How to improve employee skills using e-learning in one month? A case of a knowledge marathon of the D.S. pharmacy chain
Pharmaceuticals is a branch that is actively developing. New medicines and treatments are regularly introduced, so pharmacists need to constantly update their knowledge.
The implementation of an LMS allows pharmacists to study at a time and place convenient for them, quickly acquire the necessary knowledge and skills, and improve their skills.
Oksana Horodetska, Head of Training and Staff Development at D.S. Pharmacy Chain, told us how the D.S. Pharmacy Chain managed to organize a knowledge marathon with the help of express tests.
D.S. Pharmacy Chain is a company with over 30 years of successful experience in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. The chain is among the top players in the domestic pharmacy market. Today, 385 pharmacies, including franchisees, operate under the D.S. brand in 111 settlements in 16 regions of Ukraine.
Implementation of distance learning
D.S. has always understood that staff is the most valuable asset that needs to be trained and developed to maintain a competitive position in the market. Therefore, 15 years ago, we decided to implement centralized employee training and create a training and development department.
At that time, the company’s office was equipped with a classroom where training managers worked with employees using a simulation computer cash program and their own learning materials.
The company was scaling dynamically, so the use of exclusively face-to-face training became less effective. As a next step, the company decided to implement distance learning for employees.
Oksana Horodetska – Head of Training and Development of the D.S. Pharmacy Chain
«At first, we used Moodle as a learning platform and had ordinary “Word” instructions, PowerPoint presentations as examples of learning materials. Later on, we began to better understand what tools we needed to make distance learning not only effective, but also interesting and personalized».
Since administering the learning portal took a lot of time, there was an urgent need to automate the processes as much as possible. The implementation of LMS Collaborator helped the company with this.
Currently, more than 1,300 employees working in pharmacies are trained on the Collaborator LMS platform.
Home page of the D.S. pharmacy chain learning portal
Conducting express tests
While working with the LMS Collaborator platform, D.S. Pharmacy Chain has implemented many cases, including automating staff adaptation through learning paths.
Read more about it here: Learning paths in LMS Collaborator — the experience of the D.S. pharmacy chain
The company faced a new challenge that forced it to rebuild its approach to learning. To organize learning that would allow employees to acquire the necessary knowledge in a short time and with high quality.
«First of all, it is crucial for us to quickly fill vacant positions in our pharmacy departments, despite the general market situation related to the lack of appropriately qualified personnel. Now we have to rebuild our approach to the training system as a whole. The time required for employees to acquire the necessary skills is being reduced. Therefore, we are shifting our focus towards microlearning and rapid testing to assess the employee’s basic knowledge.
In e-learning, employees find answers in their daily work when they have questions, so short, quick “doses” are often needed rather than completing a full course».
The decision to implement rapid employee testing was driven by several key factors:
- it was necessary to quickly and efficiently determine the level of knowledge and skills of employees without the need for lengthy training courses and tests;
- based on the analysis of the test results, quickly make a decision on further training programs for employees to improve their knowledge and skills in recommending OB (ed: own brand) products;
- to encourage employees to interact more actively with the portal and improve self-discipline in the context of learning courses and programs;
- to effectively measure the knowledge and skills of employees, ensure that the level of knowledge meets the company’s requirements and save time and resources.
The entire operational staff of the company takes part in the testing. Express tests are a part of the training trajectory. They are assigned to employees automatically after they have completed the courses and independently familiarized themselves with the characteristics, properties and advantages of the OB product line.
An example of a training course on OB
A database of questions has been created for each item of goods. The test includes 5 questions automatically selected by the system from the list.
To save time on the test, the questions should be clear, short and concise. Therefore, the factors of clarity and conciseness were taken into account when developing them. Each question is closed-ended with one correct answer.
Express testing of employees of the D.S. pharmacy chain
Such express testing is carried out within a month. Each business day, a new test task is assigned for a different product name.
The materials used for testing are freely available on the learning portal. The materials used for testing are freely available on the learning portal and can be accessed by employees at any time to review and self-assess their knowledge.
The knowledge base on the learning portal of the D.S. pharmacy chain
Results analysis and motivation
The company’s reward badges and leaderboard help motivate employees to take tests. The rating takes into account the results and the speed of testing.
«The visualization of the test results on the portal’s home page helped us to encourage employees. The rating was constantly updated, so the real-time results further encouraged employees to achieve the best results.
Since it was the first time that express testing was conducted, a motivational program was developed to raise the level of employee interest. The criteria for selection were both the results and the speed of passing the tests».
Rating and awards for passing tests
Analyzing the results is a key element in the learning process of D.S. pharmacy chain employees. With the help of automated analytics from the LMS Collaborator portal, the company’s training department receives all the necessary data. Based on this data, it is determined whether the materials need to be adjusted.
Test report automatically generated by the learning portal
In addition, analytics helps identify employee needs and develop a strategy to improve their knowledge and skills. All employees are familiarized with the information obtained, provided with feedback and recommendations for further learning.
«Our goal is to adapt the learning process to the needs of each employee in order to guide them more effectively to results. We consider rapid testing as a tool to identify basic knowledge both at the training stage and at the stage of adaptation and work of the employee in the company.
The goal is to provide employees with a unique experience of interaction with the learning platform. We are currently looking for ways to use and integrate the portal with other external tools and programs, using artificial and virtual reality. These tools will allow employees to receive immediate feedback and diversify their learning content, whether working in a traditional or digital environment.
We strive to build a learning culture in the company that encourages employees to seek and apply new knowledge».
Conclusion
The case of the D.S. pharmacy chain successfully demonstrates how a learning portal and the use of rapid tests can be used to create a knowledge marathon for employees. Such a marathon is not only a great way to test knowledge, but also to engage staff in professional development.
