22-02-2022
News
Hungary
e-learning, blended learning, trainings, onboarding trainings, home office, hybrid work, Professional life at PS, Skillnaut platform, digital transformation, digitalisation, people development
By Eliza Kovács, PS Training Specialist, e-Learning Development Officer at PS
For PS, it is important to be able to support its employees in their professional development and to provide this professional knowledge in the most up-to-date form, adapted to the needs of the team. This is why we decided in early 2020 to implement our own e-learning system supported by the Skillnaut platform.
The system is now being used by an average of 50 to 60 employees a month for learning, and this number rises to as many as 200 when the annual compulsory training modules are published.
In addition to creating a variety of corporate training courses, the aim was to create simple learning materials, to make training user-friendly and easy to organise, and to save trainer time. The introduction of the system is a major milestone in the transformation of our internal professional training, as this Blended Learning approach (courses that include e-learning and online/classroom training) has replaced the previous classroom-based training system, which was typically based on face-to-face attendance.
It is important to stress, however, that in terms of internal training, while we continue to develop and expand our online platforms, we will continue to place great emphasis on the personal nature of our complex modules with practical elements. With a focus on the integration of new team members and on building personal relationships with professional trainers and other team members, the previous formats have been maintained in some cases.
In addition to the technology and professional participants, the migration to blended learning also involves PS’s team of almost 40 professional trainers, who have been and are currently designing and developing the learning materials.
In terms of results, the organisation of training courses has been simplified, as the system not only manages but also automatically allocates blended courses. Moreover, by creating different reports, the professional team in charge of training can more easily monitor the progress of the courses and the results of the exams.
As a first step, the main direction of curriculum development is to be the restructuring of the refresher and theoretical training (e.g. annual compulsory training, work and fire safety training, etc.). This also includes internal professional training, including a series of 34 modules called “New Joiner Training”, covering tax, accounting and Excel topics, as well as an introduction to the accounting system. The training series will be re-launched every month to allow newcomers to join.
Currently, the training series is run in a Blended Learning mode, that is almost 50% of the professional modules are delivered as e-learning and the other 50% are listened to online by the team members. The e-learning materials can be composed of several types of content. These could be Power Point presentations and accompanying audio material, examination sections, control questions, or even a software element explaining the system.
In total, there are 42 hours of training, which new team members must complete within six months. The blended learning approach has reduced the total training time by almost 12 hours, saving trainers time, as they now only have 28 hours of training out of 42 hours per month, which could be even 54 hours before the system was introduced.
In order to sustain the motivation of colleagues to learn the material, they can collect different gamification elements in the system (gems, experience points). They are rewarded for completing the learning material and for good exam results, in exchange for which they can buy various souvenirs in the “Shop” available within the system.
In terms of immediate goals, we want to better assess the effectiveness of the trainings by incorporating the possibility of immediate feedback into the courses. Our aim is to create more colourful and interactive learning materials that will make learning at PS more fun and enjoyable. We also want to expand the level of e-learning materials so that, in addition to modules for new entrants, internal, professional learning materials are available at a higher level.
On 26 January 2022, at the webinar “Online and Blended Learning” organised by Develor, I had the opportunity to present my experience of PS Blended Learning, the development of the e-learning system, the positive reception of the innovations and the challenges ahead. As a result and success of the team involved in the development, I was able to report in the presentation that the Blended Learning format has made it easier for our trainees to complete the training, we can motivate them to learn the materials, while we have also helped our experienced trainers, as we have managed to diversify their teaching work and also saved them time, which they can spend on their other professional tasks.
I would also like to thank everyone who helped us to make this a success!