Energy Company Adopts Training Innovation to Support Leadership

Our client is a leading energy technology company founded in 1907 in Houston, Texas. This Fortune 500 enterprise has a diverse portfolio of equipment and service capabilities that span the energy and industrial value chain. Harnessing the power of engineering, data, and science, the organization’s inventions have revolutionized energy. It’s a public and listed company on NASDAQ, and has over 60,000 employees across offices in 120 countries.

The client had a unique requirement, symbolic of their drive for innovation. With over a century of experience, the client wanted to transition to an Open Book Management (OBM) philosophy. This philosophy involves empowering every employee with the required knowledge of processes and adequate training for them to embrace leadership roles. It also involves a transparent approach to sharing the organization’s financial data and statements, as well as:

• Simple, effective financial training to make employees cash-conscious
• Educating employees on the concept of cash flow and cash performance
• Understanding of existing systems and processes and optimizing for better cash inflow

The training should cater to the learning needs of diverse audiences, including Sales, Commercial, Account Management, Billing and Collection, Service Delivery Organizations, and Regional Operations. 

However, there were a few challenges to overcome to ensure the success of the ideology and the proposed training solution:

• The diverse audience groups had varied learning needs, and the proposed solution would need to effectively address them all.
• The training modules would need to be short, precise, and conveyed in simple terms and plain language.
• Owing to the nature of topics, training strategy and content need to be highly engaging to the learner.
• The training should effectively equip the learners to become capable decision-makers. 

ELB Learning proposed a series of modules that would both facilitate and stimulate learning, creating a pleasant learning experience. The program would consist of three modules on finance basics—Introduction to Cash Flow, Income Statement and Margins, and Balance Sheet.

The framework includes:

• Creation of medium-sized modules that catered to the learners’ needs and goals
• The module design would be in the context of their work environment and workflow 
• Brief and concise modules, with a clear learning objective 
• Sound instructional design strategy for the creation of training content

The key features of the solution are:

• Training modules and titles were created based on a particular task, objective, or problem, thereby providing just-in-time learning that could be put to immediate use
• Innovative topic titles were presented as questions or curious phrases to pique learner interest. 
• Content creation was also simplified with this approach, as it provided a clear roadmap for the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) 
• The content was designed to bring facts to life with relevant examples and scenarios drawn from the SMEs knowledge and experience

Another key feature was how the design played a vital role in communication and enhanced overall training effectiveness. The content was supported by visual cues and an interface design that seamlessly blended in without distracting the learner from the module's objective. Other popular design elements include using a mix of stock photos and typography-based animations, highlights, zoom-in-outs, and more that contributed positively to the whole learning experience. 

Using Storyline 360 authoring tool and HTML5, the published content was compatible across all browsers and mobile devices. To increase learner engagement, an attractive and consistent interface design was deployed. To make learning enjoyable for the learners, distinctive buttons on the interface, smooth navigation, and clear instructions were built in.

The modules were meant to help the learners understand the basics of financial management and aid in the “call to action” at the individual level. With an aim to not overwhelm the learners, ELB Learning deployed a staggered rollout with the three modules. The results of the training exercise included: 

• A stupendous feedback approval rating of 4.67 out of 5 
• Relevant examples and scenarios in the modules improved learner understanding, leading to better knowledge retention and capable application 
• The concise modules, clear learning objective, and good interface design offered a pleasant learning experience and improved learner engagement