Continu: Guide to Success

Welcome to Continu 

In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps and best practices to get the most out of Continu and have a successful rollout to your company. We recommend going through each step and getting acquainted with the various features and different use cases. Even if you don't plan on using every feature, it's good to take a look around at what's available to you and your team.

Although Continu is a next-generation Learning Platform, many of our customers have found creative and useful ways to leverage the platform for different use cases within their companies. We've tried to include as many of these useful tips throughout this guide.

Before we get started, here are some of the ways you might think of using Continu within your company:

• A modern Learning tool to centralize all of your learning
• An On-Boarding system to automate new hire training and policies
• An Intranet system or Content Hub, centralizing all company content in one place
• A Talent and Learning community to collaborate with other around learning content
• A Sales Enablement product to train sales or retail teams and provide Just-in-Time Training
• A combination of all of the above 

The first step is your initial Kick-Off Call with your Customer Success Manager (we call them our Continu Champions )

This Kick-Off is a great way to review the high level implementation plan and start discussing best practices and content planning. During this call, we'll also help to define some of your company or teams KPI's for Continu, which we can measure against during rollout.  

In preparation for this call, we've prepared a checklist below with some potential questions you might want to ask your team and discuss with your Champion.

If you don't have the answers to all of the above, don't worry. Your Champion will work closely with you to define the above and we'll work out the best rollout schedule to meet your needs and timeline.

Continu can be customized to look and feel like your brand. In order to begin white-labelling the interface, we'll need your team to supply us with the following assets:

• High Resolution Logo (both the full brand and brand mark, if applicable) in .SVG or high quality .PNG format
• Your color guide including both Primary and Secondary color(s)
• A copy of your brand guidelines document (if applicable) to show best use of your brand

The illustration below shows the areas of Continu that will be customized for your brand.

From the time we receive your Logo and Brand assets, it generally takes 1 - 2 weeks to implement your brand within the Continu interface.

Your Continu Champion will ensure to keep you updated on the process each step of the way and we'll schedule a follow up walk-through once the process has been completed. During this process, we can run you through all views of Continu for both Admins and Users, as well as the applicable email templates.

If there are no changes required, you will now be ready to get started with your Admin Training 

Continu is built to be very intuitive and we recommend giving platform access to your Admins and Creators before your initial training session, to help familiarize your team with the interface. 

During this time, you might want to write down any questions that you'll like to ask your Champion. It's also a good idea to write down some of your objectives and projected end results, so that we can put your use cases into practice during training.

Don't worry, you don't have to learn everything upfront. Your Continu champion will set up a time to give you further training and it's a great way to get different team members involved.

If you don't want to book additional training time, we also provide online support documents and you can speak directly to our support team at any time from our in-app chat support.

We are here always here to help, so don't be shy about asking questions big or small 

For support at any time consider the following:

• In-App Support: Live chat with our Success team
• Email: For not-so-urgent requests ([email protected])
• Help Docs: For how-to's and walk-throughs on each feature (support.continu.co)
• Continu Champion: Contact your dedicated champion at any time to chat about best practices and training (not sure who to contact? reach out to [email protected])

Continu settings are only available to Administrators and can be found in the Admin sidebar. From the settings navigation, you'll have access to edit settings for the following areas:

• Categories: The Navigation on the home (Explore) screen
• Departments: Teams or Departments within your company
• Locations: Geographical locations, offices, or stores your company consists of
• Integrations: Settings for Slack, SSO and other available integrations

Categories are added manually by your team to Continu, whereas Department and Locations can be added in the following ways:

1. Individually added within their respective sections
2. Added in bulk when uploading/updating multiple users (highly recommended)

The bulk option is not only the easiest way to add this information, it also ensures accuracy and consistency between Departments and Locations.

We recommend that this information is set-up before adding content or user profile information as these attributes are used with content and user. In the next area, we'll explore best practices for adding each to Continu.

Categories are the top navigation items you see on the Explore screen of Continu. You can have 3 Tiers of Categories, like so:

• Tier 1  [Example: Teams]
  • Tier 2  [Example: Sales]
    • Tier 3  [Example: AEs]

Although there are no hard limits to how many Categories you can create, there are best practices for what will give your users the best experience.

Parent Categories

We recommend no more than 5 Categories be added to the top level (Parent) as this has been seen to give the most user friendly result to users. There is a default "Featured" category on each instance of Continu, which can be relabelled. This is always the first Category and is used when you "Feature" or Showcase content.

Sub-Categories

Because Sub-Categories are nested within Parent Categories, we recommend to keep these to a minimum. No more than 8-10 Sub-Categories should be added to a Parent, as anything more can be overwhelming for your users. 

