Case Study
STERIS Scales Talent Development Across 60 Sites with Cognota

Global Operations. Unified Training. Real-Time Visibility.

LearnOps Pillars:
Align | Plan | Execute | Optimize

Development

Background

STERIS Applied Sterilization Technologies supports 3,000 employees across 60 sites worldwide. With a lean global L&D team of just 10 professionals, led by Ginger Zappa, the team’s mission is clear: deliver consistent, effective training that supports scale, standardization, and speed.

This meant not just creating training—but building operational muscle behind it.

“I lead because I care about helping people succeed. But to truly scale that impact, we needed better operations behind the work.”

—Ginger Zappa, Director of Technical Training & Development, STERIS

The Challenge

“We hit a tipping point. We couldn’t keep operations sustainable without a better system.”

—Ginger Zappa

As demand grew, so did the cracks in their operations:

The LearnOps Transformation:

STERIS adopted Cognota to centralize their global training operations—giving teams and stakeholders one place to collaborate, prioritize, and execute with clarity.

Here’s what changed:

Dashboards show who’s working on what—color-coded, by owner, in real-time.
Business partners now submit structured requests via Cognota—no more scattered emails or SharePoint forms.
Repeat users find the form easy, fast, and consistent—setting the stage for better intake calls.
Designers and developers work in lockstep with shared workflows, improving speed and handoffs.
Teams now meet with a live dashboard to course-correct and plan with confidence.

“Our global team uses Cognota’s dashboard as the single source of truth for project reviews. It’s become essential.”

—Ginger Zappa

Results & Business Impact

Operational Visibility

Managers and teams know exactly where each project stands—and who owns what. No chasing updates. No blind spots.

Strategic Intake & Execution

Requests now come in clean, clear, and actionable—reducing back-and-forth and helping projects launch faster.

Scalable Collaboration

From one central hub, a small team of 10 supports a global workforce of 3,000—without extra headcount.

Enterprise Alignment

Cognota helps STERIS connect talent development to operational excellence—critical in a high-precision, compliance-driven industry.

“It consolidates our process, improves stakeholder experience, and helps us scale without losing control.”

—Ginger Zappa

Why It Matters to the Business

STERIS now runs learning like a well-oiled machine—with cost-efficiency, clarity, and consistency. For CFOs and Talent leaders, that means:
  • Less wasted time and manual effort
  • Clearer ROI on learning initiatives
  • Scalable systems without growing team size
  • Better engagement across business units

“Cognota is an awesome tool—especially for teams supporting a large, distributed workforce. It’s easy to try, and once you do, you won’t look back.”

—Ginger Zappa

Case Study: STERIS

Case Study: STERIS