SkillUp & Empower Work Case Study: Text and Thrive
When a job falls through, a manager crosses a line or worker turn? For far too many people, the answer is n text could help someone take the next step or simpl That’s the question that sparked SkillUp’s collaboratio nonprofit offering confidential, text-based support, to address real-time career challenges.
Together, we set out to test whether human-centered, low-barrier coaching could offer tangible value when integrated directly into the SkillUp platform. The results were clear: when support is embedded at the right moment and in the right, low-threshold context, people engage and succeed.
TheChallenge
Millions of workers especially those who are skilled through alternative routes (STARs) experience job instability, workplace issues or career uncertainty, but don’t feel safe or supported enough to raise concerns through internal channels. SkillUp’s more traditional virtual group coaching had shown promise for our users, but we wanted to explore an additional model: private, asynchronous, text-based support that meets people in their exact f d W ld ngage with this offering? Could it provide help-seekers the e needed to take informed next steps?
ted Empower Work’s SMS and web-based peer counseling into services platform to complement our existing career coaching s. After strong initial interest via email and SMS, we embedded wer Work into SkillUp users’ dashboards for maximum visibility
The Goal.
OurApproach
The SkillUp team tested placements, messaging and delivery strategies to optimize user engagement. We took a data-driven, iterative approach, amplifying Empower Work via:
Automated lifecycle emails and SMS
User dashboards and profile pages
Coaching-related pages across the SkillUp site
We regularly reviewed anonymized user insights with Empower Work, analyzed cohort behaviors and cross-compared text-based coaching users with Zoom coaching participants.
In just six months, more than 1,000 SkillUp users turned to one-on-one text-based support with traffic nearly doubling since fully integrating the service into our platform. This surge in engagement underscores how powerful well-placed, low-barrier support can be, even at scale.
StrikingEngagement
Skilled• 1:1 Text-based advising via Empower Work is the top-viewed resource for logged-in users.
A 25% conversion rate from SkillUp visitors to Empower Work users, over 4x higher than our group coaching session conversion rate (6%).
It’s the second most-clicked resource across SkillUp, with user dashboard placement driving 80% of engagement.
TangibleImpact
A six-month survey by Empower Work of a small cohort of SkillUp users and analysis of their Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) scores revealed a +5.87 point increase in users’ CFPB financial well-being scores moving from “medium-low” to “medium-high” during a time when national averages declined. This shows meaningful improvement in participants’ financial security and freedom of choice, and surpassed national benchmarks even during challenging economic times.
At SkillUp, we believe every project is a chance to learn, whether the outcome matches our expectations or takes us in a new direction. This pilot with Empower Work fell into the latter category, offering valuable surprises and lessons we’ll carry into future partnerships.
Individualusers,individualneeds:
Users ages 25–34 showed higher engagement with textbased support than with Zoom coaching, suggesting mid-career STARs value private, personalized support
Users pursuing training were the most likely to use Empower Work, indicating alignment with those seeking longterm growth, not just short-term jobs
Empower Work’s textbased coaching proved especially appealing to STARs navigating complex career transitions or workplace issues
IntegrationDrivesEngagement
Early promotion through email and SMS generated some interest, but sustained use only took off once Empower Work was embedded directly into the SkillUp product platform and “For You” recommendations.
TrainingUsersShowed UnexpectedDemand
We typically see higher engagement from job-focused users, but this time our training users leaned in most.
UsersByAgeGroup
UserNeeds AreEvolving
Many participants used coaching not just for career advancement, but to navigate underemployment, workplace challenges and layoffs.
UserByInterest
Conclusion& NextSteps
This partnership proved that human connection, when delivered simply, quickly and privately, can drive measurable impact for SkillUp users. We’ve seen that integrating mental health and emotional support within a career-focused experience deepens trust, boosts confidence and improves outcomes.
