Amsted Industries is a diversified global manufacturer of industrial components. It has expanded through product innovation and strategic acquisitions, and today operates in 75 locations across 13 countries on six continents.

It operates as a unique employee-owned organization across multiple sectors, including rail, automotive, construction, and industrial equipment. The four business units operate independently and can set their own priorities and make independent decisions, allowing adaptability in diverse markets.

The company sought to transform its approach to learning and development while maintaining the flexibility that drives its continued success.

A Tech Strategy that Evolves With the Business

Amsted wanted to transform its human resources infrastructure by creating a seamless digital ecosystem that empowers employees and managers across its four business units. To accomplish this, they sought an enterprise learning platform with a user-friendly interface to work on any device, eliminating technical barriers and reducing the need for extensive training.

Amsted’s unified approach would connect previously siloed systems, providing unprecedented visibility into learning trends and performance across global operations. Through regular employee surveys and feedback loops, the company could continuously refine L&D initiatives to better serve its workforce, while adapting to evolving business objectives and cultural values. This data-driven approach ensures that technology investments directly support employee needs and organizational growth.

Improving Employee Experience

Amsted knows that success in dynamic markets depends on exceptional talent. The company has created an environment where professional growth is encouraged via learning and development opportunities. By investing in its people’s potential, Amsted offers a culture that attracts exceptional talent and inspires them to build lasting careers in the organization.

The journey to an improved employee experience began with an extensive study into how employees learn and grow. Through in-depth interviews and surveys spanning multiple countries and roles, Amsted uncovered crucial insights about learning preferences, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. The company found that employees want more flexible learning options, personalized development paths, and better access to knowledge resources.

Equipped with these insights, cross-functional teams defined requirements for a new Learning Management System (LMS) to support global operations. A unified implementation plan was created to balance the need for enterprise-wide consistency with the unique requirements of each business unit, ensuring that all employees have the tools and support to reach their full potential.

Common Platform, Unique Learning Experiences

While searching for an LMS to complement its decentralized organizational structure, Amsted assembled learning champions from across its business units. Together they would select and implement a platform able to serve the company globally. A key priority in the search was to find an LMS to support various training formats for different audiences and make learning management easy for system admins.

The success of Amsted’s learning transformation hinged on seamless integration across its digital ecosystem. Schoox harnesses artificial intelligence to recommend personalized learning paths based on each employee’s role, skills, and career aspirations. By connecting directly with leading content marketplaces, the platform could give employees instant access to industry-leading courses and resources, ensuring the learning experience stays fresh and relevant.

Enhanced Compliance and Security

Operating across heavily regulated industries, security and compliance were two key priorities in Amsted’s learning platform selection. “We needed an LMS that could handle the complexities of global compliance training while maintaining the highest security standards,” explains Michael. With teams working across multiple time zones, 24/7 technical support wasn’t just a nice-to-have—it was essential to maintain our training operations.”

Schoox met Amsted’s rigorous security protocols while automating compliance tracking, ensuring that the frontline workforce stays current with industry regulations and internal standards.

Mobile-First Learning

Amsted aimed to simplify the employee experience by unifying learning on a single, mobile-friendly platform. The goal was simple: to bring all learning resources and tools together in one place all team members could easily access from any mobile device.

Schoox’s mobile app set it apart from the competition. It delivers essential training and tools to employees via an intuitive, customizable interface. Whether on the factory floor or traveling between sites, workers can access everything they need with just a few taps. The platform enables business units to operate independently while giving L&D teams comprehensive visibility into learning activities and progress across the organization.

Simplified LMS Administration

Amsted needed a system to handle everything from onboarding new employees to tracking professional growth, while being simple enough for everyone to use, including admins.

Schoox offered the flexibility and comprehensive oversight required for a global organization. “The integration with our HR systems created a seamless experience for our employees,” explains Michael Forest, Manager of HRIS Administration at Amsted Industries. “Now, everything is just one login away.”

The platform automatically welcomes new employees into the system on their first day, giving them immediate access to essential resources and making it much easier for system administrators to manage learning across the organization.

Easy Course Creation and Content Management

Amsted liked the efficiencies offered by Schoox. By limiting the time needed for administrative tasks, the L&D team could focus on designing impactful learning programs and supporting employee growth.

HR teams at Amsted used to spend hours manually uploading and managing training content. Now, they can instantly access thousands of professional courses via Schoox’s seamless integration with their content library. Adding new training materials takes seconds, not hours, and course updates are automatic.

The platform’s detailed reporting and analytics tools present Amsted with clear visibility into learning across the organization. Interactive dashboards show the most effective courses, track completion rates, and identify skill gaps. These insights help Amsted make smarter decisions about their training investments and ensure learning programs align with business goals.

A Foundation for Skills-based Development

With its selection of Schoox, Amsted aims to cultivate an environment where continuous learning becomes embedded in the organizational DNA.

Looking to the future, Amsted is preparing to weave skills-based talent development into its core L&D operations. One innovative application will use validated skill sets to authorize equipment operation privileges, creating a direct link between learning and workplace safety.

The company’s vision extends into cutting-edge territory, with plans to harness AI technology for sophisticated learning needs analysis, comprehensive skills mapping, and tailored learning journeys.

With a strategic focus on digital transformation and employee-centric design, Amsted and Schoox are building a robust foundation for nimble, responsive learning and development. Careful alignment of technology investments with business goals plus seamless system integration favorably positions the company to accelerate learning and talent development and swiftly adapt to evolving workforce demands.

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The Fresh Market is a leading national grocery retailer with more than 168 locations in 22
states. It is an award-winning destination for hand-picked produce, house-cut meat, premium
baked goods, restaurant-quality precooked meals, and curated specialty foods.

Founded in 1982 by Ray and Beverly Berry, The Fresh Market (TFM) was inspired by Europe’s
vibrant food markets and offers shoppers a personalized experience. The key to the grocery
chain’s success lies in its commitment to providing an exceptional guest experience through
carefully curated product offerings, a creative and welcoming environment, and a commitment to
impeccable hospitality. As a result of this nuanced approach to guest experience, The Fresh
Market was recognized as one of USA Today’s Best Customer Service Companies in America
in 2025.

Like many retailers, the company faced significant challenges in training its diverse mobile
workforce. TFM’s Learning and Development (L&D) team knew they required a solution that
would address the unique needs of a frontline retail environment and help them uphold TFM’s
Code of Conduct, which includes the values of passion, excellence, teamwork, and hospitality.

Mobile Training for Frontline Team Members

Training thousands of employees across hundreds of locations, especially when most are
frontline “deskless workers,” presented a challenge. Retail work can be unpredictable and
demands a flexible learning approach that allows employees to pause when customer demands
increase, then pick up where they left off when time permits.

TFM wanted a flexible learning management system (LMS) with mobile access to learning
content when and where team members need it. Mobile training is crucial for frontline workers
who spend most of their time on the go throughout the store. It is instrumental to driving
adoption and engagement with the platform across all levels of the organization.

With Schoox, the company offers robust training and development opportunities via the TFM
Learning Academy mobile app. This mobile approach to learning aligns perfectly with the
preferences and habits of a modern frontline workforce. The Schoox LMS automatically saves
training progress, enabling users to switch between devices mid-course, delivering a seamless
learning experience.

Welcome to the Team: Set New Hires Up for Success

TFM recognized an opportunity to enhance its employee onboarding experience. A more
standardized process was needed across all stores to guarantee every Team Member received
the same, high-quality onboarding experience.

Enhanced onboarding
experiences prepare employees
for success starting
from day one.

