About Electives
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Our vision:
Humans learning from humans, for a better world
For too many years, corporations leveraged massive libraries of content without enough consideration for learning quality or impact. We’ve changed the corporate training game by taking education back to its roots: humans learning from humans. Our focus is on connecting people to create understanding.
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Our mission:
To help people grow and connect.
Electives is helping people grow and connect by bringing the world’s experts – the known and the unknown – into their lives. We’re delivering unforgettable learning experiences and creating lifelong learning impact.
The Electives founders absolutely love learning.
But corporate training? That was another story.
Electives cofounders Krikor Dzeronian and Jason Lavender met at MIT Sloan. A guest lecture by a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest six times changed their lives.
Krikor and Jason were captivated by the vividness of the mountaineer's story of why effective teamwork is the difference between life and death.
After that lecture, Krikor and Jason came together to solve the following:
How can we provide more people with unforgettable learning experiences?
Who are other experts people could be learning from?
How can we make it easier for corporations to create meaningful learning impact?
Krikor and Jason discovered that the corporate training industry was suffering and that almost all employees prefer live training to the pre-recorded training that has become ubiquitous.
They also uncovered three primary challenges with corporate training:
It's hard to source excellent training at scale.
Employees are not engaging with pre-recorded content.
Training isn’t differentiating the employee experience.
In 2020, Krikor and Jason became obsessed with changing what we learn, who we learn from and the format of our learning at work. That is when they began to build Electives.
Trusted by growing, people-focused companies.
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tap into the human desire to learn, grow and connect.
Do you want to help organizations create meaningful learning impact?
Our core values:
We are bold and try new ways of solving old problems.
We embrace differences and actively seek and respectfully express perspectives. Our best learning comes from our differences.
We have each other's backs and always look for ways to elevate each other. We succeed and fail as a team.
We have a growth mindset. We are building something that does not yet exist. We do not have all the answers, but we are confident we can find them.
We take ownership. We roll up our sleeves and act when we see opportunities for improvement.
We commit to the best ideas regardless of where they come from. Innovation is more important than tenure or titles.
We play the long game. We don't take shortcuts. We make decisions that build products and relationships for the future.
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Do you love to engage + inspire?
Electives is actively recruiting instructors that deliver inclusive and unforgettable experiences.
We are looking for experts with relevant lived experiences, unforgettable storytellers and natural instructors who can develop learners.
Frequently asked questions
Electives helps you future-proof your team with corporate training redefined for the AI era. All classes are live, expert-led and interactive. Always.
- Electives Membership: Enroll your organization, and your employees will have instant access to daily live classes on today's most-needed topics. Free certificate programs included.
- Private programs: Choose from Modern Manager Training, AI Readiness Training or High-Performance Culture Training. Or, we can build a custom program based on your unique objectives.
Electives is the live learning solution for lean People teams who are frustrated with traditional corporate training solutions.
Our live learning programs are designed for growing, people-focused companies.
Electives instructors are real people sharing real-life experiences and leadership lessons. They give valuable advice as they tell stories and express feelings people are often afraid to share.
Our instructor community features professors, C-suite executives, astronauts, Olympic athletes and coaches, comedians, poets, songwriters, historians, best-selling authors and more. Get a sneak peek in these class moments on YouTube.
We source and vet traditional and nontraditional instructors with a proprietary, multi-step process designed to ensure an experience people will love.
- Community sourcing: We source instructors through top-of-funnel research, word of mouth and referrals.
- One-on-one interviews: Our learning experiences team interviews all prospective instructors to ensure their authenticity, while confirming their content and teaching styles align with the Electives mission and our current needs.
- Pilot classes: The prospective instructors that are approved to move forward then teach a pilot class. The Electives pilot community provides qualitative and quantitative feedback, helping determine whether or not we add the instructor to our platform. The Electives pilot community includes employees from all of our client partners.
- Ongoing performance: Once instructors are live on the Electives platform, their classes can be viewed and booked on the Electives platform. Instructors must maintain high scores to remain on the platform.
We only add instructors who deliver impactful and unforgettable experiences into the Electives instructor community. Every Electives class in every Electives program is taught by our vetted instructor community. All classes are live.
We curate Electives classes with learner desires and employer objectives in mind. Although we offer classes in various formats, our classes are all inclusive, interactive, impactful and unforgettable. All Electives classes are delivered live via Zoom.
Every Electives class in every Electives program goes through this curation processing.
Because learning needs constantly evolve, we add new classes to the Electives library continuously. We also require our instructors to keep their existing classes updated with relevant resources and examples. Likewise, we are regularly sourcing and vetting new instructors who bring unique expertise and experience to the Electives library.
All Electives classes are live, delivered via Zoom.
Yes! Our Modern Manager Training program is designed to equip your managers with the skills they need to lead with excellence.
Yes!
We offer AI readiness training designed to build cultural understanding and adaptability around AI. Our live classes help teams understand the impact of AI, foster a forward-thinking mindset and prepare employees to integrate AI’s potential effectively into their work.
In a world of diverse demands and limited time, Electives helps you achieve it all by crafting customized learning programs that align with your specific needs and wants. We start by understanding your business objectives, defining precise learning goals and curating a tailored program. We then match you with the right instructors and content. Throughout your program, we measure essential KPIs for continual growth.
Electives support includes:
- Strategic onboarding to align business goals with learning outcomes.
- Matching extraordinary instructors and proven content with your unique culture and goals for a perfect fit every time.
- Tracking essential KPIs to understand the impact of your training investment and continually refine your learning program.
- Periodic business reviews.
Throughout your journey with Electives, your customer success manager will be by your side every step of the way to ensure success.
Electives lets you bring top-tier live learning to your company with minimal effort — perfectly suited for lean People teams and limited budgets.
Here’s how it works:
- Enroll your organization in Electives Membership. Give your employees instant access to daily live classes on today’s most-needed topics.
- Build your private class program. Define your objectives and we’ll map out a private program that delivers the results you need.
- Gain an extension to your People team. From strategy to logistics, we’re by your side. We’ll make sure your live learning program is a success.
- Get everything you need all in one place. Launch surveys. Analyze data and feedback. Find resources and class recordings. It’s all within the Electives platform.
When you partner with Electives, you instantly gain access to 100s of live classes taught by inspiring instructors, sparking connections and real-time engagement.
Here are more ways working with Electives will benefit you and your organization:
- Effortless L&D management. Our platform streamlines live learning management, allowing you to focus on other priorities.
- Get started immediately. As soon as you enroll your organization in Electives Membership, they’ll have access to live daily classes on today’s most important topics.
- Deliver innovative, relevant learning. Our diverse lineup of exceptional instructors and highly current topics excites employees, keeping them engaged with fresh, meaningful content.
- Drive strategic growth. Electives combines technology with expert guidance to build live learning programs that fuel long-term, strategic growth.
- Tailored to your culture. Our live programs adapt to reflect your company’s unique culture, objectives and growth journey.
- Continuously updated. We’re always sourcing and vetting new instructors and content to keep up with the fast-changing needs of today’s workforce.
- Scalable and adaptable. Designed for both immediate impact and future aspirations, Electives scales as your business grows.
There are many ways to measure the effectiveness of your Electives learning program, including surveys, assessments and performance evaluations. Your Electives support team will work with you to define your objectives, map your strategy and develop a plan for meaningful learning impact — including measurement.
Electives is actively recruiting instructors that deliver inclusive and unforgettable experiences. We are looking for the following:
- Experts with relevant lived experience.
- Unforgettable storytellers.
- Natural instructors who can develop learners.