Need for consistency
Although TOG24 have invested in training their teams throughout the company’s history, it became clear to Emma that a different approach was needed; a way to ensure that members of staff in every location received the same high quality, focused instruction, particularly those working with the public in retail stores. Elearning seemed like the obvious choice. With some employees working for the company for decades and others in their first ever job, Emma knew that a straightforward, easy to use tool would be required (and a carefully planned approach that left nobody behind).
Northern soul
Emma’s the first to admit that TOG24’s approach is a little different. It’s not the sort of place where a bland, corporate training programme would fit in. They take pride in their Northern roots – the company is still based in the Spen Valley, Yorkshire – and that pride comes through in their brand, their messaging to customers, and the way they communicate with employees.
“We heard a lot of horror stories that people had from other companies: it’ll take you hours to create a minute’s worth of content – it wasn’t like that at all.” – Emma Woodcock, Head of HR
Getting creative
Although the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of TOG24’s journey with elearning, Emma wasn’t discouraged, and reached back out to the Nimble team in early 2022, when she was able to take advantage of the newly-launched Nimble+ package. Straight away, Emma found herself enjoying Nimble. She found it easy to create something that looked great and got the message across:
“You’re excited, you want to be working with it – and you want people to see it! You can’t wait to release something.” – Emma Woodcock, Head of HR
Emma and her team used their Nimble+ licence to full advantage; for some training, they adapted Nimble Essentials courses to add that Northern touch. For others, they reworked existing PowerPoint training materials in Nimble Author – or started from scratch, using the authoring tool to its full potential. With support from their Customer Success Manager, they built a tailored course template and created visually appealing, interactive modules with ease.
Rolling it out
The first step was to get every single member of staff on the induction course. That did mean that some employees with over 40 years’ service were enrolled! But for Emma, this was critically important: everyone would be on a level playing field, and the induction was a perfect way to get all staff comfortable with the Nimble platform.
Next they focused on retail training, to improve that crucial consistency. Store staff took courses in customer service, sales skills, product knowledge and loss prevention; key areas of the business where a shared message made all the difference. Some employees were so keen to learn that they logged on to the Nimble platform at home in the evenings, taking their own notes – a glowing endorsement for Emma and her team’s approach!
What’s next?
The programme of elearning across the retail arm of the business has been a great success. The leadership team at TOG24 view Nimble as a game changer: it’s revolutionised the way they train a growing workforce in multiple locations, and made achieving that shared message so much easier.
“It’s limitless, and I think that’s the thing. We can do anything with this, anything at all.” – Emma Woodcock, Head of HR
Emma and her team have recently launched a series of management skills courses that are proving very popular with new store managers who are keen to develop in their roles. Employee appraisal training has also had a positive impact on the confidence and skill of line managers, and boosted staff satisfaction. Plans are now focusing on further expansion of retail training, as well as developing training for the head office and warehouse teams.
Looking further ahead, Emma can’t wait to harness the incredible knowledge, talent and experience that she knows is waiting to be discovered across the organisation. TOG24’s people have so much expertise to share; Nimble is the perfect way to share it.
To find out more about TOG24, visit their website.
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