Now, powered by Schoox, TFM’s onboarding strategy is consistently implemented across the
board and better-cultivates a culture of continuous learning with training modules and skill-
building exercises.

Stocking up on Savings

Uploading and sharing content in the company’s legacy LMS was time-consuming and
cumbersome, making it harder for the L&D team to create and deliver training materials
effectively. The old system’s limitations also made it difficult to tailor learning experiences for
diverse groups of learners.

Now, TFM’s L&D staff can easily upload and organize many types of content. Drag-and-drop
functionality allows them to create courses efficiently. Learning content is now fully digital, with
on-the-job training components associated with courses that require a blended approach.

Schoox unifies in-person and online training, simplifies record-keeping, and improves overall
training consistency. By streamlining tedious tasks that previously required hours of manual
work, the L&D team can focus on strategic initiatives. This automation frees them to focus on
strategy and quickly respond to training needs across locations, resulting in cost savings.

The platform’s user permissions mirror TFM’s organizational hierarchy, ensuring control over
who can access what. Built-in assessment tools measure how well employees absorb and apply their training. The system integrates smoothly with other retail and HR software, while meeting industry compliance standards. Training can be automatically assigned based on factors like job role and store location, ensuring employees receive the learning they need.

Mitigating Safety and Compliance

Retailers must navigate complex safety regulations at all levels, from local and state to federal.
Meeting requirements, from food safety protocols to equipment handling standards, is critical to
avoid penalties. Proper documentation and consistent compliance are essential to protect the
business and its customers.

Since their previous LMS was cumbersome, safety and compliance trainings were more difficult
than they needed to be. Today, TFM leverages Schoox, along with hands-on learning, to
enhance safety and compliance training programs. Schoox tracks all certifications, training
completions, and compliance verifications, with detailed documentation for audits and
inspections. Managers and supervisors can also track training progress and completion rates,
allowing them to identify compliance gaps quickly.

Harvesting talent: boosting team member retention

In the competitive retail sector, employee retention is a challenge. TFM knew the path forward
was to invest in career development and growth opportunities to retain talent and create
meaningful career trajectories

With the help of Schoox, TFM offers a specialized learning path for managers with custom-
curated content and interactive training opportunities to hone advanced skills. Schoox ties
learning to individualized professional development plans, helping employees grow within the
organization.

From Farm to Future: Cultivating a Partnership for Growth

The Fresh Market needed more than a technology solution—they sought a true partner who
understood retail’s unique challenges and could transform frontline workforce obstacles into
growth opportunities. They found this partner in Schoox, whose shared values of excellence and
teamwork are a foundation for lasting success.

Schoox helps The Fresh Market create more dynamic, responsive, and compelling learning
experiences to strengthen employee skills, improve operational efficiency, enhance the
customer experience, and contribute to the enterprise’s continued success in the competitive
grocery retail sector.

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KIOTI Tractors is a leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery with 520 dealerships nationwide. The company specializes in designing, manufacturing, and distributing high-performance tractors and equipment, offering innovative solutions for modern farming challenges. 

Customer satisfaction and operational efficiency are always top priorities at KIOTI Tractors, and the company relies heavily on the knowledge, skills, and expertise of its technicians and other frontline employees to maintain high standards. With a growing business and expanding needs, KIOTI values having a comprehensive learning and development solution to ensure their technicians and staff are skilled and prepared for their jobs, regardless of location.

Like many organizations, KIOTI initially struggled with traditional, in-person training methods. In 2021, the manufacturer selected Schoox to simplify training, streamline L&D operations, automate compliance tracking, and boost employee engagement.

Enhancing Employee Onboarding and Reducing Time to Productivity

Efficient onboarding is critical to KIOTI’s success, as technicians need specialized training to perform at their best. The L&D team saw that its conventional approach to onboarding created unnecessary friction, consumed a lot of resources, and delivered inconsistent results. Schoox allows KIOTI to reimagine this crucial process and make a lasting positive impression on new hires, transforming it from a logistical challenge into a strategic advantage.

• Before: Onboarding for new hires was slow and inconsistent across different locations, with many technicians requiring extensive hand-holding throughout the training process. Training sessions were delivered in person, requiring managers to travel to multiple locations and employees to spend extended time away from their primary responsibilities.
• Now: With Schoox, onboarding is fast and efficient, and new technicians can complete training modules remotely at their own pace via the platform’s native mobile app. Self-paced learning combined with manager-led training sessions helps new hires get up to speed quickly, resulting in significantly reduced time to productivity. The platform also offers a welcoming environment encouraging new hires to keep learning and developing their skills. 

Schoox’s User-Friendly Interface Transforms Training Management

KIOTI sought an LMS that makes it simple to access training resources and encourages employee engagement. When technicians can easily navigate a learning platform without frustration, they’re more likely to complete required certifications and access knowledge when needed. A fresh, responsive interface reduces training time, minimizes errors, and allows KIOTI to deploy and distribute new training rapidly.

• Before: KIOTI’s previous LMS was cumbersome for system administrators and learners. The platform lacked critical features required to manage training across different learner groups, and employees struggled to complete training on time. Training was often fragmented and inefficient, and managers spent considerable time organizing sessions and traveling to various locations to deliver them in person. 
• Now: Intuitive drag-and-drop course creation tools save KIOTI both time and money. Now that all content is digital, managers can administer training sessions remotely and automate tasks like course assignments and compliance verifications. Dennis Falls, KIOTI’s Field Service Supervisor, notes that Schoox allows his team to create and assign courses quicker and with less administrative burden.

More Accurate Reporting and Compliance Tracking

The inability to properly monitor training completion and certification status presented administrative bottlenecks and potential compliance risks for KIOTI. Schoox’s robust reporting capabilities transformed this critical business function, providing unprecedented visibility into all compliance training activity. 

• Before: KIOTI’s previous LMS did not support effective compliance tracking across multiple dealerships, raising significant safety and compliance concerns. Furthermore, reporting was time-consuming and did not provide stakeholders with the information needed.
• Now: Schoox provides detailed, real-time reports that help administrators track training progress, compliance, and employee certification statuses across all locations. The platform’s 300+ standard reports allow Dennis and his team to track training progress at every level of the organization. The real-time dashboards and customizable reporting capabilities make it easy to ensure that all employees are meeting training requirements on time without manual intervention by training managers or the L&D team.

Streamlining L&D Operations for Greater Efficiency

KIOTI’s L&D team required a flexible solution that could integrate various learning methods, such as on-the-job training and self-paced e-learning. The manufacturer needed a single, intuitive platform to efficiently manage diverse training programs across different learner groups while minimizing administrative overhead.

• Before: In-person training was costly, time-consuming, and limited in reach. It required administrators to spend hours on preparation and travel and kept employees away from the frontlines where they could apply and demonstrate their knowledge.
• Now: Dennis estimates a 38% time savings achieved by transitioning from full-day training sessions to focused guidance and assessments after employees complete most of their training via Schoox. Furthermore, training reach has expanded dramatically from sessions previously accommodating 125-150 technicians to now serving over 800 employees at once—a 533% increase in training capacity.

Looking Ahead

KIOTI remains committed to further optimizing its learning and development initiatives to maximize return on investment and improve the employee experience. The manufacturer intends to implement Schoox for training in other areas of the business, with particular emphasis on safety protocols and compliance education.

Exploring the Future of Learning Together

The partnership between KIOTI Tractors and Schoox reflects a shared commitment to driving greater efficiency and providing employees with the best tools for success. By simplifying training management, enhancing the onboarding process, and streamlining compliance reporting, Schoox empowers KIOTI to offer a better learning experience for its technicians while maximizing productivity and reducing costs.

