South African online training leader, FUEL Online, has today announced a partnership with Shell, which aims to significantly upskill the oil company's forecourt attendants around the country. The training programme, which will provide training for up to 3 500 forecourt staff per week via FUEL's innovative online platform, forms a core element of Shell's strategy to improve customer experience at its filling stations.
FUEL Online founder Craig Reid says: “Shell places enormous focus on customer service as a differentiator for its brand. We are excited that FUEL's online training facility will be the primary driver for improving the customer experience at Shell pumps nationwide.”
A successful trial of the programme at select Shell branches last year proved the success and potential of the platform for the oil industry, with managers reporting favourably on increased accountability, understanding, focus and a feeling of empowerment evident in their forecourt staff.
Reid believes that if training is implemented properly the results can be staggering. "Staff that understand their environment, their job requirement and their clients' needs properly are confident, enthusiastic and willing. And as anyone will tell you, being met with a company representative that is happy, enthusiastic and has the skills to meet your needs is both rare and fantastic.”
As the programme rolls out from March, Shell forecourt staff will be trained by means of instructor-led videos, viewed on touch screens and PCs at the filling stations where they work. “The content of the videos is customisable to the specific needs of Shell's forecourt attendants. The modules cover customer service and technical skills training, as well as health and safety topics, such as HIV/Aids, and life skills such as how to open a bank account,” Reid continues. “There is a strong social and personal benefit attached to this type of skills training.”
According to Reid, while online training has typically been the province of higher education and management level training, FUEL is now breaking that mould. He points out that video provides the most engaging digital training format available and allows for a level of 'edutainment' that ensures the user's focused attention on the training material.
“Video also overcomes the barrier of low literacy levels, so this model of training really can be used at all strata of an organisation, from grass-roots levels up.”
He goes on to explain the importance of providing a convenient and consistent staff training platform, particularly for industries which rely on large workforces with significant geographical separation of branches - in Shell's case, filling stations.
“A tool like FUEL Online, which can provide sustainable communication to all representatives of a brand, allows the company to implement its strategy from senior management all the way down the ranks to the staff through whom customers experience the brand day-to-day.”
The consistency and sustainability of the FUEL Online training offering has been proven through its long-term relationships with the motoring industry. FUEL has worked with many of the leading motoring players, including GM, Mercedes Benz and Toyota, as the exclusive provider of online training to their distributors in southern Africa.
“The success of the Shell training trial has marked the extension of FUEL's offering to other industries as an online training pioneer. The scope of organisations that could now use online training explodes into manufacturing, mining and agriculture. These are sectors in which adult education and support is so bitterly needed but without an accessible training resource many of the traditional efforts have fallen short. The cost, inconsistency and sheer drain on the organisations' resources have meant that often training has fallen by the wayside.”
The trend is changing, however. “Internationally, we have seen a 500% increase in online training in first world countries over the last three years. The vast majority of South African companies still use traditional methods of training, but the movement towards online strategies is beginning. Looking ahead, the increased government mandating of adult education, skills development and ongoing professional development makes our business very exciting.”
For more information about FUEL Online, visit www.fuelonline.co.za.
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