Learning used to be seen as a chore but now people really enjoy it. Video Arts provides tried and tested courses with great humour and strong learning messages.
John Merrell, Leadership and e-Learning Manager, Volvo
Video Arts in conversation with John Merrell, Leadership and E-Learning Manager, Volvo…
What was the drive behind your shift to more technology-based learning?
It came about from the feedback we were getting from our dealer network which said that e-learning and blended learning was definitely something they wanted and needed. We felt that technology-based learning would let people learn at their own pace and at a time convenient to them.
So the learner benefits are clear…what about the L&D department?
What we can do now is create rapid technology-based learning in minutes. It’s easy to build your own effective and engaging programmes and you save a lot of development time.
You’ve licensed video from Video Arts. How do you plan to use it?
Our original plan was to embed video into our own e-learning and we’re doing that. One of the great things about the online videos is that you can also download the and integrate them into your face-to-face training or give them direct to staff to watch. It’s a truly blended solution – that’s one of Video Arts unique selling points.
Let’s say you have to do appraisal training…in the past would you have run an entire day’s session?
Yes, that’s exactly what would have happened; and the danger with that is people get overloaded with information and can’t apply it effectively when they’re back in the workplace. One of the advantages we have now is that we can drip-feed them the content and check their understanding down the line.
In terms of Video Arts, what do you like about the style of their programmes?
Take a programme like What The Window Cleaner Saw – it’s just brilliant. It has great humour in it which makes you remember it. Then you get the Jamie Oliver stuff which is really gritty and people respond to that because it’s shows how leadership and teamwork works in real life. Other types of programmes like FISH! Make it easy for learners to respond because it’s so natural and it’s about real people.
And the response from your learners?
Learning used to be seen as a chore but now people really enjoy it. Video Arts provides tried and tested courses with great humour and strong learning messages. It’s easy to relate to the content because it’s immediately engaging and it holds your attention. For us, it’s a way of integrating total quality in all that Volvo does and setting ourselves apart from the competition.
