L&D Has Always Lagged Behind The Speed Of Business. That's Changing Now.
Summary
L&D has long been seen as a necessary evil by most businesses. It is often seen as something that takes employees away from their work and is not always relevant to what they do. However, times are changing. With the advent of technology, L&D can now be done more quickly and easily.
This international energy company in India has over 9000 employees in 8 states, 189 distribution networks, 83 petrol pump outlets, and over 250000 retail customers. The company is nurturing a vibrant ecosystem in India to speed up energy innovations. The retail unit runs 83 petrol pump outlets and 189 distribution networks across the country.
They found that training front-line workers, by taking them away from the outlet for an extended time, was not feasible. Also, assembling all the employees in one place for a few hours added to the problem. On-site sales training proved inadequate in today’s dynamic environment. RapL’s microlearning platform enabled continuous training. It happened with little to no interference in shift hours. Accessible and on-demand training was the need of the hour for all involved in the supply chain. They adopted digital learning platforms to enhance the process of digital learning. They also provided the sales representatives with a toolkit that would aid them in their job.
Challenge
The face of any company is the blue collar workers or sales representatives. Training them in a situation that involves customers as the central stakeholder was critical. The leading energy company ensures that front line employees deliver seamless customer service and unmatched skills. Excellent customer service meant employees needed to know beyond their product portfolio. They should know which product is suitable for which customer, the pain points of the customer, and pitch how they would address the pain point.
It was therefore crucial to have a learning platform that contained all the resources the sales person requires in his toolkit. Like trade schemes, promotional schemes, new product launch brochures, etc. There was no digital sales tool kit that enabled them to perform their jobs. But connecting and training the entire bottom end of the hierarchy was challenging. It required an unparalleled approach across all fuel stations.
What they do?
Understand their occupation and interest
Understand your customer
Are they a small private company or big MNC?
When they buy
Understand the purchase cycle of your customer
How they buy
Website, App, in-person?
What they expect of you
if your customer expect reliable delivery and you don’t disappoint them, you stand to gain repeat business
Outcome
The retail unit witnessed a significant increase in engagement levels. Also, it was clear that workers had improved their knowledge of various topics. They also learned the right ways to tackle a situation confidently. All these improvements came out of 3-5 minutes spent daily on customized learning and reinforcement. Languages and limited access to desktops were no longer a barrier to learning.
“Our people became addicted to the all-in-one LMS and complained when they couldn’t do so. RapL’s receptive team helped us bring the entire south region together irrespective of language barrier. Learning became habitual for the bottom of our hierarchy.”
Chief Operations Officer | International Energy & Petrochemical company