Ready to explore how Schoox can help transform learning and drive growth? Connect with us today.

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Biscuitville Fresh Southern, a family-owned company, has been serving up authentic Southern cuisine since 1966. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the company is committed to using locally sourced ingredients from family-owned farms, traditional cooking methods, and baking freshly made biscuits every 15 minutes. Biscuitville operates 87 locations across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, a 78,000-square-foot distribution center, and employs nearly 2,500 team members.

Due to its continued growth (an impressive 8 – 10% annually), Biscuitville needed a robust frontline learning management system (LMS) to strengthen its training programs, automate and streamline processes, and give employees more control over their learning journey.

Clearly defining the problem

Because restaurants are a high-turnover industry, Biscuitville needed to prioritize workforce development to enhance employee engagement and improve their retention rates.

The company initially lacked a formal training structure, which created multiple challenges. Online learning was not available to team members, so employees had to heavily rely on tribal knowledge from their coworkers to learn new skills. Also, all training was in English despite a growing need to offer it in multiple languages.

Without an LMS, Biscuitville’s L&D team struggled to keep training materials up-to-date, and managers had no visibility into their team’s training needs or progress. Training engagement was also extremely low, with completion rates at only 20-30%. Generating training completion reports and tracking compliance with health and safety regulations was also nearly impossible.

In addition, employees didn’t have a clear path to management. They had little visibility into the skills they needed to develop or how to build them for career advancement.

“Before implementing Schoox, employees’ access to training and resources was limited. They often felt a lack of support from their supervisor and uncertainty about which skills would be most valuable to learn,” explained Kailey Skinner, Instructional Designer and Learning Manager at Biscuitville Fresh Southern. “They also had limited opportunities to practice and apply new skills in the workplace.”

Conducting the LMS bake-off

Biscuitville initiated a comprehensive assessment to inform its new learning and development strategy by identifying employee training needs and key operational challenges. Their L&D team conducted extensive field research, gathering data through:

• 230 surveys administered across restaurant locations
• data collection spanning multiple job roles and positions
• on-site assessments of training requirements

Their research found that employees’ top three pain points were the auditing system, brand standards, and manager training content.

Following their employee survey, Biscuitville launched a comprehensive analysis of learning and training programs across the industry. They examined how similar organizations approached employee development and what platforms they utilized. The company combined these competitive insights with feedback from the survey to establish key criteria for selecting a learning management system (LMS).

Using their criteria as a framework, Biscuitville thoroughly evaluated more than 16 LMS vendors to see which vendors could rise to meet their challenges. “Our priority was finding a learning platform that could deliver on multiple fronts,” said Skinner. “We required a comprehensive resource library, strong tracking capabilities to monitor training completion and user-friendly tools to help our employees excel in their daily work.”

Biscuitville spent nearly a year creating and testing content and collecting feedback from team members before selecting Schoox.

Rolling out an appealing learning program

The L&D team developed a comprehensive digital career path matrix to assess existing training resources and identify gaps. Implementation began at the area level and then expanded company-wide, starting with store managers and cascading through management levels. This top-down approach enabled managers to get to know the system, enhancing their ability to guide their teams effectively.

Additionally, each Biscuitville employee was required to obtain certification in one position and received personalized support from an L&D team member during the process.

Exceeding program expectations

With the implementation of Schoox, the organization achieved remarkable efficiency improvements in learning and development operations. Training administration time dropped by 95%, while the onboarding process became 57% more efficient, reducing new hire time-to-productivity from seven days to three days. Employee turnover is at an all-time low, driven by increased engagement levels.

Biscuitville’s improved training program translated into measurable business results. Quarterly limited-time offer sales increased by 2%, guest satisfaction rose by 5% through improved service standards and order accuracy, and food waste decreased by 16% due to more consistent frontline staff training.

These significant improvements in operational efficiency, employee engagement, and business metrics demonstrate how modernizing learning and development can impact both company culture and boost bottom-line results.

Watch the webinar So Fresh: How Biscuitville Delivers Value from Digital Learning to learn more.

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Founded in 1946, Friedman’s Home Improvement started as a lone store in Petaluma, CA, and has expanded to become a prominent regional presence with four establishments throughout Northern California. The company is dedicated to providing unparalleled service, products, resources, and value to its diverse customer base, catering to DIYers, small businesses, and professional contractors.

As the company expands, its corporate learning and development (L&D) department is leveraging Schoox—Friedman’s, people-first workplace learning platform—to deliver impactful training experiences to their frontline employees.

Learning moves to the cloud

When training resources are online, administrators and managers can share them quickly and securely across the organization. Managers can assign personalized training programs with just a few simple clicks, then learners can access the content they need, whenever they need it, on their preferred devices.

Friedman’s reduced the time to create compliance courses by 92% with Schoox.

Before: For decades, Friedman’s Home Improvement relied on a paper-based training system, where “tribal knowledge” was passed down from one employee to the next. This approach hindered Friedman’s ability to onboard new employees efficiently and didn’t meet the demands of a rapidly evolving retail landscape.

With Schoox: The user-friendly platform is a centralized learning hub with over 1,600 courses tailored to Friedman’s business needs. Schoox houses a comprehensive library of product information, customer service training, compliance, management training and safety resources accessible by employees at all four locations.

Optimized compliance training

At Friedman’s, safety comes first. Organizations that must meet strict safety, security, and compliance standards need to ensure that all employees receive proper training, know how to perform their jobs safely, and are up-to-date on certifications, new information about products, processes, and equipment.

Before: Without proper documentation and tracking, Friedman’s was potentially vulnerable to compliance violations, safety incidents, and even liabilities related to employee training. Training materials were often outdated and needed more standardization. Employees received varying levels of instruction, and tracking compliance and employee progress was a recurring challenge. Furthermore, before implementing Schoox, creating specialized harassment or compliance training courses could take over three months.

With Schoox: Friedman’s L&D team revolutionized the approach to compliance training, transforming it into a streamlined digital process. With its intuitive content tools and extensive library of customizable templates, Friedman’s can develop critical compliance courses in just one week—a remarkable 92% reduction in time. This allows the company to respond faster to changing regulations. Managers also have 24/7 access to reports, data, and dashboards with compliance and training activity information.

Onboarding is a breeze

Retailers strive to make a positive impression on new hires from the start and ensure they remain engaged in continuous learning throughout their employment. Using a modern LMS for onboarding training helps employees understand that learning is an ongoing aspect of their roles and can be enjoyable and rewarding.

Before: Friedman’s lack of a central learning management system (LMS) made it difficult to efficiently onboard new employees. This prolonged their ramp-up period, impacting productivity and hindering the retailer’s ability to deliver exceptional customer service.

With Schoox: Friedman’s Home Improvement now welcomes all new employees with comprehensive onboarding training via Schoox. Video lessons, interactive content, and social learning activities foster meaningful, immersive learning experiences for employees from their first day on the job.

Learning on the go

Research shows that frontline workers prefer captivating learning experiences through familiar, intuitive interfaces that make learning fun. A flexible mobile learning app can allow employees to access training during downtime on the sales floor, in a warehouse, during breaks, or outside work hours, if permitted.

Before: Without mobile access to training, employees had trouble accessing materials when needed, reducing productivity and negatively impacting customer service. For the L&D team, updating training materials was time-consuming and involved reprinting and redistributing documents to all physical locations.

