“We have truly been able to take learning to a higher level”

Laura Donders developed a?global?learning platform for the adidas contact centers that?seamlessly fit with?the developments around customer service: “Customer service is no longer?viewed?as a Cost Center,?but more and more as a Value Center” she says.?“The training courses used to be process oriented, but now they are much more focused on developing our employees and the experience?of?our customers.”?

Laura Donders oversees the L&D activities of all adidas customer service representatives. That's literally a?function?with global impact, as contact centers?of adidas?operate all over the world. “The employees?at?our contact centers are the brand ambassadors of adidas. They speak to millions of customers,?and therefore?they?have?to know everything about adidas and our products.”?

?“When I started in this?function, there was no integrated global approach?where?learning?or?developing our people were concerned. There wasn't really a guideline or a strategy.?Teams?mainly worked with PowerPoints,?and they all?had?different versions.?Interactive courses didn’t exist. There was no insight?whatsoever?into who used?what?resource.??

Therefore, I?wanted to build a learning platform?for?all our people?to use?globally, so that there would be one source of truth.”?And that platform is now up and running: “We have?truly?been able to take learning to a higher level,?and I’m proud of that.”??

We offer training content in different ways and have created?several?expert journeys. Self-study is?an incredibly?important?element, but for several?of our?courses we?still?like to?use facilitators,?for example for our?onboarding.?A course like that?partly consists of self-study?and?e-learning, but also of?instructor-led?classroom training.?That would be a blended program.”?

The new platform got the name SPIKE,?named?after the first Track & Field sprint shoe ever developed by founder Adolf “Adi”?Dassler. SPIKE?is short?for 'Single Point In Knowledge Excellence', Laura explains: “One central point where you can find everything and learn about adidas policies, processes, products,?and more. It’s?a platform that is used worldwide. 80 percent of the content is created by our team,?and 20 percent is created by regional teams, based on their?own?needs and processes. This is possible because we use a Content Management System (CMS) in SPIKE.”?

The?courses are?broad,?and are not just about product knowledge,?but?just as?much?about?skills. Laura explains: “Of course, people mainly associate customer service with 'I have a problem and that problem needs to be solved'.?And of course?people can reach us if they have a problem, but we want to take it a step further. We want to?emphasize?the customer experience,?and?to?teach our employees how to?give?our customers?the?feeling?they are part of the adidas community. Our employees?have to think more?commercially,?and the courses are adapted?to that idea.?

For example, we have created a?learning-chatbot where we can simulate a session with a customer;?a?kind of?simulation?where?it seems as if you are talking to a customer. The nice thing about that chatbot is that it is a direct result of the feedback we received from our first onboarding version, where?new agents asked?us?how they could?get more?practice with customer conversations.?

For example, we have created a?learning-chatbot where we can simulate a session with a customer;?a?kind of?simulation?where?it seems as if you are talking to a customer. The nice thing about that chatbot is that it is a direct result of the feedback we received from our first onboarding version, where?new agents asked?us?how they could?get more?practice with customer conversations.?

We have?several interactive learning formats?in SPIKE. For example, we use a so-called hotspot for product knowledge, where?employees?click on a product, after which the core features of that product are highlighted.?

Above all, learning should be fun?and engaging, so we?also make?use?of?experience points,?badges,?and trophies that?you?can earn after completing?courses. I find the?use of?gamification,?to make learning more attractive,?very interesting and I am sure that there are still many great opportunities there.”?

In the search for a?partner?to?build this?desired?learning?platform for adidas, Laura quickly?ended up?at?RMMBR.?“I was?incredibly?impressed with?one of the?platforms?they had built for?VolvoTrucks. We had already spoken to?several?international?vendors before?we?came into contact with?RMMBR, even though they are right across the street from us! Sometimes the solution is closer than you think. From the first moment we had contact, we?hit it off.?

There are many parties that offer a standard LMS that you can customize a?little?bit, but?then you’ll never?get our full adidas brand experience. We are a brand that everyone knows, has cool?products,?and looks?amazing. That's why we were looking for?a?learning platform that?was able to fully adapt to our, informal,?sporty,?and of course progressive?look and feel. What RMMBR?has built?is fully on brand,?and?looks great.??

?The?good?thing was?that RMMBR?actively contributed ideas, because the assignment?we had?given?was quite?complex. We are a global team,?but?the regional teams?also needed?to be able to create their own?courses.?This?set out?some tough?requirements for the construction of the backend.?

?RMMBR?has helped us with developing the??first three learning paths. They were set up?exceptionally?well,?and?because of that we?could?start building our own content independently.?.?RMMBR?does?continue to?think along with us on how?to improve SPIKE.?

?All in?all,?I am very happy with what we have achieved and where we are now. SPIKE is completely in line with the?latest?developments?around?customer service.?Before, the courses?were?excessively?process-based, but now they?are?much more focused on developing our employees,?and the experience for our customers.?This also shows our people are viewed differently.?

Our employees?speak with?so many customers?a day,?which is incredibly valuable for adidas and?opens?a lot of opportunities for the organization.?This is why customer service is no longer?viewed?as a Cost Center, but increasingly as a Value Center.”?

?Blocks LXP

From the editor: For the development of SPIKE learning platform RMMBR uses Blocks LXP.

Blocks LXP uses reusable 'blocks', with learning formats, custom features, structures and a easy to use back-end. Combined with a custom front-end, logic and rights. A unique concept per organization is possible. Scalable and with the latest technology for a complete and on-brand user experience.

With the business case as the starting point, integrations with (learning) technologies are possible. You can pick from a range of existing and proven blocks. It doesn't quite fit, or is something missing? Blocks can be modified or made completely new.

Blocks LXP is a collaboration between RMMBR and Nerds & Company.

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