We are thrilled to announce our triumph in this year’s “eLearning Award,” securing the top spot in the SME category alongside our esteemed partner, Barnimer Busgesellschaft (BBG). This recognition fills us with immense pride, and we’re excited to share the secrets behind BBG’s award-winning onboarding project. Join us as we unravel the innovative approach that propelled BBG to success and discover how your own medium-sized business can benefit from a similar strategy.
About the eLearning Award
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the essence of successful eLearning remains a timeless inquiry. With over two decades of experience in corporate training through digital media, the quest for excellence persists. Enter the eLearning AWARD, an annual showcase by the eLearning Journal, illuminating the forefront of industry innovation. Drawing from a pool of over 300 submissions spanning Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the eLearning Journal jury meticulously identifies and honors exemplary projects across more than 50 categories.
In the spotlight: Fast onboarding, better expertise, higher performance
Barnimer Busgesellschaft (BBG) faced a daunting challenge: how to efficiently communicate the intricacies of their entire bus route network, including detours, to their workforce. With the goal of enhancing onboarding speed and operational performance, BBG devised a groundbreaking solution. Trainees took the reins, utilizing GoPro cameras to document the standard routes, transforming them into dynamic video courses accessible on the internal platform. BBG’s bus drivers contend with a labyrinth of routes in their daily routines, compounded by regular updates, roadworks, and detours.
While seasoned drivers may navigate these challenges with ease, newcomers face a steep learning curve. Yet, comprehensive route knowledge remains indispensable for seamless operations and error mitigation. Through innovative video documentation, BBG empowers both new recruits and seasoned drivers alike, ensuring a smooth transition and bolstered operational efficiency.
Learning needs
With this in mind, BBG set itself the goal of improving the quality of the operating system and developing a new and dynamic onboarding program. The main objective was to create a faster and more efficient onboarding process that would also improve the quality of all employees’ route knowledge. The aim was to solve two problems with one stone: Frontside employees currently have far too little capacity for learning and, in addition, there are too many courses and further training courses in different locations, so there was already a major barrier to even getting started.
For the new onboarding, the idea was to transfer all new courses in the form of video training to a central learning management system in order to make all learning units available in one place. Various approaches were also to be combined in order to meet the previously defined requirements and develop an optimal solution for all needs.
A key component of this was to be the new video courses, which were recorded by the trainees using GoPros during normal scheduled services. They had the camera running while they worked and traveled the various routes, thus capturing the routes with all their details and special features without much additional effort. These videos were then enriched with texts, questions and audio fragments to create informative training materials.
In addition, the new concept should promote the team character. It was important for the BBG to find a suitable system on which multiple authors could create and post learning content and contribute to it. This was one of the key criteria when selecting a suitable platform.
Overall, the new onboarding program is aimed at all BBG bus drivers – both the new ones, who are not yet fully familiar with the routes, and the long-time employees, who should be informed about new changes to the routes. The trainees play a relevant role in the entire process, as they are not only the addressees of the courses, but are also significantly involved in the creation of the training.
Course of the project
In order to fulfill the technical component, the BBG project managers first had to find a suitable project partner who could implement the defined requirements satisfactorily. It was crucial to select an LMS that could host video training courses from various authors and at the same time take into account the data protection guidelines of the GDPR. In addition, the handling of large amounts of data and fast uploads and downloads played a central role. Several people also needed to be able to create, edit and upload content.
The choice ultimately fell on Fellow Digitals GmbH’s in-house LMS, Coursepath. Once this technical component had been clarified, the focus was on creating the required content, with the training portfolio consisting of training courses produced in-house and purchased training courses for the office area. However, the video courses on route knowledge and vehicle-specific topics were created by the employees themselves. In addition, the platform was adapted to BBG’s look and feel.
The rollout of this project marked a major upheaval for the company, as BBG, as a medium-sized bus company, previously had little experience with digital learning media and the introduction and conversion to a central digital learning platform therefore represented a significant change. In terms of communication, the company therefore did not rely on digital channels, but instead used posters on the company’s pinboards and then gradually added the participants to the platform. Further explanations were then provided gradually and comprehensibly within the learning platform.
Capturing the Routes: BBG’s trainee bus drivers streamline onboarding by documenting each route with GoPro.
Project result
The new mobile version of the internal learning platform offers employees the new flexibility to access learning content and videos anytime and anywhere. The LMS Coursepath assigns each employee involved their own authoring rights so that the recorded videos of the scheduled trips can be edited accordingly and then uploaded for the employees. Thanks to the large number of trainees and employees involved in recording the routes in the form of educational videos, BBG’s entire route network could be mapped in a very short time. Changes to the routes are continuously marked and updated accordingly in the courses. In addition, new courses are continuously added to the portfolio in training courses.
In summary, a comprehensive learning platform has been developed and enriched with learning content within a short space of time, in which almost all employees are actively involved. One remarkable feature is that not even an e-mail address is required to use the platform. Instead, access is via QR codes distributed on paper, which act as anonymous access codes. BBG has found a special solution for frontline employees with limited time: Thanks to the mobile version, they can conveniently complete the mandatory training during their idle time so that the learning time is credited to them as paid working time. Within the learning platform, users can view their own learning progress, upcoming courses and their success rate. In addition to the mandatory courses required for route knowledge, they also have the opportunity to complete additional courses on other topics and keep their knowledge up to date.
Overall, the learning platform therefore fulfills a dual function: it provides an interface for all courses and also serves as a reference work. If certain knowledge is missing in the form of courses, it is created promptly and integrated into the structure, which ensures a uniform level of knowledge within the company. The new onboarding concept has already seen initial success during the coronavirus pandemic, as the digital training processes could be accessed without any problems and the learning processes could continue without restrictions.
Conclusion
Together with Fellow Digitals GmbH, BBG has succeeded in implementing faster and more efficient onboarding and providing employees with a flexible learning process. With the help of the mobile app, content can be accessed whenever it is needed. The project is particularly important for trainees, as they learn to take responsibility for the company at an early stage by actively participating in the design of the learning content.
Overall, both the employees and BBG itself benefit from this project. BBG can position itself as an attractive employer and adapt flexibly to future requirements thanks to the digital learning platform. At the same time, unnecessary paperwork is reduced and the general security of operational processes is increased. For these reasons, the jury of the eLearning AWARD 2024 is delighted to honor the project “Team success route knowledge – innovative onboarding at Barnimer Busgesellschaft” in the “Medium-sized companies” category.
We – Barnimer Busgesellschaft and Fellow Digitals – appreciate this recognition!
This article first appeared (in German) on elearning-journal.de
