Vodafone Way of Care
4th December 2017
How does a global organisation inspire new learning workplace habits for 80,000 busy staff? How can a company replicate classroom and online content for Millennial employees in high-pressure situations? That was the challenge for telecommunications company Vodafone's learning and development (L&D) team, which needed to reinforce its 90-day Way of Care Customer Excellence programme learning modules, going out to 20 different regions, including outsourced partners and franchisees worldwide.
Reaching a busy Millennial audience
Claire Barron, Vodafone's Customer Experience Academy Manager, appreciates the shift required: "We wanted to embed learning assets in workplaces and motivate frontline staff to keep returning to them, even though it can sometimes be difficult to reach employees on the go."
With around 36,000 staff having received Way of Care training, Claire also knew the limitations of classroom-style instruction. "Every manager knows the 70:20:10 training mantra and ‘traditional' learning is regarded as low-return and costly. We needed 18-25-year-olds to upskill in quiet times and reflect more on their wider role in the business."
Lean With Mobile - a learning with a difference
To address these challenges, Claire and her team enlisted Scott Bamford, technical director Ambidect, the global innovator in learning and development platforms for businesses, to scope a Way of Care learning app.
Claire acknowledges the commissioning pressures: "Whether you're in a call centre in India or one of our Portugese stores, learning content is like any other app," she says. "If it fails first time, no-one looks at it again."
Working alongside Vodafone's L&D team, Scott designed the learning app with user flexibility and commonality of content – delivered on Ambidect's Learn with Mobile software, for added value learning.
"Enterprises worry a lot about content creativity when targeting Millennial staff but the key is delivering existing video or other assets to an individual employee's point of use more efficiently," Scott explains. "We identified ways to increase the content's appeal across call centres or retail environments. Vodafone could then gamify its learning assets, promoting a fun-based and competitive learning culture," he says.
"Vodafone and Ambidect used workshop approaches for development. They involved retail, call centre and partner personnel – alongside L&D and local management stakeholders – to identify user needs and constraints," Claire recalls.
Multiple product iterations were followed by exhaustive user acceptance testing by the multi-discipline VIP team. The first Way of Care prototype app was launched internally for final approval before selective country roll-out.
Vodafone's L&D team can now push structured learning materials through a dedicated Way of Care app that sits on its corporate and partner networks. Accessible content – explainer videos, best practice PDFs and short games – is encouraging flexible learning and peer-group competition for knowledge, even in busy and pressurised workplaces.
Claire is delighted by the content options for employees world-wide: "Front line personnel now have something in their pocket that enhances what they're doing."
She is also gamifying classroom lessons - through an animated version of Running Man, a 21st century take on Space Invaders, and interactive ‘matching' exercises. "In matching, users identify the personality traits of heroes such as Steve Jobs," Claire explains. "They are rewarded with an inspirational Jobs quote when they do."
Ambidect's collaborative development has delivered a simple app in less-than-obvious ways: "Making self-registration easy for local administrators was a big breakthrough," says Claire. "Local teams aren't bogged down in front-line user queries now."
Dynamic learning boosts Vodafone Way of Care
The Way of Care app is mid-way through a global roll-out, with territories now receiving their own localised content assets.
Claire says the app's popularity vindicates the focus on accessible content: "We've had very positive uptake from frontline teams. The response from India in particular was amazing. Our management is keen to use it more widely - they've seen we can get content to everyone in the front-line now."
The programme is also extending that content's life. "We never challenged Vodafone's gamification strategy but we are making assets more readily available," Scott at Ambidect explains. "This wider adoption - in effect, small-scale behavioural change - will trigger better workforce learning. Across 80,000 people, that's a huge impact."
The Way of Care app's design enables country managers, regional teams and franchisees to analyse and adjust content options. Claire explains: "After full roll-out, we will evaluate data across all front-line operations and work out what teams need to take on board."
The L&D team is seeing improvements in trickier areas. "Supervisors say the app helps front-line teams refine their soft skills, like receiving feedback or keeping a positive mindset," Claire comments. "We now have sustainable learning for our Way of Care programme. The figures show staff coming back to content assets; learning is becoming part of what they do each day."
If you're looking to educate in a fresh, affordable, and rewarding way, check out fully mobile responsive e-learning solutions using Learn with Mobile. Get started for free right now, or call the Ambidect team on +44 (0)1260 221292 if you have any questions.