With Schoox: The Schoox mobile app, branded as the GrowZone by Friedman’s, makes it easy for employees to navigate courses, complete interactive training modules, and track their progress. Learners can access training materials, work through courses, and interact with real-time data on their own devices (or the shared tablets provided by each store).

Making learning fun

Paper-based training is one-dimensional and restrictive. Friedman’s wanted to think big and embrace creativity to design learning experiences that resonate with learners across a variety of age groups and proficiency levels. They were also interested in offering social and gamification features to further amplify learning experiences by introducing an element of competition and collaboration.

Before: Training was often inconsistent across different locations, and there was no way to ensure all employees received the same quality of instruction. This approach was particularly challenging for a predominantly deskless workforce, as employees had to be physically present for training sessions. This often interfered with their regular duties and affected normal store operations, making learning feel more like a chore rather than a beneficial experience.

With Schoox: Schoox empowers Friedman’s to create interactive, multimedia-rich content that caters to various learning styles. Social learning features encourage employees to share insights, ask questions, and discuss course content with colleagues through forums and chat, transforming learning into a collaborative, community-driven experience. Schoox also incorporates gamification by allowing employees to earn points for completing courses, achieving high assessment scores, or participating in competitions—motivating them to stay engaged.

Connecting learning to development

The L&D team at Friedman’s knows that the value of a learning program is ultimately determined by its ability to influence positive changes for individuals and the organization. By connecting learning to development, they knew they could empower employees to reskill, upskill, and chart their career journeys to help drive business growth.

Before: Without the right learning technology tools to facilitate professional development, learning at Friedman’s was limited and could not be standardized. Training primarily focused on necessary safety and compliance coursework rather than individualized skill development and career progression.

With Schoox: The platform revolutionized Friedman’s approach to career development with personalized learning paths tailored to each employee’s skills, interests, and aspirations. Robust skills assessment tools allow employees to identify their strengths and areas for improvement, creating a baseline for their development journey.

Schoox utilizes these evaluations and the employee’s position in the company to recommend suitable courses and materials automatically. This personalized approach ensures employees can access targeted training that aligns with their career aspirations, areas of interest, and Friedman’s business targets.

Additionally, Schoox enables Friedman’s to outline clear paths for advancement in different roles within the organization. This empowers employees to envision potential career trajectories and strive toward gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to progress to their desired roles.

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HOA Brands is the parent company and franchisor of the iconic Hooters and its fast-casual concept, Hoots Wings restaurants. The company oversees over 350 Hooters restaurants across the US and 28
other countries.

HOA Brands provides access to a variety of learning programs to Franchisees, focused on exceeding expectations when delivering against Brand standards. With over 10,000 corporate users and nearly 3,000 franchise users, the learning and development (L&D) team needed a flexible learning management system (LMS) that could be configured to accommodate its complex business model yet simple and intuitive so all users could get started with training right away.

“One brand with one voice” team member training

A top priority for the HOA Brands L&D team is to ensure training is standardized across each Hooters location so guests have a great experience no matter which restaurant they visit.As the parent company, HOA Brands has a responsibility to provide consistent, state-of-the-art learning programs to all within the brand. They sought a user-friendly LMS to serve as a gateway for franchisees to access all learning programs, as their previous platform was difficult to use and confusing.

HOA Brands selected Schoox to power eCompass, their central hub for all learning and communication across their global extended enterprise.

Intuitive and engaging learning experiences for frontline team members.

As a restaurant operation with domestic and international locations, thousands of Team Members cycle through the HOA Brands system each year. Since turnover is a significant and ongoing challenge for any service-based business, the HOA Brands L&D team strives to deliver modern training experiences that make a positive first impression, prepare people for success, and keep them curious and engaged throughout the Team Member lifecycle.

Through eCompass, all Team Members can access content and features relevant to their role in the business. At the same time, more classified training programs are safeguarded and restricted to authorized users—such as leadership development courses exclusively for those in roles higher than store level leaders.

“Our focus is to get the right people in the door and engage them with modernized learning experiences,” shared Cole. “We’ve got to train people so they’re competent and confident, but do it in a way that doesn’t frustrate today’s workforce because they’ll turn around and go on to the next company.”

Mobile-first learning for wherever work happens

The L&D team worked with their CIO and multiple subject matter experts to select a new LMS. Mobile capabilities were a primary consideration for all members of the group. The organization needed an LMS intentionally designed for mobile-first learning experiences. The rich functionality of the native Schoox mobile app and the flexibility to customize it to reflect the Hooters iconic brand was ultimately a major reason the company selected Schoox.

Schoox is the only LMS to offer a comprehensive, feature-rich native mobile app for iOS and Android at no additional cost. The app gives learners full access to training content and resources whenever needed, within their workflows, on their own devices. It eliminates accessibility issues for deskless workers and can even be translated into 32 different languages, making it a perfect fit for a global organization.

Career development at the heart of company culture.

HOA Brands considers talent development a critical part of its “unique L&D DNA.” The goal of Hooters L&D is to equip all Team Members with the skills to thrive within the brand, whether it’s progressing within the organization or achieving success outside of it. This way, Hooters contributes to their Career Journey no matter where they go in life. They accomplish the objective of providing meaningful professional development opportunities for their people by:

• Defining the Vision for the future. This encompasses building and empowering a strong team of L&D professionals, defining Career Journeys available to Team Members, and determining how the organization will measure success for individuals across the business.

• Navigating Next-Generation technology solutions. HOA Brands strives to design and deliver learning experiences that resonate with increasingly younger, more digitally native Team Members. This involves crafting and sharing compelling narratives, modernizing user experiences with better technology, and getting innovative with content—like offering Team Members a digital library of suggested books to read, podcasts to listen to, and eLearnings to engage with all via Schoox.
  
  
• Accelerating Adoption of learning programs to encourage greater participation in learning and development. The L&D team aims to foster alignment between stakeholders and company priorities at the outset of a new initiative, automate data reporting to give managers and operators time to focus on what matters, and sharing program wins to demonstrate impact.

Schoox empowers HOA Brands to provide a personalized learning platform that Team Members across their enterprise want to use from day one and keep using as they grow in their roles. The L&D team carefully designs each Career Journey based on core competencies defined by the organization as necessary for advancement through each role and segmented the learning experiences for each Career Journey via four career milestones: Newly Promoted, In Place, High Potential (HiPo) and Ready Now.

Whether one starts as a Hooters Girl, Heart of House Team Member, manager, or other role, individuals can explore tailored Career Journeys to successfully grow on their path at the company and beyond.

Schoox also allows HOA Brands to go beyond training and learning to performance management and true professional development. The company utilizes Schoox to replace traditional performance management and connect performance reviews back to the overall learning experience, allowing for more personal, dynamic, and valuable feedback for learners.

Tools to measure business impact

With so much investment in L&D, the company knew they needed a learning platform to easily measure and demonstrate the impact of their efforts—and more importantly, the efforts of each learner—on various areas of the business.

HOA Brands leverages Schoox’s business impact tools to assess the effects of different training programs on crucial performance metrics (KPIs) like operational efficiency, sales, and guest satisfaction at specific restaurants or across the entire company. Schoox’s flexible functionalities help the L&D team establish and adjust KPIs for each program, improve the capacity to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of training and enhance future development initiatives.

HOA Brands is eagerly looking to the future and embracing a new generation of Team Members. They are enthusiastic to discover additional ways to utilize Schoox to inspire them to remain engaged, focused on development, and be a proud part of the Hooters family.

Interested in learning how Schoox can help your organization reimagine learning and drive your business forward? Visit our resource hub.

