Several years ago, SMI Sports Management International asked Tortal Training to create a more effective training program for volunteers and short-term employees who worked at NASCAR races. Tortal developed and implemented an effective and successful program of eTraining. In this article, let’s explore some of the reasons why.
The Challenge
SMI owns NASCAR racetracks that are home to 10 races a year. Each of those events requires a large number of volunteers and short-term employees who need to be highly knowledgeable and well trained about critical skills. All of them need to know how to respond to emergencies. And according to their specific roles, they also need to possess a great deal of specialized knowledge. The attendants who help patrons park their cars, for example, must know: the locations and purposes of different parking areas; how to recognize and process different kinds of parking passes; how to park cars correctly so that lots are filled in an orderly way; and how to direct cars and manage traffic flow when races end. A similar set of critical and complex skills must be trained to other groups of employees, including ushers, food service providers, track security personnel, recreational area workers, and more.
Turnover in these positions is high, and all volunteers and employees need to undergo training before every event.
Prior to engaging Tortal Training, SMI used what could be called “corral style” training in which the company assembled as many trainees as possible at the track and trained them all in person. The good thing about that training was that it was highly motivational – people became excited about the idea of working at an upcoming NASCAR race. However, the corral approach presented distinct challenges and operational limitations. Not all trainees were able to attend training sessions, so a number of times had to be scheduled. Trainers had to be available for all of them. Some trainees got stuck in traffic, were sick, or missed training events for other reasons. Perhaps the biggest difficulty was measuring whether the trainees had been paying attention and whether they had learned the skills they needed to know. Insurance companies were not convinced that trainees had absorbed the skills they needed to respond appropriately to emergencies or safety problems, so insurance costs were understandably high.
The Solutions that eLearing Provided
In response to those challenges, Tortal Training developed a robust training program of eLearning, delivered on computers, tablets and phones, to train SMI’s volunteers and short-term employees. Here are some of the benefits that were realized:
Flexibility – There was no need to get all employees assembled for “corral-style” sessions, even though they could still be used for motivational purposes. Instead, trainees could complete their training on their own time and according to their own schedules.
Trackability – The eLearning format enabled Tortal to track whether trainees had completed training units. That provided assurance that learning was really taking place.
Accountabily – Thanks to the ability to verify that trainees had completed units and lessons, SMI was about to demonstrate to insurance companies that learning had really taken place. The result? A lowering of insurance rates.
Repeatability – The eLearning program is ready to use for training every new group of trainees, when and where required.
And an Improved Customer Experience
In addition to the benefits we describe above, levels of customer satisfaction improved measurably at races too. That is the biggest benefit of all of all, since customer satisfaction and repeat business are the lifeblood of any company’s success.
Perhaps an even bigger lesson is that eLearning should be the training option of choice for short-term and seasonal employees, as well as for volunteers. Today’s post explains some of the more compelling reasons why.
Photo used with permission. Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_actionsports’>actionsports / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
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