5miles 2022: Year in Review

Chris van Voorden -

It’s become a tradition for us at 5miles to look back on the year and reflect on our work. This year, we’re looking back on a year of milestones and successes and we’re absolutely thrilled to have achieved our first profitable year since we started in 2015.

We’ve got there by building 5miles from the ground up, and by continuously investing in our online learning tool and content library. With most of our clients, members and team still working remotely, the demand for online learning continues to be strong and has amplified this success.

The 2022 numbers speak for themselves. We:

  • Crossed 1,000,000 learning moments
  • Welcomed 15 new clients
  • Increased revenue with 61%

It’s amazing to see thousands of people around the world learning with 5miles on a daily basis. We’re making a real impact on their work, and with an engagement rate of 80% and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 45, it’s clear that our approach to micro-learning is here to stay.

None of this would have been possible without the endless drive of our members, the strong support of our customers and partners and the dedication of our team.

To celebrate 2022, we’ve selected our proudest accomplishments from across the product, integrations and training courses business areas. We’ve also included a round-up of our team, partnerships and company news from 2022 too.

Product

At 5miles, we’re dedicated to delivering the best learning experience for business professionals. And we’re proud to say that 2022 was a fantastic year for our product team!

We focused on providing lots of new, top-notch features that our members need to advance their learning journeys. Here’s a rundown of the exciting product highlights we implemented last year.

  • Certificates: you can now showcase your achievements and prove to colleagues, employers, universities or other institutions that you’ve completed a 5miles course. You can download, receive via email, or share your certificate directly on LinkedIn. So far, 5,675 certificates have been awarded!
  • Customized Learning Paths: you’re in control of your learning journey and can now mix and match existing courses and tracks to suit your needs. If you’re not sure where to start, we’ll even suggest a path that’s tailored to your current learning desires.
  • Search function: with the new search function you can access information and tips about the most frequently used Microsoft Office applications within our library. This year’s most popular search terms were Excel’s Vlookup and the Array formula. PowerPoint’s was SmartArt.
  • NPS: we introduced an NPS survey to regularly check in with our members and gauge our performance. With a score of 45 out of almost 900 responses, we’re doing quite a fair job!
  • Help Centre: we launched a help centre to provide all the information you need to get started with 5miles. And if you still need assistance, our team is always ready to help.
  • Download your challenge schedule: to truly make 5miles a ‘learning in the flow of work’ experience, you can now download and view your challenge schedule in your Outlook and Google calendar. With just one click, your next challenge will always be a part of your workday!
  • Run Streak: in Q4, we hosted our first Run Streak competition, bringing members from all over the world together to compete. It was a fantastic success, and we’re already looking forward to the next one!

So, there you have it, a year of exciting product highlights. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved and look forward to continuing to provide the best learning experience for business professionals. Are you ready for an even more exciting 2023 with 5miles? We’ve got some big things in store for you.

  1. Get ready to create your own custom learning experiences with the launch of our brand-new author module. You and your company can now design and curate your own tracks and challenges with the help of the 5miles team. Take your compliance and onboarding trainings to the next level!
  2. Attention PE points earners! We’re bringing even more value to your learning journey. As more and more organizations require proof of professional development, you’ll soon be able to earn PE points with your 5miles challenges.
  3. Building on the success of our Free Flow Excel track, we’re now going beyond just Excel. Choose from any of our 800 challenges across a variety of new subjects including PowerPoint, Power BI, Outlook, and Teams. Choose the subjects you want to learn simultaneously and learn at your own pace.

Stay tuned for more information!

Integrations

A seamless learning experience is all we’re after. 5miles is committed to providing easy integrations with the most popular corporate learning portals. Whether it’s LMS, LXP, HCM, or TEP, our goal is to make it a breeze for our members to start learning with just one click.

