The problem

Like a number of organisations, Rydges have a need to induct new and existing employees. In the past this has been done face-to-face however with over 3000 employees spread across Australia and New Zealand and over 40 locations this has been a challenging exercise. Paper based records of completion have been held at various locations and therefore have not been easily accessible.

"Some of my Hotels are in remote areas such as Kalgoorlie which I only visit every few months.  With the implementation of this program, I feel confident that new staff are still receiving training at Induction which is consistent with the rest of the group." Joanne Fennell: Area Training & Development Manager; Rydges VIC TAS SA & WA

Rydges approached Angliss Multimedia, a division of William Angliss Institute, in 2008 about the possibility of delivering this induction material online. The ability to have a central database of users and keep track of progress was a priority, so was the ability to engage the predominant Gen Y audience, particularly in the front of house areas.

The solution

The solution developed was a suite of seven e-learning modules covering a wide range of topics from personal grooming to occupational health and safety. Rydges ran internal competitions to find the 'Rydges Next Top Role Model' to star in the video and photo shoots. A number of successful candidates were selected from the many entries and they were treated to a day of pampering as part of the shoots covering food and beverage, housekeeping and grooming.

Each module was developed in Flash and comprises large amounts of video. Video is an excellent medium for showing these practical skills and can provide an extremely cost effective way to deliver training if done well.

The videos were embedded into a number of virtual scenes, which were stitched together using photographs. The 'actors' were dropped into the scene during the production process so that rollover effects could be placed over them. The end result was a very creative solution that was appealing to the target audience.

"The pilot program has been an absolute success with very positive feedback being received by the state managers reporting back to me." Patricia Dalton Director of Training & Development, AHL.

 

A pilot group tested the modules and the feedback incorporated into the final product. This will be delivered across the group's 3000 employees via a learning management system.

The success of the project was largely attributed to the confidence Rydges' placed in the creative development team at Angliss Multimedia.

Where to from here

Angliss Multimedia is now working with Rydges on a Workplace Assessment Tool, which will be developed for the iPhone. This is a project funded by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework and details of this will be provided soon.

 

 

About the Author

Michael Frost is a Multimedia Developer at Angliss Multimedia in Melbourne.  He and his colleagues won several awards for this solution at LearnX Asia Pacific 2009.