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Since 1993, Sport Clips Haircuts has been on a mission to provide championship haircut experiences for men and boys in an exciting sports environment. Forbes has even recognized the company as a “Top Ten Best Franchise.”

Founded by a former U.S. Air Force Aircraft Commander, Gordon Logan, Sport Clips infuses strength, camaraderie, and sportsmanship into everything they do. And the company partners with vendors they trust to bring these inherent values to life. 

Jonathan Sorber, Learning Development Manager at Sport Clips, knew it was time to upgrade the company’s learning management system (LMS) so everyone across the business could work more effectively. 

With nearly 1,900 locations across the United States and Canada, Jonathan and his team sought a learning partner that understands the unique challenges of training in a franchise organization. 

While Sport Clips does not mandate franchise employees complete the training provided, they want to ensure franchisees have access to all their learning and development resources and encourage them to leverage every resource available to them.

Designing a Training Makeover  

L&D teams at organizations like Sport Clips benefit from learning management solutions that automatically track activity, provide reporting, and support compliance. Ideally, skills mapping and learner engagement tools are also available to achieve the best results. 

What should have been straightforward with the right LMS was previously a nightmare for the team at Sport Clips due to paper records, disparate filing systems, and outdated software. It was often nearly impossible to gauge whether training was completed or communication between corporate offices, regional management, and individual franchise stores was often ineffective. 

Sport Clips’ previous LMS wasn’t fully integrated with other key software in the company, which meant it could not automate essential user management functions such as adding and removing users, avoiding duplicate accounts, and setting user permissions. This required the L&D team to update the system manually with each change across every franchise. 

The situation caused administrative overload and increased the risk of security and quality control issues. Sport Clips wanted a powerful learning solution to unify its disjointed tech stack and entirely replace outdated systems wherever possible.

Quick Learning for Staff on the Go 

Most employees at Sport Clips locations are deskless and on their feet all day, making the lack of mobile learning capabilities one of the most significant limitations of the company’s previous LMS. The company sought a solution to make training more accessible within the flow of work and available to anyone within the company—anywhere, anytime, and through their own device. 

Ultimately, Sport Clips selected Schoox as its learning and talent development platform for its unique combination of mobile readiness, configurable learning features and functionalities, and powerful tools to enable learner engagement and talent development across all parts of the organization. 

With Schoox, the company also leverages the power of microlearning to deliver bite-sized training content through its native mobile app, to make for a genuinely authentic Sport Clips experience.

Employees can log in to refer to training materials on the salon floor, at home, or even on the go. “When it comes to learning content, the shorter the better. Rather than using one long course, we try separating it into ten bite-sized ‘microlessons,’” shared Jonathan. For an optimal learner experience, the L&D team strives to limit content pieces to seven minutes maximum and aims to make even shorter content moving forward.

Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders

While Sport Clips doesn’t directly employ most learners, the company believes in actively investing in each individual’s growth and development. 

Providing adequate training for managers helps the company ensure consistency across all locations. While some franchise owners are heavily involved in the daily operations of their stores, others prefer that their managers run the show. Regardless of a specific owner’s protocol, all store managers must take managerial training to encourage uniformity in service and operational standards. 

Real learning, however, should go beyond checking boxes, and Sport Clips wanted to provide more value than typical mandated training.

The team found managers want to be trained, while also preparing for further progress in their careers. So, he and other support team members formed a council with representatives from various franchise locations to create their flagship Manager Development Program, which they managed using Schoox. “Retention is tough in any service environment,” said Jonathan. “Burnout is real. People are more likely to feel burned out when they aren’t growing, so we want to keep our managers engaged.”

In addition to mandated live training sessions for business operations and logistics, Sport Clips offers each Store Manager opportunities to engage in personalized learning to sharpen specific skills, prepare for advanced roles, and become better leaders. 

Whether managers are interested in climbing up the corporate ladder, becoming experts in their specific roles, or exploring an entirely different career path, Sport Clips is dedicated to providing learning experiences that focus on the goals and interests of each individual. As a result—and benefit to the enterprise—franchise managers are often selected for regional and corporate leadership roles.

Put Me in, Coach

Once enrolled in the Manager Development Program, many staff become “coaches” to other managers. Coaches at Sport Clips are licensed cosmetologists and barbers who progress from Coordinators or Stylists to regional educators for their designated territories. They provide support to 20 – 25 stores and work one-on-one with managers at each location to provide in-person training and personalized support to help each store succeed. 

With Schoox, coaches can track progress from each one-on-one session, add notes, provide supplemental training resources, and more.

Jonathan and his team can analyze data in Schoox to determine which locations need additional support and develop targeted training programs for sites without certified managers. Coaches are often deployed to these locations within their region to resolve specific managerial opportunities and help each franchise “level up.” 

The company promotes nearly all managers and trainers from within thanks to their innovative training approach to prepare people for success. Sport Clips was even named a “Best Company for Career Growth” by Comparably.

Building Community and Impact 

In their search for a new LMS, one of the most important considerations for the Sport Clips team was that it should be powerful enough to replace several outdated and disjointed tools the company previously used. 

“Anyone familiar with franchise environments knows how difficult it is to communicate with team members at stores that aren’t company-owned,” said Jonathan. “We knew we needed an LMS that could be leveraged as a communication channel.”

With Schoox, the L&D team can post messages on “the wall,” which is visible to all learners. They frequently share company news, updates about learning and development, and information about the company’s many corporate and social responsibility initiatives, including:

• Sober Pros: The company utilizes groups in Schoox to support Team Members on an addiction recovery journey. 
  
• Support Programs: From an internal relief fund (financial support when tragedy strikes) to SupporLinc (free mental health & other services for team members) to THNKS (a gratitude and rewards program for individual franchise locations) and more, Sport Clips offers an array of support programs for all team members.
  
• Haircuts with Heart: Giving back to local communities is important to the brand and through its Haircuts with Heart programs, Sport Clips supports four national charitable programs that offer veteran scholarships, funding for childhood cancer research, blood donations, and once-in-a-lifetime bi-plane experience for senior veterans. Jonathan and his team leverage communication tools in Schoox to quickly spread the word about available opportunities.

“We love the communication enabled by Schoox,” said Jonathan. “As the franchisor, we can’t require learners to engage. Still, we know we have a better chance for participation if we communicate directly with team members about the resources available.” 

Team members across all stores also have access to open group chats where everyone can interact, provide support, and connect. 

Making it Fun

Everything at Sport Clips has a sports or game theme – and learning and development are no exception. And with a platform like Schoox, which offers gamification to make learning fun, there are no limits to the creative ideas the Sport Clips team can serve up.

For example, they developed a “level up” system where team members can participate in training activities to earn badges at five levels. These badges can be customized; the fifth level marks an individual as a “certified manager.”

The Final Score

Schoox helped Sport Clips modernize, track, and future-proof its training programs, effectively replacing its intranet and other disjointed systems. It also seamlessly integrates with essential platforms in the Sport Clips technology stack, enabling the L&D team to compare data from each to see how training impacts learner and franchise performance. 

Schoox empowers Sport Clips to:

• Deliver effective learning that addresses business needs in a range of modalities that resonate with different learners
• Consult data to determine which franchises need support
• Create personalized learning experiences that keep employees engaged 
• Offer talent development opportunities that prepare leaders to drive the business forward

In just one year, Sport Clips saw a 4x increase in Academy Learners and Active Users, primarily via mobile, plus a 9x Increase in Course Completions. 

