Training: how to get back on track after a long-term absence, using Klaxoon activities

The challenge: deliver more effective training and get more feedback

At SOGESSUR, Aurore has been using Klaxoon for the last 4 years. She and her team of trainers have fully embraced its visual management tools. "There's not a single day when we don't use Klaxoon!" confirms Aurore.

One of the training sessions to be digitized was the “long-term absence” pathway. This is intended to support people coming back who have been absent for a long period of time, to get them back on track so they can start their jobs again after maternity, sickness or parental leave.

What was it like before Klaxoon? “PowerPoint materials were sent by email to the people concerned,” explains Aurore, "and they were asked to read them. Then, we sent a link for them to pass some knowledge tests. At the same time, they were given some tutoring.” The trainer added, however, that there was very little feedback about the effectiveness of this formula. But feedback is crucial for progress and improvement. Aurore had the bright idea of only using Klaxoon and nothing else for this reintegration pathway.

The solution: Klaxoon’s suite of activities to make the course more dynamic and save time

For inspiration and to keep using a whiteboard, Aurore delved into the Klaxoon template library. Hundreds of ready-to-use templates are available, which can be customized to suit the needs of her team. “It’s a real time saver to be able to customize the templates,” says the SOGESSUR trainer. She opted for the Onboarding path template, that she adapted by adding different content at each stage.

“I chose the Onboarding path template because it’s very visual. At a glance, employees can see what they have to do. For example, thanks to the icons, they can see when their tutor is by their side or when they are working independently.”

A multi-activity Board for more interaction

Aurore integrated her Board with other activities from the Klaxoon suite: Adventures, Memos, Quizzes and Questions to “break things up a bit”. Some of the modules used already existed on Klaxoon, others were in PowerPoint and Aurore adapted them to suit her new format.

A color code is applied to this part of the pathway on the Board: for example, red for knowledge quizzes, and blue for satisfaction surveys. 

Memos are recaps to help participants get back into the swing of things. For example, one of the headings is: “How to understand a termination procedure”. The tasks enable the trainers to ensure that everyone knows everything about the product. One question is asked about each product, “this means the products can be reviewed independently without us always breathing down their necks,” explains Aurore.

At the start, Aurore adds a link to a planner on Board where the full reintegration training schedule for the person concerned can be found. That way, she can share it with her manager so that they know when they are involved (welcome, one-to-one and feedback), or when their employee is available.

Copy and export, vital features for the training team

Aurore’s department provides reintegration support for 3 different types of employment status. So, she has prepared three types of pathways, one for each employment status. “That way, depending on the status of the person returning from a long-term absence, all I need to do is import the Board. In fact, my work is already done; all I have to do is duplicate activities.” As a matter of fact, all the activities in Klaxoon, once created and customized, can be duplicated as many times as you like.

Aurore also exported her prepared activities for the “long-term absence” pathway, so that her colleagues could easily access them independently. “Templates in .klx format are accessible from our intranet, so my colleagues can open them and can take over if I’m not there.” A .klx file is created by exporting a Klaxoon activity from your Studio. These files can then be imported into any other Klaxoon account, and be reused the same way.

Once an employee has completed the pathway, Aurore retrieves all the results of the questions, tests and knowledge assessments. “This helps me to take stock, to find out whether it has been beneficial, if it has worked well, and it also means I can get feedback and adjust the course accordingly.” And that’s not all! “I can also present the results of the knowledge quizzes to the manager very quickly,” adds the trainer. This helps them to be able to respond quickly.”

The result: more than 10 working days saved, and 100% employees satisfied with the training

Digitizing this reintegration training “has enabled us to challenge our employees and get an instant assessment of the training provided,” explains Aurore. Because with Klaxoon, feedback is immediate and always constructive.

The proof is in the feedback: employees feel confident when they return

Aurore’s team has been providing this reintegration pathway for more than a year and the feedback is unanimous: “It’s clear”, “We know where we’re going”, “In just one click, we have all the information”, “The pathway takes the stress out of it”, … These are some snippets of feedback collected by the trainers from employees returning after a long-term absence.

Aurore can only agree with this positive feedback: “For the participants, it’s fun, it covers everything and it saves them time. When they come back, they’re less stressed. They know where they're going thanks to the visuals and planner. They have some time by themselves and at the same time they’re supported, they know they can contact us.”

• Simple, “because you only need to create a Board once, and then you can copy, export / import it as many times as you want”. 
• Fast, “because you just import and copy, and there’s nothing more to change”.
• Efficient, “because everything is centralized, you don’t have to look for it all over the place”.

Proven time savings

Aurore is won over by Klaxoon because of the time-saving aspect too. For the trainer, it's a no-brainer: “In the past, we spent 1 to 2 days preparing for an employee to come back. Nowadays, we only spend half a day or 1 day on this.” Given that her team supports at least 10 employees a year, that's at least 10 working days saved thanks to Klaxoon. "Imagine the time we could save if we put this in place for all of our training courses", continues the SOGESSUR trainer.

And it’s not just the trainers who save time, Aurore insists. “It’s a real time saver for the participants too, especially when looking for information. They no longer need to ask someone else, everything is on the Board!”

This pathway is now deeply rooted in the way Aurore and her colleagues work. “We will definitely keep using it and continue to improve it”, confirms the trainer, as part of the commitment to continuous improvement. And she adds: “I would now like to be able to offer onboarding pathways to new hires.”