In previous years, we’ve integrated with the following learning portals:

Are you curious about how 5miles seamlessly integrates with Cornerstone, the learning portal of Van Lanschot Kempen, among others? If so, check out this short animation which shows how you can begin your 5miles learning journey directly from the learning portal, including single sign-on (SSO)

We are grateful to join forces with the leaders of the L&D arena! In 2023, we’re taking it to the next level, by amplifying our integrations to deliver even more seamless and remarkable learning experiences to our clients.

With this focus on user experience and security, it makes 5miles the perfect solution for your centralized learning needs. And if you want to dive deeper into the world of corporate learning portals, we highly recommend you check out Josh Bersin’s insightful article on LXP.

Training courses

Our content team is constantly pushing limits to bring you the ultimate experience with over 800 bite-sized online challenges. And we achieved some exciting milestones in 2022 that we can share with you.

Firstly, improve your Power BI game with 35 fresh and challenging new courses, ready for beginners and intermediates alike. Over 800 professionals took the leap and sharpened their Power BI skills in 2022. It’s now time for you to join the pack too and learn how to easily create stunning dashboards!

Next, the world of Power Apps got a whole lot more interesting with our brand new Power Apps teaser track. You can get a sneak peek into the scene of Power Apps and discover how to design, style, and customize apps to perfection. With app-building on the rise, this track is your chance to stand out from the crowd.

Thirdly, in response to the growing demand in the German market, we took things up a notch with 160 German challenges and the launch of Beginner Excel 1 & 2 in German. So far, our efforts have been a huge success, with over 6,700 completed challenges and 400 professionals brushing up on their Excel and VBA skills in 2022. Voll gas, Germany!

English, German, Dutch... What about French? In 2023, our French-speaking members will be able to enjoy all our content in their native language. We’re adapting our challenges, certificates, assessments and more to the French versions of MS Office. They’re set to launch later this year. À bientôt, France!

Stay tuned for more updates by following our 5miles LinkedIn page!

Team, partnerships, and company

Our 5miles team now consists of 15 members (not all pictured), all working remotely in line with most of our clients. The Spaces Amstel office serves as a valuable meeting point where we can connect and work together efficiently.

Are you up for a thrilling adventure with a dynamic team on a mission to conquer the world of learning? We’re now hiring for various roles to support our continued growth. Visit the 5miles career page to see what opportunities are waiting for you. Be a part of something great!

2022 was a breakthrough year for 5miles. With 15 new clients and a revenue increase of over 60%, companies across The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the UK and the USA are now embracing 5miles as a valuable tool for their employees.

To see which top companies are already using 5miles, follow 5miles on LinkedIn and be amazed by the list of industry leaders, including Van Lanschot Kempen, Zilveren Kruis, KPN, GrandVision and Van Oord.

And that’s not all. We’ve proudly joined hands with the Refugee Talent Hub (RTH) in The Netherlands, aligning with their mission and positively impacting the lives of refugees and society. In 2022, 5miles provided its first cohort-based course for refugees and empowered 35 talented individuals to learn relevant skills in just 5 minutes a day. Join us in making a difference and see the RTH website for more information on participating. ?️

Finally, as the cherry on top, 5miles has now become the preferred choice for data and digital skills development for 8 of the top 10 financial consulting firms across the world, as ranked by Vault-Firsthand.

It’s a true testament to the quality and effectiveness of 5miles, and we couldn’t be prouder to be relied on every day by these top consultants. Here’s the top financial consulting firms according to Vault-Firsthand.

Ready for 2023!

At 5miles, our goal is to provide convenient and effective training that empowers individuals to grow and improve their skills. We believe that just 5 minutes of training each day can help people to stay engaged and make a significant impact.

In 2023, we remain focused on delivering on this promise and helping people learn, have fun, and work more efficiently. We encourage you to join us on this journey and see the benefits of short but meaningful training for yourself.

For those who have followed us in the past, you’ll know that this is the second year in a row we’ve taken time out to reflect. If you’d like to see how much we’ve grown, you can review last year’s reflection here: 2021.

Let’s make 2023 another successful year with 5miles!