Next, the retail enterprise plans to roll out “career paths” in Schoox, which will guide Stylists and Coordinators interested in advancement.

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UES, formerly known as Universal Engineering Sciences, provides engineering solutions throughout the United States, including geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance inspections, and more. With 3,500 employees currently and counting, UES is often recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies within its industry. 

Much of the rapid growth at UES happens through mergers and acquisitions, which presents a unique challenge to its corporate learning and development (L&D) team. Many of these acquired firms are small and have never used a modern learning management system (LMS) as part of their operations. 

Each time a new company is added to the UES family, Director of Training and Development Beth Scheitzach and her team essentially function as change management facilitators, to help individual locations deliver and complete corporate training programs via Schoox. Beth and her colleagues encourage each part of the business to take advantage of the many learning and development resources available within Schoox. 

Before Schoox, the L&D team at UES partnered with an external safety training vendor to administer training. They created spreadsheets to manually track learner completions. “It was very primitive and disjointed,” said Melissa Dandridge, Corporate Training Specialist for UES. As the company grew, the L&D team recognized the need for a centralized way to track and manage training throughout the organization. 

UES selected Schoox as its LMS vendor partner because of its ability to simplify and automate safety training and compliance management and enable blended learning. They also valued Schoox’s powerful yet intuitive mobile app, included at no additional cost.

Strategic safety and compliance training.

The biggest drivers of learning and development at UES are safety and compliance training. And since each region operates differently, training needs can vary significantly from one part of the business to the next. 

“Soil in Texas, for example, is vastly different from soil in Nevada. When preparing training content, we need to ensure we’re developing and sourcing materials that address the unique learning requirements of each region and group,” shared Beth. “We want all technicians, drillers, and lab professionals to be aware of workplace safety protocols and know when to stop work if a situation seems dangerous.” 

As regulations tend to vary by state, it was critical to implement an LMS powerful enough to track all those details automatically and manage learning for the different regions and groups all through one platform. 

Certifications are another vital element of safety and compliance training at UES. From field technicians to materials handlers and more, individuals must be certified to perform specific job functions at all levels of the organization. With Schoox, the L&D team offers official certification programs for various roles and state-specific requirements to help people get trained and prepared for their jobs as quickly as possible. 

Schoox simplifies safety and compliance training by automating course assignments for required certifications and recertifications, tracking employee progress, and offering custom report templates with all the information stakeholders need to ensure the company is maintaining compliance with every local, state, and federal mandate. 

Mobile capabilities to enable field training. 

The nature of work at UES is highly specialized, technical, and hands-on—which means most people don’t work at a desk but out in the field or at a physical job site. Mobile capabilities were a prime consideration for UES when selecting an LMS. 

Since Schoox includes its mobile app at no additional cost, it made a natural fit for UES. Today, about two-thirds of the company’s employees primarily access Schoox through the native iOS or Android app, empowering them to consult training materials whenever needed, especially while on the job. Now a field technician can easily pull up reference materials on how to operate machinery or handle certain chemicals as the tasks present themselves within the flow of work. Training is even easier to access via the QR codes the UES L&D team creates for employees to scan to log into Schoox and get started immediately. 

The Schoox mobile learning app gives employees access to everything they need to know on devices they already have and know how to use. It also provides the corporate L&D team with valuable visibility into training progress, program effectiveness, and performance metrics through both mobile and desktop applications. 

Blended learning to cover all bases. 

Before Schoox, it was nearly impossible to ensure UES employees received adequate training, especially as so much of it happens out on the field. 

“How do you safely put on a harness? What is fall protection? Many of these things cannot be taught online—we need to demonstrate them,” shared Beth. “What makes Schoox great is the ability to create a blended learning package with online training materials, plus physical demonstrations and evaluations conducted locally by certified operators.”

The corporate L&D team works with an HR Business Partner and others to develop tailored training resources that address each location’s unique needs. They have a team ready to go onsite to film and produce customized training content for different groups of learners. The video content is paired with physical demonstrations and in-person evaluations for a holistic and effective learning experience. 

UES also leverages professional turnkey content from MasteryTCN, a trusted and approved content provider in the Schoox Course Marketplace, on a wide range of topics such as workplace safety training, talent development, and more. 

“Through MasteryTCN, we have A to Z access to courses for the entire employee lifecycle,” shared Beth. Between their proprietary resources, on-the-job training, and third-party content,  UES offers each location comprehensive and targeted learning opportunities for professionals at all levels of the organization—all accessible via Schoox. 

Career paths lead to development and retention.

One of the most rewarding ways UES utilizes Schoox to offer employees career paths toward job progression. Its workforce is diverse, and employee education levels vary greatly. Many team members, especially those working in the field, often only have a high school diploma and are especially eager to participate in continuous learning through their jobs. 

Learning programs offered by UES give employees the opportunity to work their way to more gainful employment, often doubling their salaries over the course of a few years—pun intended! As soon as employees begin their journey with UES, they can get started with professional development that helps them acquire the skills and certifications they need to move up to higher-paying positions as quickly as possible. 

Looking Ahead 

As UES continues to scale, the corporate L&D team looks forward to utilizing the business impact features included in Schoox. As they gather more data and analytics,  they will connect training activity to the metrics that matter to their business to see exactly how learning is impacting things like risk management, talent retention, and operations. 

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Altitude Trampoline Park (ATP) is an entertainment center perfect for families with young children and active lifestyles. Each park features thousands of square feet of indoor trampolines and other activities, from dodgeball to basketball and air bags, to delight and excite their guests—who are typically children ages three to twelve.

Headquartered in Dallas, the company has 81 locations globally, 76 of which are in the United States. All ATP locations are owned and operated by franchisees, which means there is no real way for the corporate learning and development (L&D) team to mandate training—it’s up to each franchise owner to leverage the tools and content available to them. As ATP continues to open more locations both within the U.S. and internationally, the company is expanding its learning and development offerings in efforts to standardize training, reduce risk, and drive more revenue.

The L&D team at ATP knew it had to make some changes to provide franchises with the tools and resources required to effectively train their teams, and incentivize them to use what’s offered. Gina Elliott, Senior Director of Learning & Development at ATP, and her team decided they need a new learning management solution (LMS) to revamp how training is delivered across each park, and link training activity with the KPIs that matter most so they can demonstrate the impact of learning across the enterprise.

Mobile learning fits the way people actually work

Like their guests, employees at Altitude Trampoline Park spend a lot of time on their feet. A typical employee is more likely to be working around the park at any given time, rather than sitting at a desk. This made ATP’s previous LMS, which lacked a mobile-friendly interface, a poor fit for employees’ learning needs.

As they searched for a replacement, mobile capabilities were among the most important criteria considered by the L&D team. They needed an LMS that’s not only accessible via mobile, but one that offers a native mobile app powerful enough to replace desktop learning for most employees. They also wanted to give general managers, who typically lead training at each location, easy access to reporting and data while on the go.

Schoox is one of the only learning platforms to offer a feature-rich mobile app at no additional cost, making it a perfect fit for ATP. Now, employees and general managers have access to nearly all of Schoox’s capabilities through any iOS or Android device—including tablets.

The Schoox mobile app helped Gina and her team design learning experiences that make sense for ATP’s unique work environment. And since employees can access everything they need through devices they already know how to use, the Schoox mobile app also helps reduce the steep learning curve typically associated with new technology.

Employees jump forward with on-the-job training

Before Schoox, the deskless nature of most jobs at ATP made it difficult to train employees on tasks that required in-person instruction.

