Philo's Human-Centered Learning Culture

The Challenge: Scaling Learning That Feels Human

When Asmara Silverman joined Philo, she brought with her years of experience helping people learn through storytelling and connection. Having started her career in hospitality before moving into tech, Asmara had seen first-hand that great learning doesn’t come from content alone—it comes from conversation.

But like many lean L&D teams, Philo’s faced a familiar challenge: employees wanted more development opportunities, but time and resources were limited.

“People were asking for growth,” Asmara explained, “but we couldn’t possibly design and deliver everything ourselves. We needed a way to give them meaningful options – things they’d actually be excited to attend.”

That’s what led Philo to explore Electives Membership—a platform designed to make live learning easy to scale, without sacrificing the human element that makes learning impactful.

The Solution: Learning That People Choose

With Electives Membership, Asmara found a partner that aligned perfectly with her philosophy: learning should be choice-driven, expert-led and live.

When Asmara was enrolling in some of her first Electives classes, she reflected, “I can’t believe that we get access to these incredible experts in their field—and new experts every month! You are just sitting there in awe, getting an opportunity to learn from incredible individuals from around the world, giving you their knowledge in real time. You get to download their superpowers!”

Every month, Philo employees who have Membership access can browse dozens of live, instructor-led classes – spanning leadership, communication, creativity, wellbeing, and AI – and every employee can enroll in any two live classes each month. Each session is taught by a real-world expert, so participants walk away feeling inspired, not lectured.

“The feedback has been incredible,” Asmara shared. “People are talking about classes with each other. They’re sharing takeaways in team Slack channels. They’re actually choosing to learn—and that’s when you know it’s working.”

Electives takes care of the logistics — scheduling, instructor management, and reporting — so Asmara’s lean team can focus on what matters most: engagement and development.

Philo has a dedicated Slack channel to discuss Electives classes, pass along lessons learned and share favorite slides or nuggets with folks who weren’t in that session. If Asmara finds herself in a live class with a colleague, she schedules a 15-minute sync that same day to reflect on the lesson and help drive home the application part of learning.

The Impact: From Programs to Momentum

Since launching Electives Membership, Philo has seen a major shift in how employees view development. Instead of seeing learning as something they have to do, they now see it as something they get to do.

Participation rates have surged, and classes often fill quickly. Employees are not only signing up—they’re showing up and talking about what they’ve learned afterward.

“I’ve had people tell me, ‘That was the best learning experience I’ve had at work,’” Asmara said. “It’s building connection across teams. It’s building confidence. And it’s making learning feel exciting.”

For a fast-moving company like Philo, that kind of energy is impactful. The L&D team can now deliver 10x the number of live learning experiences – without 10x the work. And employees are getting exposure to world-class facilitators, topics and ideas that would’ve been impossible to curate internally.

Here are some of the exceptional results Asmara has achieved with Electives Membership:

• 95% reported behavior change
• 367 live learning hours
• 130 unique live classes taken by Philo employees
• 67% of learners have enrolled in Certificate programs
• Top competencies enrolled in: Leadership and Innovation 

Asmara shared, “After taking Electives classes, people said their performance improved—and I’ve seen it in myself, too. I’m better at giving honest, critical feedback without feeling rude or uncomfortable.”

The Takeaway: Curated, Human, Scalable

Philo’s partnership with Electives shows what’s possible when L&D teams think differently. Instead of adding more systems or content libraries, they chose a solution that makes learning personal and visible.

“Electives Membership gives us the breadth we could never build ourselves—but with the quality we’d expect if we did,” Asmara reflected. “It helps us meet people where they are, with learning that feels relevant, live and alive.”

“One person told me there’s been at least one ‘aha’ moment in every single Electives class they’ve takenevery single one!”

About Electives Membership

Electives Membership helps companies scale live, human learning that employees actually choose to attend. Each membership gives employees access to hundreds of expert-led classes, curated monthly and fully managed—so L&D teams can deliver real development without the lift.

“I tell every company: try Electives. You’ll see the difference in engagement and happiness right away.”

Learn more at electives.io/membership