On August 6th, 2024, Frontlyne hosted a compelling webinar on Zoom titled "Is Course Completion a True Indicator of a Skilled Frontline Employee?" This session, part of our Keeping Up with Frontlyne series, was moderated by our Co-founder, Susanna Jacob. We were joined by a distinguished panel featuring Gauri Dalal, Head of Product and former Head of L&D; Jovitha D'Souza, Head of Retail Learning; and Jagdish Kannan, Sr. Manager - L&D. Together, they delved into the complexities of assessing frontline employee skills beyond mere course completion.

The Discussion Unpacked

The webinar kicked off with a warm introduction from Susanna, who engaged the audience in a thought-provoking activity. She asked participants to define key terms: course completion, true indicator, and skilled frontline employee. This set the stage for a deeper exploration of the topic.

Is Course Completion a Reliable Indicator?

The first question directed at Gauri Dalal revolved around the relevance of course completion as an indicator of a skilled frontline employee. Gauri emphasized that while course completion signifies a commitment to professional development, it should not be the sole measure of skill. Practical assessments, on-the-job performance, and feedback from supervisors and customers are crucial in providing a more comprehensive evaluation. She also highlighted the importance of course completion in standardizing learning and aiding skill acquisition, particularly when SOPs are defined. However, Gauri stressed that for career progression, additional methods such as on-the-job training are necessary.

Building Skilled Frontline Employees: Initiatives and Practices

Jovitha D'Souza shared insights on initiatives that effectively transform frontline employees into skilled professionals. She advocated for bite-sized learning content—modules no longer than 2-3 minutes—to maintain engagement and facilitate skill application in daily tasks. Jovitha also discussed using role-play-based assessments with detailed scoring rubrics to evaluate actual skills. She shared a success story where content was condensed into 1-2 minute segments, leading to a 98% success rate. The importance of accumulating skills over time and aligning them with business objectives was also highlighted.

Training Large Groups of Frontline Employees

Jagdish Kannan addressed the challenges of training large groups of frontline employees, particularly with the influx of Gen Z workers. He emphasized the need to maintain their attention through bite-sized, socially relevant content, such as short videos akin to social media reels. Leveraging technology and trends, Jagdish argued, is key to creating engaging and effective learning experiences for large-scale frontline teams.

Aligning Learning Initiatives with Business Objectives

Susanna then guided the discussion towards aligning training initiatives with business objectives. The panelists discussed how tracking metrics like sales numbers, customer satisfaction scores, and audit results can help assess whether training objectives have been met. Gauri spoke about aligning learning metrics with customer-centric goals through gamified rewards and recognition systems, linking these to business metrics like conversion rates and order values. The panelists also touched on the importance of recognizing high-performing employees to identify skill gaps and drive improvement.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Learning Metrics

The session concluded with Jovitha discussing common pitfalls in creating learning metrics and aligning them with business objectives. She stressed the importance of having a well-defined and accurate measurement scale. A lack of such a scale, she argued, often leads to training being unfairly blamed when objectives are not met. Jovitha recommended analyzing current performance numbers as a baseline and clearly identifying which objectives can be achieved independently and which require in-person training.

Practical Application: Training Volunteers for the Paris Olympics 2024

To bring the discussion into a practical realm, the panelists were presented with a hypothetical scenario: managing the training of 45,000 volunteers for the Paris Olympics 2024. Each panelist proposed their mission, indicators, and training plans.

• ‍Gauri Dalal focused on ensuring seamless and timely execution of scheduled athletic events. She proposed a training plan with key indicators like event punctuality, volunteer preparedness, and operational efficiency, supported by detailed tables and charts.
• Jagdish Kannan emphasized creating a welcoming environment for guests. He suggested assigning volunteers based on their capabilities and interests, using technology to track task completion, and implementing an LMS for ongoing training.
• Jovitha D'Souza proposed a 10-day training program combining virtual and in-person sessions. Her plan included cultural awareness training, role-specific instructions, quizzes and scenario-based emergency drills to prepare volunteers comprehensively.

The webinar ended with a recap of the key takeaways and a thank you note to the panelists and audience from Susanna. We invite you to follow our LinkedIn page for updates on upcoming webinars and more insights into frontline employee training. Watch the full webinar on our YouTube Channel.

Stay tuned for more engaging discussions from Frontlyne!