Ask anyone that’s recently started a new job about their ‘experience’, and they will most likely respond that their first few days has been a giant information dump. Managers and mentors speak of feeling stretched and stressed trying to get their new team members up to speed; after all, the business directive is to get new hires to add value, quickly!
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), the world’s second-largest Coca- Cola bottler by sales volume, approached Saffron because they wanted to do things a little differently.
We replaced the face-to-face inductions across the 28 countries in which CCHBC operate with a comprehensive digital induction programme for new hires. We focussed on one single driver: adding value.
Our approach was to focus on values and behaviours over policies and procedures. We wanted new hires to feel assured they had made the right decision to join the company and that their potential for success was limited only by their imagination.
The lack of a comprehensive induction programme had led to poor initial engagement and gaps in knowledge among new hires. Inconsistencies in the induction curriculum led to even more confusion. The new digital induction needed to replace the old model with a clear, compelling and exciting experience for learners. It also needed to communicate that CCHBC is one company with a unifying vision, regardless of its numerous and geographically dispersed operations.
Most importantly, it had to demonstrate what working at CCHBC was all about. CCHBC stressed that they valued collaboration above all and they wanted to encourage employees to work together to achieve great things. The course therefore needed to encourage true cooperation in alignment with the company’s overall success strategy.
Our experience in creating inductions, our focus on values and behaviours, and our previous engagements with CCHBC made Saffron the obvious partner for this project. Our ability to deliver content in an approachable and light way using our bespoke interactions fit with the overall message CCHBC wanted to put across. Saffron’s experience in creating eLearning that uses compelling and immersive narrative made us an easy choice.
With an induction programme that spanned two hours, keeping the learner’s attention throughout would require a strong narrative.
We framed all six of the programme’s modules as a single quest: at the beginning of the course, the learner receives six key cards that grant access to the company’s sites. The cards are carried away by a wind across the plant, and the learner pairs up with a fictitious colleague Caroline to embark on a search for each card.
The key learning points are subtly drawn out as the learner visits each site, each card relating to a central theme. Caroline acts as the learner’s guide, introducing them to colleagues within the business who provide further expertise on each aspect of business.
We created custom animations and fully immersed the learner in the visual world of CCHBC. The design reflected the global and diverse nature of the company and was inclusive of age, ethnicity, gender and type of work.
By having to work with various colleagues to find the six cards, new joiners experience CCHBC’s collaborative working culture from day one. At the end of the course, the learner is asked to reflect on the goals that they have set themselves for their time at CCHBC. This sets the tone for their time at the company and empowers them to take an active role in the company’s culture and overall success.
The learning interactions delivered content in a light and accessible manner, and never made the learner feel as though they were ticking a box for a pass mark.