Sub-Sub-Categories

Sub-Sub-Categories (the 3rd tier) should be used very sparingly. The more clicks it takes a user to find your content, the less likely they are to interact with it. 

Remember, Continu has a powerful Search Feature that allows your users to search for something they are looking for. Use Categories sparingly to reduce the amount of effort it takes your users to find what they need. 

In addition, Continu's Segmentation tools allow for you to create highly dynamic experiences without the need for too many categories. (We'll walk you through Segmentation once you've added some content).

Similar to Categories, Departments can have 3 tiers of hierarchy:

• Tier 1  [Example: Finance]
  • Tier 2  [Example: Accounts]
    • Tier 3  [Example: Taxation Specialist]

Although we call them Departments, you might refer to them differently within your company (some companies call them Teams, Squads, or Divisions). So think of these in the context of your hierarchy and remember that you don't need to have 3 layers to each Department.

Getting your Departments correct is important as these are use to Segment (show/hide) your content. You'll also use Departments later on when automating content with Workflows or searching your users.

Please note that we highly recommend you add Departments when uploading/updating your users so as to avoid manually entering them. This will ensure greater accuracy. 

 Tip: Departments can be created when uploading/updating your users.

If your company is spread across multiple locations, you can add Location information in the same way as Departments/Categories:

• Tier 1  [Example: United States]
  
  • Tier 2  [Example: California]
    • Tier 3  [Example: San Francisco]

This approach will allow you to segment content at a granular level as well as utilize Workflows at every Location level (if required).

Just like Departments, we highly recommend you add Location information when bulk uploading your users to ensure accuracy and reduce administration.

 Tip: Use the bulk upload feature instead of adding these manually.

Single Sign On

If you utilize a Single Sign On provider that works with SAML 2.0, you can connect it with Continu to allow your users to SSO in. If available, this method will provide the simplest method for access to Continu. Users are also provisioned through SSO and certain variables such as Department, Location, Hired On Date and others can be passed to Continu during this setup. 

For detailed instructions on using SSO with Continu, please visit our support docs.

Slack

Slack is a powerful communications tool for teams. Continu is a partner of Slack and available within their App Directory.

If you have a subscription to Slack, you can turn on this integration by following the steps in our support doc.

Salesforce

If your sales team is using Salesforce, you can now use Continu from inside Salesforce. To get started, simply follow the easy steps in our support doc.

Now that your instance of Continu is setup, you've added some Categories and completed your initial training, it's time to get into the fun part, adding content!

Define Your Goals 

The first step is to define your content objectives with Continu. Start by looking at your learning and content objectives by department and holistically of the company. Defining who will have immediate access to Continu can be helpful to defining what content is prioritized.

Once you have a plan for adding content it's a good idea to consider who should have the necessary access.  Admins can access all areas of the platform (including User Management), whereas Creators are only able to add and remove content.

Company-Wide Creators/Admins 

We recommend adding admins and creators within different company departments. These users will be able to assist with the adding of content and can provide you with insight into how their individual departments would like content to be represented on the platform. It's a great way to get the whole company involved and ensure that content is relevant to all areas. It's important that your Admins and Creators are all aware of your main objectives however.

Content Curation 

Don't have a lot of content? No worries - Continu also provides content curation if needed and can help source interesting content based on specific skills or topics.

Creating a Strategy

Depending on the amount of existing content and the format they are in it can feel like an overwhelming task. We recommend a content migration strategy that will make the whole process easier.

Start by determining if all your content will be made available to the test group, at company-wide launch or will be added over several weeks or months after launch.

A good start is to have at least 8 - 10 pieces of content per main category at launch. If there are categories without any content, you might want to consider if that category (or sub-category) is still necessary or should be added at a later stage.

 Tip: Your Continu Champion can assist with your Content Strategy/Migration.

Articles are a great way to create any text based content in a simple, easily digestible format.

You might also consider the following use cases for Articles:

• Use Articles to start a conversation by posing a question and letting users add comments and have their say
• Link to other content on Continu in the body of your Article - this is a great way to build a central resource to similar topics
• Repost company policy, benefits, or general documents in an Article to create a beautiful, social policy document

Assessments makes it easy for you to assign, capture and grade text, multiple choice, video, and screen capture assessments.

A few common use cases for Assessments are:

• Recruitment & Screening
• Sales Enablement
• Customer Success & Experience
• Support Training
• Certification
• Compliance
• Informal Assessments & Quizzes

Continu allows you to access a number of different file formats within the platform. Supported documents included .PDF, .XLS, and .PPT. Admins and Creators can also allow for their files to be downloaded by users from within the Settings area.

