HIT Training  Ltd

Hubgem client and Digital Product Development Manager at HIT Training,  Robert Pearce, gives his insights into working closely with Hubgem to implement Hubspot CRM to improve marketing and student recruitment processes. 

Please provide a brief overview of your organisation,  including your location, mission, size, target audience(s)?
"Changing lives. Upskilling Businesses. HIT Training Ltd is a national provider of apprenticeships and skills-based training, committed to breaking down social barriers and empowering individuals to reach their full potential, regardless of their starting point in life. Across our three specialist divisions, our expert teams deliver professional training from levels 2 to 7, with a proven track record of quality, people-led training that empowers businesses to enhance their workforce's skills and capabilities by maximising each individual's potential.

Our three divisions include:

• HIT Training: HIT Training is the market-leading specialist apprenticeship and training provider for the UK’s hospitality, catering and retail industries.
• Working in partnership with sector employers, we improve employees’ skills,
• Increasing  their efficiency and productivity, enabling innovation whilst boosting your bottom line".

 Connect2Care: "Connect2Care is the leading specialist training and apprenticeship provider for the UK’s adult care, healthcare, early years and funeral service sectors. Our national team of trainers are all industry experts ready to deliver vocational programmes which enable you to develop outstanding employees. Helping you create a safe, caring, effective and well-led environment."

 Executive Development Network: "Working with businesses across the country, EDN offers apprenticeships and training courses in leadership and management. Tailored to empower teams and individuals, our programmes assist in cultivating more effective managers, board members, and leaders, directly enhancing engagement and retention rates across your workforce."

What is your role in your organisation?`
"I am the Digital Product Development Manager at HIT Training, where I’ve been since 2007. With extensive experience across various roles and challenges within the company, I lead the technology team and collaborate closely with both operational teams and our software and hardware suppliers. My focus is on improving the working and learning experience for both staff and learners by driving innovation and efficiency in our digital systems."

HubSpot Adoption:

How  long have you been using HubSpot? What systems were you using before HubSpot?
"We have been using Hubspot since 2021. Prior to this, we had been using a different CRM platform."

 What departments or teams within your organisation are using HubSpot?
"Everyone within the organisation has access to HubSpot. It is used widely for sales and marketing activity as well as the creation and processing of learner applicants and surveys."

Challenges before working with HubGem:

Before working with HubGem, what were the primary challenges (specific problems or inefficiencies) you were facing?
"We had a powerful system in HubSpot but realised we were only tapping into a fraction of its capabilities. We needed expert guidance to fully understand its features and leverage its functionality to better meet our business needs."

 Goals:

What were your goals in working with HubGem, and what outcomes were you hoping to see?
"We aimed to optimise our use of the system by enhancing workflows to automate processes more efficiently, improving our marketing strategies within the platform, and developing a nomination form that would seamlessly integrate applicant records into HubSpot."

Choosing HubSpot and HubGem

What made you first explore using HubSpot?
"We did not see a future for our existing system within the business in terms of the functionality."

How were you introduced to HubGem?
"HubGem communicated with a former director in the business and offered to complete a system review."

 What was it about Hubgem that made you choose us for your  HubSpot onboarding? Was there anything that stood out to you when comparing with other HubSpot partners?
"HubGem conducted a system review for us in December 2021, which confirmed our concerns that we were far from maximising the system’s potential. In early 2022, we had a two-day meeting with the Hubgem team, and we were highly impressed with how quickly they identified our challenges, understood our requirements, and grasped the specific needs of our business. Their experience in the education and apprenticeship sectors was a major part of this."

HubGem Onboarding Experience

The Onboarding Process:

What teams/departments at your organisation were involved in the support plan?
"Mainly a group made up of the sales director, company project manager, HubSpot administrator and myself to start with. This widened to include the marketing team as things progressed."

Are there any parts of the onboarding process that you enjoyed/got the most value from?
 "It was incredibly rewarding to see tangible progress so quickly and begin realising the full potential of the product. With new suppliers or partners, it often takes time to gain momentum, but that wasn’t the case with HubGem. They understood our needs, how we operate, and our requirements right from the start."

Consultant and Exec Support

How would you describe your experience working with your HubGem consultant and Marketing & CRM executive?
"I can’t fault it at all! They have always been friendly, supportive and prompt to provide help and feedback."

 How did your consultant support you through the onboarding process?
 "Through regular meetings and clear communication, HubGem not only guided us through tasks in HubSpot but also taught us how to perform them independently. This approach was invaluable, as they didn’t simply do everything for us—they empowered us to become more proficient and confident in using the system ourselves."

 Was your consultant knowledgeable and helpful in addressing your questions and concerns?
"Extremely!"

 What were the biggest challenges you faced during the HubSpot implementation process? How did your consultant help you to overcome these?
"Despite our positive progress with HubSpot, we were experiencing difficulties with staff adoption and the accuracy of our data. HubGem facilitated our connection with Cursor, whose expertise has been instrumental in extending HubSpot's capabilities and implementing external data collection forms that allow us to seamlessly and precisely add data to the platform."

Outcomes
Goals achieved/Outcomes:

What's the most significant change you've seen in your organisation since working with HubGem?
"The ability to add and process learner nominations into HubSpot and progress them to the stage where they can be passed via API to our main MIS."

 What did HubGem help you to achieve during your HubSpot onboarding?
"A wider understanding of the functionality within the product."

 Where have you seen the biggest impact of using HubSpot within your organisation?
"Among the many advantages, the most notable are the enhanced quality of data being input into HubSpot and the greater visibility of our company's data."

 What specific HubSpot features or functionalities have been most valuable to you?
"The exceptionally extensive API, Workflows, Custom Objects, Marketing options."

 Were there any unexpected benefits or positive outcomes that you didn't anticipate?
"I can’t think of any specifics. The work we initiated with HubGem and have continued with Cursor though has had a huge impact on our business though."

 How did HubGem's expertise in the education industry contribute to the success of your onboarding?
"It was crucial and fundamental! As mentioned previously, I think it was this understanding that helped HubGem understand and advise us as well as they did."

  Measuring Success:

Have you been able to quantify the financial benefits of using HubSpot?
"We are still too early into the new processes to be able to measure the impact of learners being created using the new methods."

 Future Plans and Recommendations

 Future plans:

What are your future plans for using HubSpot within your organisation?
"We will soon be using HubSpot to automate the sending of learner surveys at various points during and after their learning programmes."

 Are there any additional features or functionalities you are planning to explore?
"At some point we will look at the Teams integration as part of a wider project."

 How do you see HubGem continuing to support your growth?
"HubGem have got us to the level where we’re confident being able to do most things within the system. We would see them as a strategic partner who we could work with on specific or very complex projects or scenarios."

Recommendations:

Can you share any insights or lessons learned from your experience working with HubGem?
"Don’t assume you can fully master a new system on your own. Engage an expert in the platform to help you set it up and optimise your processes, ensuring you're using the system efficiently, effectively, and to its fullest potential."

 What advice would you give to other organisations considering HubSpot?
"Do it! It’s an incredible system. Make sure you utilize support from a company that can provide the level of support given by HubGem."

 Would you recommend HubGem to other businesses facing similar challenges to you?
"Absolutely."