Managers’ training, internal experts, evaluation and other elements of corporate e-learning in the case of Antoshka
Managers are one of the most important parts of a company’s executive team. Every day they make many important management decisions that affect the performance of the entire team. They possess valuable knowledge and skills and are a true role model for other employees. However, to maintain a high level of competence and perform their work efficiently, they need to constantly improve. One of the most effective methods is to implement e-learning, which is exactly what Antoshka has done.
Hanna Bebeshko, Head of the Training and Development Department at Antoshka, told us about the training organized on the portal, the specifics of the training of Antoshka managers, communication support, and plans for the future.
Antoshka is a national network of children’s stores, which is represented in 18 cities of Ukraine and provides caring parents with the best products and services for their children. Currently, Antoshka employs over 1000 people. The development and training of people in the company is based on practical experience, the latest technologies of partner brands and a mandatory fun component.
Implementation of e-learning
The first attempts to implement e-learning were made back in the 2010s. At that time, the company used an online training format on its corporate portal, presented in the form of webinars and tests. Later, Antoshka decided to expand its online learning capabilities and in February 2021 implemented e-learning based on LMS Collaborator. The training is mainly designed for sales staff (sellers, cashiers) and store managers.
Hanna Bebeshko, Head of the Training and Development Department at Antoshka
«We are a large network company and our employees work in different regions of Ukraine. It was important for us to organize training that would cover all employees and be continuous. So that everyone could study at a time convenient for them, from any place and device. In addition, we wanted to automate the training process and have tools that would allow us to receive detailed statistics and reporting. These were the key criteria for us when choosing an LMS, and we decided on LMS Collaborator».
Organization of learning on the LMS Collaborator portal
One of the first major projects implemented by Antoshka on the basis of LMS Collaborator is the newcomer adaptation program. It is quite extensive and, depending on the position, lasts from 2 weeks to 2 months of learning.
«The training portal has become a platform that helps us to adapt all Antoshka newcomers. LMS Collaborator allows us to track the progress of newcomers: when they take tests and with what results, provide timely feedback and communicate with mentors».
The company also provides product learning for its employees. The learning portal contains an extensive database of presentations on the company’s products, which is regularly updated.
In addition to the presentation, salespeople also watch product webinars and take tests. All materials are stored in the Knowledge Base and the Task Catalog. Each employee can review the information they are interested in at any time.
The company has recently introduced additional training for employees on the LMS Collaborator portal. It is aimed at improving soft skills.
«Many employees have already completed the Public speaking skills course and are using the skills they have acquired».
One of the largest training programs is the Antoshka Director’s School. The learning portal has become the main platform for its implementation. Let’s learn more about it.
Managers’ training – the “School of Director”
Store managers are one of the most important management levels at Antoshka. They work in the field, managing teams of different sizes. Since the company has many internal experts, we came up with the idea to share their knowledge with managers. Thus, in September 2021, the Antoshka training department, together with a team of top managers, developed a program for store managers – the “School of Director”.
The program is based on a variety of learning activities to develop the competencies and knowledge that are crucial for managers.
The program is divided into 6 topics: Sales, Customers, People, Finance, Products, and Development, which the executives completed over 11 weeks.
Each of the topics contains the basic knowledge that managers need to perform their work tasks effectively. For example, KPIs, interviewing, calculating motivation, customer relations, financial performance, scheduling, business processes, etc.
The School’s internal experts were the CEO, COO, Marketing Director, HR Director, and heads of various departments at the central office, etc.
The format of the tasks is varied: webinars, videos, tests, case studies, surveys, an offline marathon, and expert presentations. Each video and webinar is followed by practical assignments for managers, as well as a list of recommended reading from experts.
The most active participants in terms of the program’s completion rating and those who scored the most points for the assignments received motivational gifts – books recommended by experts.
«We received a lot of positive feedback after the first “School of Director”, so a year later we organized another module – “School of Director 2.0”. It started after the Assessment Center, which took place offline the day before the full-scale war».