You might want to consider the following use cases for Files:

• Store archived files on the platform and allow users to download as a reference guide within the company.
• Upload monthly, quarterly or yearly spreadsheets, which can then be assigned or shared to respective departments.
• Add policy and benefit information to Continu as a file to make it easy for your employees to access relevant content based on where they are located.
• Centralize all company documents within Continu to utilize the platform as your own intranet system - increase engagement by storing information in one centralized area.

Using videos allows you to create or share lasting content that engage your users. There are a number of ways you can upload videos, either by using a public link such as YouTube or Vimeo, directly uploading or using Google Drive (if enabled). Supported video formats included .AVI, .MOV, and .MP4.

You might also consider the following use cases for Videos:

• Add a Video as a standalone item of content. Sharing it across multiple categories will ensure users will engage with the content
• Include Video content directly into Learning Tracks. By utilizing a mixture of content types (Articles, Videos, Assessments), users are more likely to engage and retain the information that is presented
• Create weekly, monthly check in videos. This is a great alternative to using Articles and creates a more personal tone

Learning Tracks are a great way to structure your content in a way that is easy for your users to follow. 

There are a range of uses for Tracks outside of courses, here are some of the ways other admins leverage them:

• Formal or Informal courses: One of the most common uses for Tracks is structured course work. 
• Archival System: If you have a number of similar pieces/topics of content, you might think to use a track to archive it in one place and make it easier for users to navigate.
• Self Paced Curriculum: You can develop customized curriculum using Tracks and Workflows. By splitting your Track into "Modules" you can automatically assign or share the consecutive Module based on the user that completes the first.
• Test Knowledge: Add quizzes to tracks to test knowledge after each section of a track.

To get started building tracks, check out our support documents.

If you have a lot of in-person training or workshops within your company, the Workshops feature can be a great way to manage attendance and automate waitlists. No need to use spreadsheets or send multiple emails, just create the Workshop within Continu and segment it for the people that should get access. You'll also be able to assign or share your workshop to the right people

Here are some of the ways you might want to use Workshops:

• Company wide fire-side chats
• Guest speakers available to certain teams or the entire company
• Hosting annual meetings
• In-Person training and workshops
• Use automated waitlists to build conferences for your company

To build your first Workshop, check out our support docs for a step by step guide.

Presentations are a great way to build highly visual learning experiences for your users. Simply upload a PDF of your presentation and additional images and your presentation is ready to be shared or presented to your team. There are many great and useful ways that you can use Presentations alongside other features of Continu too. Take a look at some of the use cases below for inspiration and get creative with them.

These are some use cases you might want to consider for Presentations:

• Use Presentations to present to a group with Continu
• Share your PDFs in a highly visual and intuitive way
• Add a number of videos about a similar topic to create a visual Learning Track (great for sales enablement training)
• Centralize your common PDFs in Continu to ensure all offices and departments have access to the same, consistent content

If you're looking at using off the shelf content that supports SCORM/AICC, you can add this content to Continu through the use of our optional integration.

Note: To get started using it with Continu, please contact [email protected]

One of the first few steps to a successful roll-out is beginning with a test group.

Put together a test group that includes users from different departments and locations if at all possible.

Using an initial test group is a good way to gauge the overall experience of the platform. Encourage the group to share, like and comment on all content. Get as much feedback as possible here. Are the chosen categories and sub-categories sufficient and engaging? Is the content added interesting and does the use of chosen imagery interest the user? 

We also recommend using a welcome message to your test group.  This test environment should mimic the official launch process and it's a good way to test what works and what doesn't before the big day. 

Note: The welcome message will display when a new user logs in for the first time and can be customized. 

There are a number of different ways to invite users into Continu:

1. Invites - You can invite your users into your instance of Continu manually using the invite form or in bulk, by uploading our CSV user template.
2. Single Sign On - Users can access your instance through your SSO provider. Please note that at this time Continu supports SAML 2.0 providers only. Before starting this integration, you may want to loop in your IT department for their best practices and security requirements.

User permission settings are made up of the following:

1. Admin: Admin's can add content, learning tracks, events, and manage users.

2. Creator: Creator's can add content, events and learning tracks

3. User: Users are able to view, share and like content and learning tracks

Note: Changes to user permissions can be made at any time.  We recommend that users with Admin permissions be kept to a minimum to allow for greater control of the overall settings of the platform.

To get started inviting your users, you can take a look at our support docs.

Bulk uploads of user records are done through CSV file format.  We provide an easy to use template but as always can assist with having this information entered in if required.

There are a few required fields in the .CSV that need to be completed but it is highly recommend that as much information for each user be completed. Not only will new user information be added to the platform but new locations and departments as well.

