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Implementing diverse learning journeys with a Learning Experience Platform for Reece

About Reece

Reece is an Australian icon with a strong customer first ethos. The company operates Australia’s largest plumbing and bathroom supplies business and focuses on building experiences to help customers with what they need now and into the future. Success comes from providing support and through continuous improvement and innovation. Reece operates across 800 branches in Australia, New Zealand and United States.  

Key project features

Kineo Learning Experience Platform
Kineo Blended learning activity
Kineo Learner driven content

THE CHALLENGE 

Reimagining Reece's learning content and delivering multi-device capability

Reece reviewed its approach to learning and leadership development mid 2018 because the LMS learning content at the time was not mobile friendly and overly compliance centric. The outcome of this review was to create a program of diverse learning journeys that develop a robust leadership mindset.  

The product to facilitate much of this was a Learning Experience Platform, with the following key aspects;

  • Mobile friendly
  • Accessed on demand, promoting workflow learning
  • Personalised to learning and leadership moments of need
  • Challenge learners, help them grow
  • Practical interactive and role relevant learning activities 
  • Encourage relationship building and building networks.

Opportunities from this mainly address;

  • The rapid creation and release of learning content using agile methodologies (This redesign approach means Reece now develops learning resources and content in 2 weeks compared to a previous average of 3 months) 
  • Adoption of blended learning journeys 
  • Modern flexible and responsive digital usage
  • 24/7 access on any device.

OUR SOLUTION

Delivering a program of diverse learning journeys to develop a robust leadership mindset

Because Reece wanted staff to realise their full potential, the business overhauled their employee learning approach.  A six-month series of Design Labs involving a wide range of employees were run using human-centred design techniques to better understand pain points and challenges, as well as hopes and aspirations when learning.

Key learnings from this process included;

  • An appetite for growth – people were hungry for growth, taking their learning seriously
  • The supporting technology – to have a seamless platform ensuring accessibility and an enjoyable experience with consumer grade expectation
  • Time and space – most employees work in branch making it difficult to find quality time and space to engage in learning
  • On the go – A lack of time and heavy workloads dictate learning needs to be accessible and completed on the go
  • A need for prioritisation – Learning needs to have an allocated time that is respected by leaders and team members.

Working closely with learning partner Kineo, a learning experience platform (LXP) was scoped and created as part of a 5 phase roll out. Phase 1 was launched in September 2019 to coincide with the launch of Reece Groups Future Leader Now program and phase 2 is now underway.

Positioned to excite and engage the learner;

  • ‘Journeys’ offer 4-6 leadership development journeys, with an emphasis on blended, spaced learning moments of at least 5-10 minutes every day.
  • The blended learning was designed by Reece employees together with learning experiences that includes micro-learning content, 
  • ‘Explore’ (guided personal research activities)
  • ‘Practice’ (guided action orientated learning) and 
  • ‘Coach’ (a coaching planner enabling learners to set up coaching appointments with their managers including coaching questions for both coach and coachee). 

There are 9 journeys in total (with a further 18 to come) and the content has been built by Reece for Reece’s people.

The LXP is designed with consumer grade technology, taking insights from Netflix and Spotify models but with a no binge, spaced learning approach build into the technology to deliberately manage cognitive load and improve learning transfer.  With a 10-minute daily learning immersion that can be taken anywhere and at anytime, it is making an exponential difference to the organisation.

Adopting emerging technologies to form a total learning ecosystem, Reece has developed a visually exciting, fully interactive, cutting-edge blended learning product that is unparalleled in the market.

This new way of learning creates a culture of continuous upskilling for Reece’s people, with the LXP operating as a digital companion throughout the learning experience.

THE RESULTS 

Successful learning experience platform designed by Reece’s people for its people

The results can be clearly seen in the creation of ‘Future Leaders Now’

Through close collaboration with Kineo, the creation and testing of the LXP has been highly successful. Phase 1 is complete with 4 further phases to go.

The new way of learning;

  • Learning content is designed by Reece’s people for its people with strong senior stakeholder support and campaign style messaging emphasising learning not as a compliance activity but as a competitive advantage
  • Compliments busy demands of the branch and is designed to be done on the go
  • Is mobile friendly and easy to access
  • Contains bite sized information where learning can be achieved in 5-10 minutes a day – progress can easily be paused or saved allowing for client interruptions
  • Is a blend of different dynamic learning experiences, which are made up of short videos, guided coaching sessions, self-driven research, group collaboration and workshops.
  • Each core learning experience is spaced out with reflective questions and interactive reinforcements to improve learning transfer.  Content is released on a weekly basis (based on a system logic model dated from course sign up date) and can be paused during busy period or when on Annual Leave
  • Journeys are totally self selected to democratise the learning approach, also personalised according to different leadership level and moments of need.

The goal is to embed a complete socially led learning ecosystem, and even with only phase 1 completed to date, this is already well on its way.