get started.” 

One of the biggest benefits of introducing the scorecards was generating more curiosity about the training offered.

“People are asking more questions about what’s available,” Lanier said. At one recent in-person meeting with HR leaders, she explained, “BlueVolt came up repeatedly in conversation—a couple of members who weren’t using it reached out afterward to get enrolled. It’s a good example of how much conversation can come from simply measuring engagement.“

Benefits to Members  

This increased awareness benefits not only ACDI, but their members as well—for example, several members who already use BlueVolt through other associations realized that ACDI offers different courses and different vendors. 

Member organizations are also tracking and encouraging training within their companies. 

“One member is sending out two product knowledge courses per week to their team—not just their sales team; their entire team,” Lanier explained. “They want all their employees to be knowledgeable about the products they’re offering.”  

One member even incorporated ACDIU into their internal scorecard, assigning courses year-round and then discussing course completions at employees’ annual reviews. 

ACDI also realized that a lot of their members were utilizing the Training Tracks™, a BlueVolt feature that allows admins to group and assign courses by type. 

“Members have found Training Tracks especially helpful. We work with them to build tracks that are role-specific,” Lanier said. “New hires… sales, warehouse, outside sales, [etc].” 

“Q1 is our industry’s slow season, and we see that reflected in a spike in enrollments and completions,” Lanier explained. “When the weather keeps crews out of the field, our members use that downtime for BlueVolt courses instead of letting it go to waste — it’s worked out really well.”

In future, Lanier plans to continue to let conversations with members further drive what content is available—for example, she’s seen recent interest in people management courses—in addition to informing them of already available content. 

The Conclusion 

With the scorecard, ACDI has created a consistent feedback loop: the scorecard informs members about available content, while members provide feedback on which courses are most valuable and what additional training they’d like, allowing ACDI to tailor learning opportunities to each organization. As learners complete new courses, that is reflected on the scorecard, creating an ongoing cycle of measurement, feedback, and improvement.

More importantly, the scorecard has become a visible resource that helps drive training adoption across the ACDI network. By using course completions as a measurable benchmark, ACDI can foster accountability, track quarter-over-quarter progress, and identify opportunities for continued growth.