Assessment Center
The Assessment Center is an assessment center method that was conducted offline based on the results of the Director’s School. We selected 6 types of assessment for executives: interview, self-presentation, testing, group task, case study, and analytical task. Observers, including CEOs, top managers, department heads, and regional directors, evaluated store managers using each of the methods presented. This helped to obtain an unbiased, detailed and transparent assessment. The results of the assessment were shared with regional managers to develop a further plan for the development of store managers’ competencies.
The company used the LMS Collaborator platform to conduct the tests. This allowed us to get results in real time.
«The learning platform offers advantages not only for self-study, but also in live learning».
“School of the Director 2.0”
The war made its own adjustments to the work of Ukrainian businesses, and Antoshka was no exception.
«Due to the full-scale invasion, we were not sure that we would be able to hold another “School of Directors”. But when we were still planning the first one, there were so many topics that we realized that there would definitely be a “School of Directors 2.0″».
The new “School of Directors” started exactly one year after the first one and lasted 9 weeks. The topics were more complex and advanced, with an emphasis on finance and development, such as motivation, change management, profit, emotional intelligence, etc.
Due to the war, we had to abandon the offline format. Instead, a large online meeting was held, where 14 experts spoke over 2 days. In addition to internal experts, external experts were involved in this module on the topics of Emotional Intelligence and Service.
As in the first School of Directors program, the second one also used a rating system and motivational measures. The most active and effective participants were awarded books, certificates, and the winner received a cash certificate for learning in 2023.
«”School of Director” program is a comprehensive project in which we have combined different learning formats. These include, for example, creative tasks for our managers. In the first “School of Director”, participants prepared videos about service stories from stores. In the “School of Director 2.0”, managers prepared video greetings for the 25th anniversary of our company.
There are many advantages of the “School of Director” on the learning portal. For example, all participants can watch the video or take tests again at a convenient time, and new managers go through the program on their own and get the knowledge they need».
Learning portal and communication support
Antoshka uses LMS Collaborator not only to train employees but also to support internal communication.
«The first thing I can highlight is the Birthdays functionality. We constantly receive pleasant feedback from employees that they receive reminders of their colleagues’ birthdays from the system. A big advantage is that these notifications are automatic and work without our participation 🙂».
The company actively uses the Forum. New discussion topics are created for each individual project. In addition, there is a Service Stories Forum where every employee can share a story that happened in the store.
The News section contains important information and invitations to upcoming webinars. Employees can immediately find out about all relevant training events on the portal.
«The implementation of LMS Collaborator helped us to significantly improve the employee training process. It allowed us to:
- Create a unified up-to-date database of learning materials;
- Automate the process of registering employees in the learning space;
- Provide tools to monitor learning outcomes;
- Enhance the quality of training for our employees.
I would also like to emphasize the variety of learning methods that can be used and the convenience of the platform for both users and administrators.
We plan to continue to improve the learning process. Our plans include further development of our employees’ soft skills. We are currently working on a course on inclusiveness. Our plans for 2023 involve the assessment of several categories of employees, the “School of Director 3.0”, new courses on hard skills and a talent pool program».
The Antoshka recipe
- Antoshka is a large network company whose employees work all over the country. The implementation of the LMS helped to unite all employees in one space, automate the learning process and make it continuous.
- The learning portal has become a platform that helps to adapt all newcomers to Antoshka. With the help of LMS Collaborator tools, the company easily tracks the progress of newcomers and their results.
- The company’s Knowledge Base helps with product learning. It contains presentations and resources on Antoshka products, which are regularly actualized and updated.
- One of the company’s largest projects is the “School of Director”. The learning portal has become the main platform for its implementation. The program is based on a variety of learning activities to develop the competencies and knowledge of managers: webinars, videos, tests, case studies, surveys.
- The company employs a variety of methods to encourage managers to learn. One of them is badges that employees can receive after successfully completing the “School of Director” program.
- Antoshka uses LMS Collaborator not only to train employees but also to support internal communication. New topics are created in the Forum for each individual project. And the News regularly publishes important training information and current events.
