Toasting a good year

The English wine industry will be toasting 2014 as a ‘good year’. 

Thanks to a fine summer and a particularly warm September, most English vineyards had a bumper harvest this year. 

But it’s not just the weather that has contributed to making this a memorable year.

The British industry is coming of age with wine producers more confident about their skills and their ability to compete on an international stage.

This blend of the right conditions and the right expertise is a powerful mix and it’s something Sponge is also experiencing. 

In 2014, the company celebrated its tenth birthday, expanded into new offices, achieved 40% growth on the previous year and more than doubled its workforce. 

The icing on the cake was winning Elearning Development Company of the Year at the 2014 Elearning Awards – the most coveted accolade in the industry.

But why has it been such a successful year for Sponge? The comments of the award judges go a long way to explaining why.

Award-winning

The independent judging panel at the Elearning Awards had to choose from an extensive and diverse shortlist. They highlighted three main factors which make Sponge stand out:

Making a difference to clients – This was the key attribute that impressed the judges most. “A pattern emerges that [Sponge’s] absorbing custom-made online courses are helping clients to transform training with creative e-solutions,” said the panel. They also highlighted the company’s ‘good e-learning practices and processes’ which help to deliver e-learning ‘quickly and effectively’. Sponge’s use of the latest technologies to deliver responsive elearning was also commended.

Strong Customer Relationships – Sponge’s focus on delivering ‘excellent customer service’ to a range of blue chip clients impressed the judges. Highlighting the fact that more than 90% of the company’s customers return, the judges said: “Sponge’s performance measurements suggest it knows how to handling clients.”

Managing Growth – It was not just the company’s rate of growth that caught the judges’ eye but the way Sponge is managing its expansion. The panel were impressed by company’s approach including working with consultants, setting up a Sponge University to nurture and grow its workforce talent and its partnership with clients to speed up processes such as translation.

So after such a successful year, the big question is what will Sponge do next year?

The company will be revealing some of its plans for 2015 in the next blog post.