With on-the-job training in Schoox, general managers are able to train employees in real-time while moving around the park, offering physical demonstrations and instruction where required. Rather than simulating an assessment online, on-the-job training allows general managers to assess employee skills and performance at the job site. This helps each park ensure all employees have the real-world skills required to perform physical tasks and succeed in their roles, ultimately boosting guest satisfaction. It’s a more effective way to train employees, and is more aligned with ATP’s business needs than a fully digital approach.

Schoox makes it easy to track on-the-job training activity along with any associated online coursework, enabling ATP to create holistic learning paths that are customized to each role. It’s one of the best ways to facilitate blended learning, allowing ATP to cater to a wider variety of learning styles.

Produce better learning outcomes with robust reports

While franchise owners and their employees were top of mind for the L&D team as they searched for a new LMS, they also had one glaring challenge of their own: reporting. They needed an LMS that provides a deeper look into training data, something beyond simple completion rates and assessment scores. “The reporting in our previous LMS wasn’t nearly as comprehensive as we were looking for, especially when you think about broader questions like employee records or impacts on retention”, shares Gina. “Better reporting was a must-have for our team”, she continues.

Report Builder in Schoox now gives the L&D team at ATP the freedom to create custom reports that drill down into the metrics that make a difference—like changes in employee skill levels, progress toward organizational goals, and overall impact on business operations— by individual park or across the whole enterprise. Powerful reporting helps the ATP team determine where knowledge gaps exist and how to best address operational challenges through training.

Reduce risk with digital records

As a recreation center that involves a lot of physical activity, workplace safety and risk mitigation are top priorities at every Altitude Trampoline Park.

Before switching to Schoox, the L&D team at ATP relied on a mix of paper-based and online learning to train employees. But since each park is an independently owned and operated franchise, it was nearly impossible to determine if training was completed, or track any activity associated with it. Since physical records are so discouraged in the insurance world, the company’s search for a new LMS was partly inspired by its legal experts, who advised moving to a cloud-based solution and away from paper-based documentation. One of the biggest benefits of Schoox is the “digital paper trail” it now creates and maintains for ATP.

With Schoox, ATP can confirm training was offered to each employee, knowledge transfers were validated through assessments, and signatures were collected to confirm acknowledgement of park procedures, safety protocols, and other risk considerations specified by each park. This ensures employees are equipped with the safety and compliance information they need.

“There is obviously a level of risk involved in jumping on trampolines, but because we have Schoox and everything is digital, our franchise owners are in a better position to train their team members. And in the case of an incident, everyone is protected”, Gina shares.

Demonstrate the ROI of learning

Numbers don’t lie, and when it comes to enterprise technology, return on investment matters. The business impact features in Schoox dive even deeper into the data available within Schoox by connecting learning activity to specific KPIs that are most important to Altitude Trampoline Park. The number of training completions across a park, for example, might be tied to workplace safety to measure if training reduces the number of incidents.

“We can train all day and night, but ultimately, we need a way to quantify the data”, says Gina. “Now that we’ve built out our metrics, we’ll be able to see how training is translating into membership sales, guest satisfaction, and incident reduction”, she continues.

Business impact also allows Gina to show franchise owners exactly how training is impacting operations at other locations. She’s excited to see guest experience scores already improving across the locations taking advantage of all the resources available in Schoox. As franchise owners share the tangible benefits of improving training efforts across their parks, more locations are beginning to participate.

Franchise owners also report noticeable improvements in employee engagement, turnover rates, and customer satisfaction. Looking forward, Gina and her team plan to utilize Schoox to move toward the goal of increasing memberships and ultimately driving greater revenue at each park.

Interested in learning about how Schoox can help your business reimagine learning and encourage growth? Contact our sales team.

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Pilot Catastrophe Services, the largest insurance adjusting company in the United States, provides contingent workforce support to leading insurance providers when they face increased demand for claims due to catastrophic events. On an average day, Pilot Catastrophe employs up to 4,000 insurance adjusters; but when a major event like a hurricane hits, their staff can grow to as many as 10,000 adjusters within a week.

Whenever disaster strikes, thousands of insurance adjusters at Pilot Catastrophe have to get up to speed as quickly as possible, often within a matter of hours. They also need continuous access to reference materials so they can learn as they do their jobs. Training might be focused on how to handle customer claims, customer service, or how to properly represent a particular client.

No matter the topic, Pilot Catastrophe understands that not everyone learns the same way. The learning and development (L&D) team knew it had to go beyond simply creating great content—they also needed to deliver the content to the right employees and provide a more modern and engaging learning experience overall.

Pilot Catastrophe selected Schoox as its preferred LMS because it allows the L&D team to easily upload, organize, and share learning content at the corporate level, while empowering the managers of various business units to track and lead training initiatives for their own teams. It also provides an engaging user interface and mobile accessibility options so employees can access learning content anytime and anywhere.

The Power of Engaging, Bite-Sized Content

The company’s employees explore their career paths independently and often complete training on their own time. An insurance adjuster who specializes in property insurance, for example, might decide to expand their skills in automobile insurance so they can take on a broader range of assignments. To accommodate this approach to career progression, Pilot Catastrophe recognized it needed to create engaging content that employees want to access to pursue career advancement. “If it’s engaging, people will watch it,” says Greg Stokes, Head of Recruiting, Media, Communications, and Training at Pilot Catastrophe.

Pilot Catastrophe knew it needed a better way to deliver all its learning content. Without a large staff, however, Greg also knew platform administration had to be as simple as possible. The company selected Schoox so it can properly distribute content to the right audiences while providing an engaging and intuitive user experience for admins, managers, and learners alike.

“We deliver content related to a variety of different companies to a lot of employees, none of whom work directly for the companies they’re representing. Schoox helps us navigate all those nuances, properly segment content, and ensure the right people have access to the right information whenever they need it,” says Greg

Flexible Access to Personalized Content

Since employees only represent a single insurance provider at a time, but may represent many different providers throughout their tenure, Pilot Catastrophe needed an LMS that ensures people have access to the right content whenever they need it. Moreover, Greg and his team have to ensure that employees don’t have continued access to proprietary or confidential information unrelated to their active assignments. And since many of their employees work temporarily, Pilot Catastrophe requires a platform that makes it easy to quickly add, remove, and adjust users and their permissions within the system.

For Greg and his team, seamless integrations with Pilot Catastrophe’s HRIS seamless integrations with Pilot Catastrophe’s HRIS and the unique flexibility of the Schoox platform eliminated the manual process of adding and continuously adjusting user permissions within the system: learners are automatically added and assigned to the right coursework based on the roles and information designated in the HRIS.

With their previous LMS, Greg found that employees were overwhelmed with the sheer amount of information thrown at them. In contrast, the flexible hierarchy within Schoox allows Pilot Catastrophe to personalize content for each learner, ensuring suggestions are timely and relevant. Schoox helps Greg and his team manage user permissions and access to content at a granular level, enabling them to change permissions or reassign users to different courses and curricula as needed.

A Shift to Hybrid Learning

Originally focused on in-person training, leadership at Pilot Catastrophe saw that it wasn’t always the most cost effective way to train a contingent workforce. Recognizing the need to shift strategies, Pilot Catastrophe reconsidered how to deliver training before the COVID-19 pandemic, so the company was ahead of the game when the rest of the world was forced to shift to remote-first strategies. Greg and his team focused on developing accessible, high-quality content in multiple formats so all learners can find a method that works for them. To accomplish this, they created an in-house media and broadcast team to design eLearning materials that supplement in-person learning.