 Tip: You can also use this feature to bulk update user records.

If you'll be using Single Sign On to allow access to Continu, please first ensure that your identity manager is compatible with SAML 2.0 and consult with your IT department for best practices/security requirements.

Pre-Uploading Your User Data

The Pre-Provisioning feature within Continu allows Admins to upload all user information into the platform before the user is provisioned through SSO. This will allow you to bring in any additional information about your users that may not live within your identity manager.

By uploading all user profile information beforehand users are able to onboard seamlessly and will in turn have a richer experience within the platform.

Here's when you might consider pre-uploading user data:

• When your identity manager doesn't contain a lot of necessary information about your users
• When you want to use Continu as an onboarding tool, pre-uploading can ensure the correct information lives within Continu before the user is created
• When you have a number of Workflows created that are reliant on accurate data (hired dates, locations, departments, etc.)
• When you want to ensure data is accurate and reflective of your HRIS

Note - We strongly recommend contacting your Continu Champion before provisioning your users, as they can guide your through the best process for your situation.

Welcome Messages can help greet your users and can educate them on the purpose of the platform. 

Just like the test group message this to can be customized and the Continu team can supply templates or suggestions.

We recommend a welcome message of no more than 1-2 paragraphs as this message will be displayed when a user first logs into the platform.

Automating your content using Workflows is a great way to guide users through their own unique experience within the platform.

The automation of content (using the Workflows feature) can begin even before a user officially starts at the company.

Using Workflows you can automate the whole onboarding experience from their first day. If a user changes locations or even departments content can be triggered to them based on their new position or location.

Based on the robust nature of automation it's critical that all data entered into the system is accurate and complete for all users.  By using the supplied template when bulk adding/updating users you will be able to easily faciliate the automation of any and all content.

For information on how to create your first Workflow, take a look at our support page

One of the most powerful aspects of Continu is it's ability to assist you in creating engagement between your users and your content.

Use some of the engagement features listed in the consecutive steps to help drive engagement and promote collaboration.

Sharing is a great way for yours to interact and spread content throughout the company. By sharing content, users will be notified with a message once a piece of content is shared with them. Admins and Creators will also have the ability to share content with their teams via Workflows or within the content itself.

Sharing content can be done with any piece of content (including tracks and Presentations). 

Note: Enabling the Slack integration allows users to be notified in the app when someone has shared content with them.

Liking content is as simple as clicking on the ❤️  icon on any piece of content (including tracks and presentations). Likes are a great way for your users to add quick feedback to content, as well as bookmark it for later consumption.

With the use of the Like feature Admins and Creators are given real-time insight into content that is resonating with users and can further help to form new content and talking points throughout the platform. 

Comments can be added to all types of content (Articles, Files, Videos, Tracks & Events). Similar to the like feature, it can be utilized as a tool to empower collaboration and discussion around topics that are important within your company.

Comments can also be "upvoted" or "liked" by others to help drive positive reinforcement and encouragement.

In addition, if the Slack integration is enabled, your users will be notified via Slack if they are tagged in a comment.

Similar to the comments feature Discussions is a great way to engage with your learners within a Track.

Learners can directly respond to a track they are working on or have completed and their responses will display publicly within the Discussions section of the track.

As a Creator of a track you might want to consider starting off the discussion before learners begin the track to promote more feedback and discussion.  

Discussions are a great way to share extra insight or start off an open dialogue for community sharing and input.

Continu tracks a wide range of data about your employees and it's easy to keep track of popular content and completion status.

Admin Overview

The Admin overview is a great way to get a high level view of how many users, content pieces, events and tracks are being added. You can also see the top 5 most popular pieces of content based on likes, views and shares.

Learning Track Reporting

Track your users progress on a given Learning Track. Find out their specific completion status, quiz scores and how long it takes them to get through your content.

Content Reporting

View real-time reports of your content to find out who is viewing your content and when.

Event Reporting

Track attendance, manage wait-lists and assign events to your users with Continu's event management and reporting.

Manager Dashboard

The manager dashboard gives managers a powerful analytics dashboard where they can manage their teams progress, activity and assignments. Managers don't need to be administrators of Continu, and it's a great way to give them access to important information about the team(s) they manage.

We offer multiple way to get in contact with us if you have any support related queries. Don't be shy, we're always here to help:

1. In-App Support: Live chat with our Success team
2. Email: For not-so-urgent requests ([email protected])
3. Help Docs: For how-to's and walk-throughs on each feature (support.continu.co)
4. Continu Champion: Contact your dedicated champion at any time to chat about best practices and training (not sure who to contact? reach out to [email protected])