Company background: A diverse footprint across Asia Pacific
Getz Healthcare is a sales and marketing company that distributes medical devices, equipment, and consumables. With over 110 years of experience in the Asia Pacific region, the company historically operated under a decentralised structure, trading through distinct local legacy brands tailored to each market, such as Louis T. Leonowens in Thailand, Medtel in Australia, and ACP in Hong Kong. In 2016, all countries were rebranded under the name of Getz Healthcare, as the organisation set out to operate as one unified business with standardised systems, aligned processes, and a shared culture.
Today, Getz Healthcare proudly serves more than 7,500 healthcare customers through its operations across ten Asia Pacific markets, namely Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Challenge: Balancing technical skills training with soft skills
Historically, Getz Healthcare’s training initiatives were primarily centered on building deep technical expertise across its product portfolio, and this strong technical foundation is a cornerstone of Getz Healthcare’s reputation for professionalism and trusted industry expertise.
However, the emphasis on technical training meant there were limited opportunities for soft skills and broader employee development. Training was also decentralised, inconsistent across the region, and not equally accessible, resulting in skill gaps that constrained performance and engagement.
The solution: A scalable, integrated learning ecosystem
Getz Healthcare aimed to:
- Rebalance workforce capability, moving toward a healthier mix of soft skills and technical skills.
- Scale learning consistently across its ten Asia Pacific markets.
- Create equitable access to learning opportunities, regardless of spoken language, role, seniority, or location.
- Cultivate the company’s six core values, one of which was to “Have a mindset to learn.”
- Position learning as a strategic enabler of business integration, not just a people initiative.
- Balance central coordination with local ownership.
The approach: From technical skills training to a broader learning strategy
To support the rebalancing of technical and soft skills, Getz Healthcare launched a strategic learning initiative using OpenSesame’s Marketplace, fully integrated with LearnUpon LMS. The programme initially focused on core compliance areas, such as IT security, data privacy, and code of conduct, to establish a strong and consistent governance foundation.
With the full support of the leadership team, the company progressively expanded its training offerings each month to include all nine content categories available through the OpenSesame Marketplace, including business skills, technology, safety, and workplace culture.
Through a coordinated internal communications campaign, the new learning environment gained strong visibility and engagement, with approximately 58% of employees logging into the platform each month during the first year. Country Managers subsequently introduced local training-hour targets, which were consolidated into a regional training-hour goal. This metric was elevated to become one of the organisation’s top eight strategic KPIs, reinforcing learning and development as a core business priority.
Rather than having each country manage its own learning programme, the team developed a centralised learning strategy. Technical and product training evolved and continued to be delivered while OpenSesame provided a curated library of external courses to address soft skill gaps and scale learning in areas that could not realistically be built internally.
Scale of content and curation: Personalised learning at scale
As content needs expanded, Getz Healthcare integrated OpenSesame with Degreed LXP to create a modern learning layer that recommends courses based on an individual’s specific skill set. Employees rate their own skills; the platform uses AI to identify gaps, and learning recommendations are tailored to each individual’s skill level.
This approach has improved discoverability and relevance. Two employees in the same role, such as product specialists, can receive different learning recommendations based on competency level, ensuring learning feels personalised rather than generic.
Learning strategy: Campaigns, values, and regular touchpoints
To ensure learning remains visible, relevant, and embedded within the organisation’s culture, Getz Healthcare delivers regular communications and targeted learning campaigns. These include monthly mailers aligned to either global awareness days like World Earth Day or internal priorities.
One example, the Department Spotlight initiative features short, practical courses that highlight a department’s work and the people behind it, building organisational understanding, cross‑functional awareness, and stronger regional collaboration.
The organisation has also aligned learning campaigns to its five-year corporate vision. Each element of the vision was broken into learning themes, supported by curated content from OpenSesame, and delivered over a 9-month campaign.
Local ownership with regional coordination: Learning champions
A defining success factor is the network of voluntary Learning Champions in all ten countries, who drive adoption and engagement within the company’s training ecosystem. These champions collect informal feedback, provide monthly reports on training activities, and help pilot local initiatives such as lunch-and-learn sessions or cross-border knowledge-sharing programmes.
Because champions are peers, the feedback they provide is candid, focused, and actionable, ensuring that participation is encouraged and voluntary rather than enforced.
Results
The impact has been both quantifiable and culturally uplifting:
- 4.5 out of 5 learner satisfaction score
- 21 courses completed per learner per year on average
- 93% course completion rate across 10 Asia Pacific markets
- 94% onboarding completion rate within the first 60-day readiness period
- 86% completion rate in a regional skills-based competency programme, within the allotted timeframe
- Over 67,000 courses launched since 2020 across 10 countries
- 4,322 total training hours completed in the past year alone
- A balanced learning portfolio, between technical and soft skills
- Full usage and engagement across all 9 of the OpenSesame learning categories
- Multiple internal promotions where LMS engagement was cited as a contributing factor in leadership advancement and recognition
Most importantly, learning is now embedded in Getz Healthcare’s operating model, supporting deeper integration, strengthening leadership capabilities, and reinforcing the company’s value to “Have a Mind-Set to Learn.”
As Getz Healthcare continues to integrate its markets and strengthen its regional capabilities, learning remains a central pillar of its transformation strategy. What began as an effort to rebalance technical and soft skills has evolved into a fully embedded learning ecosystem that supports integration, leadership development, and long-term growth across Asia Pacific.
