1. Case study
BackToLearn.com
BackToLearn.com turns to Huddle for project manage-
ment and gains a paperless office.
About BackToLearn.com
BackToLearn.com was founded in 2009 to help adult leaners find the college that’s right for them.
BackToLearn.com, along with its sister company NextStepU.com, helps teens and parents make
the right choices for life after high school by providing information about financial aid and credit
transfers, as well as motivating stories from successful adult learners.
Location US Challenge With up to 80 projects on the go at
Sector Private sector any one time, BackToLearn.com
Industry Education required a system to ensure each
and every one is well executed.
BackToLearn.com is an educational media company, helping to match-make adult learners with the
college that’s right for them. People benefit from information such as financial aid details and “Everything now goes through Huddle –
motivating stories from successful adult learners. we’re a paperless office. The task mapping
and deadline tools have transformed our
The company is exceptionally dynamic and staff often have great ideas about new services it can offer business planning. Huddle has been so
or how to enhance current ones. However, all projects and ideas were being managed by tools such effective, that if people know a process is
as email or Word. For such a fast moving company, these tools lacked the insight needed to give in Huddle, they’re calm”
employees the autonomy to push tasks forward. As a result, many ideas suffered from poor execution - Chris Roberts, President
due to miscommunication.
This was frustrating for the company as Chris Roberts, President, BackToLearn.com, explains: “We’d
used numerous platforms, from Google Docs through to Excel, but none were able to deliver what we
needed. The team required a dynamic work space that allowed staff to discuss ideas, collaborate on
projects and ensure swift approval on relevant documents. In short, while we wanted to harness their
creativity and passion, our processes were stifling innovation.”
Using Huddle, BackToLearn.com has been able to put all details relating to its projects into a
centralised public forum. Thanks to the whiteboards and discussion areas, staff are able to swap
ideas, provide input and assign actions. The improved visibility into projects and ability to bring staff
with the right skills on board has led to thoughts and concepts becoming a reality. Understanding
what their actions are, the deadlines and how they relate to the overall project has also helped to
empower staff.
As with all new technology implementations, Chris recognized that the key to success lay in getting
staff on board and using Huddle. During a six week adoption period, staff played a game where the
more features and functionalities they used, the more money was donated towards a tree for the local
park. Everyone had to get involved and it was a great way for people to learn how Huddle could help
drive the company and help them with their own to do list.
Chris attributes the process being a success to the user-friendly interface, which helped people
quickly learn how to interact with Huddle and discover all it has to offer. And the great news is that
the tree is now on order.
“Everything now goes through Huddle – we’re a paperless office. The task mapping and deadline
tools have transformed our business planning. Huddle has been so effective that, if people know a
www.huddle.com USA: +1 (415) 376 0870 UK & EU: +44 08709 772 212 sales@huddle.com

2. process is in Huddle, they’re calm,” Chris continues.
BackToLearn.com currently uses Huddle with a close set of partners and it serves as an immediate
information repository. After an initial briefing call, people can go into Huddle to assign tasks and set
deadlines.
‘Everything with Huddle is so easy. I don’t think we’ve ever been this organized! And of course, the
main beneficiaries outside of our staff are the people that we help. Every day we find a new applica-
tion for Huddle and long may that continue,” Chris concludes.
www.huddle.com USA: +1 (415) 376 0870 UK & EU: +44 08709 772 212 sales@huddle.com