“In the past, we crammed people with information before they started their tasks, but learners forget. The chances of them recalling the information when they needed it was slim. We recognize that every learner is different. Listening to them was important—we realized they’re apt to choose the shortest learning option, so we created content to fit those preferences. Now we have over 500 courses with 2000 substeps, most of which include short 5-7 minute videos on individual topics,” says Greg.

“We provide training in all formats: in person training, to videos, to online training exercises they can revisit 24/7.”

Greg Stokes, Head of Recruiting, Media, Communications, and Training at Pilot Catastrophe.

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Checkers & Rally’s, an iconic and innovative drive-thru restaurant chain known for its bold, craveable food, famous fries, exceptional value, and people-first attitude, operates and franchises both Checkers^® and Rally’s^® restaurants. The brand has earned several of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including: “#1 Most Craveable Fries” by Restaurant Business 2020 and 2018; Best Franchise Deal and “Best Drive-Thru in America” by QSR Magazine; “Top Food and Beverage Franchise” by Franchise Business Review; the “Hot! Again” award from Nation’s Restaurant News and has consistently been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500.

With 850 restaurants across the U.S. and room to grow, Checkers & Rally’s is a proven brand with flexible building formats that is aggressively expanding across the country. The company announced its goal of increasing total units by fifty percent over the next five years. Every new build will be based on its innovative Restaurant of the Future, a reimagining of the brand’s iconic look that features a new kitchen engine that reduces collective team member walking by 1.5 miles every hour and AI voice-assisted ordering at the drive- thru, meant to make employees’ jobs more doable and more enjoyable.

In addition to craveable and bold food, the company is dedicated to being a place where franchisees and employees who work hard can create opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities. With labor shortages in the industry, attracting and retaining employees is another consideration for growth. Enter “Crazy Good Learning,” Checkers & Rally’s innovative employee learning program that engages team members with mobile and social collaboration across the organization.

Organize learning to fit the organization

Rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach, the next-generation learning solution would need to meet the complex requirements of the company’s business model. Thirty percent of the company’s 850 restaurants are corporate-owned, and seventy percent are franchised. With this mix of corporate and franchised locations, Checkers & Rally’s needed a learning platform designed to fit the company’s unique organizational structure.

For example, an individual learner at a franchisee-operated restaurant may need to be associated with the franchise location, a multi-unit owner office, a regional group, or a territory. Unlike most learning management systems built for top-down, pyramid-style organizational structures, Schoox enables Checkers & Rally’s to organize learning according to relationships like person-to-person, person-to-unit, and unit-to-person, which opens opportunities for hyper-focused communication, learning content, information sharing, reporting, and much more.

Connect with employees anytime, anywhere

The Checkers & Rally’s learning and development team wanted to enhance the training program to ensure it was positioned to effectively train restaurant teams, boost guest satisfaction, and support its business goals. With most of its 12,000 team members on the move serving guests in restaurants, mobile learning is a must. Through a native mobile app, the new learning solution offers a sleek interface that:

• Allows learners to view and take courses on any device
• Enables users to view and take assessments
• Includes strong search capabilities
• Supports social learning and collaboration

Create opportunities for authentic engagement

With a mobile learning solution in place, Checkers & Rally’s learning and development team turned their attention to how to create authentic connections with employees. They decided to use a social platform many of their staff were already using in their day-to-day lives, to serve up content in a fun and unique way.

Launching the program with short video blasts, the company creates microlearnings to support on-the-job training. “We decided to simply shoot the microlearnings in portrait mode on a mobile phone to maintain the ‘realness’ of the content found across the platform,” said Theresa Papaleo, Senior Director of Learning & People Development at Checkers & Rally’s.

Team members access these short video blasts by scanning QR codes posted on communication boards in every location. All Checkers & Rally’s stores have two iPads available for staff to access learning. To launch the corresponding video, employees scan the QR code that matches the skill they want to review.

Checkers & Rally’s launched these micro learnings at the beginning of the year, aligning learning videos with the company’s first-quarter focus areas on taste and temperature. Topics like “serving up the perfect fry” allow staff to go to the content they need during their shift. “Short video blasts are incredibly popular with our staff,” said Papaleo. “The number of employees logging onto the learning platform has doubled year over year, and team members are eager to put into practice what they’ve just learned.”

Checkers & Rally’s innovative “Crazy Good Learning” was so successful it even won Silver in the Best Use of Video category in the 2022 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards.

Deliver a consistent customer experience

As Checkers & Rally’s moves forward on its rapid growth trajectory, the company wants to ensure it continues to deliver a consistent customer experience across all locations. Papaleo’s team will play a significant role in that effort as they onboard new staff and work to keep learner engagement high.

The learning and development team plans to introduce badging to recognize employees who meet specific goals or achieve various positional or managerial certifications. They also expect to launch leaderboards to encourage friendly competition among team members and focus on social collaboration to cultivate an engaged workforce across all locations and in every job role.

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Yet, when it came to educating its sales network about its product, Phillips 66 ran into some friction. Product information was either locked behind a password-protected extranet or shared via text-heavy PowerPoint documents in multi-hour in-person training sessions.

The company’s internal sales team and global distribution network lacked the up-to-date product information and training they needed to understand and sell both existing products and the groundbreaking new product lines launched from its research and development division.

In an effort to reduce this training friction, the company began looking for a learning management system (LMS) that could meet two key goals: deliver mobile-ready training to a vast network of salespeople, and deliver training in a franchise-style model with a central corporate hub and 70 field operators.

The company’s breakthrough to better product training came when Phillips 66 Lubricants leveraged Schoox’s learning management and engagement modules.

Overcoming Product Training Limitations

“Our introduction to Schoox began with a request for a better training program from our distributor’s sales and marketing team,” said Bill Brown, Director of Marketing Operations. “Our former training program was not mobile and so was not readily accessible to our external network. It also had other limitations, like no way to track training progress.

Our primary goal was to get sales enablement information and compliance courses to our marketing and distributor network, and to ensure that their sales teams were knowledgeable about all of our existing products and any new lubricants we develop. The training solution also needed to be intuitive, engaging, and able to track compliance.”

Bill says that three main capabilities convinced him that Schoox was the LMS Phillips 66 Lubricants needed. “We proved that a single administrator can deliver compliance, product, and marketing training to a vast network of managers, distributors, and sales people thanks to the robust Schoox LMS.”

Accelerating Course Creation with Schoox Support

When the company began setting up Schoox, its training team included an LMS administrator. However, that role moved to another part of the company, and Bill was left on his own to manage and execute the implementation of the program. Support from Schoox helped him accomplish his goals and allowed him to launch the platform within six months.

“Schoox sent a solution architect and implementation specialist to give me weekly lessons on using the application,” explained Bill. “Thanks to that level of support everything moved along well. Before I knew it my team was converting text-heavy PowerPoint decks into videos with animated slides and voiceovers. With this new approach, we were able to produce content segments in smaller, digestible chunks that made it easier for learners to grasp.”

Today, Bill continues to build and distribute up-to-date courses and virtual instructor-lead training (ILT) sessions through the application. To date, he’s created four curricula and 121 courses, and uploaded over 350 forms of new content.

Tapping into the “Schoox X-Factor”

“The Schoox X-factor for us has been the ability to deliver a leading-edge, mobile, and agile LMS that allows us to quickly put content into the hands of our marketers and sales people in a very relevant and current way,” said Bill.

In fact, every department in the company benefits from the Schoox training program. Sales team members gain easy access to all of the current product sales information. The company can track everyone’s training progress and compliance. Marketers can develop and upload their own training programs, and push them out to their teams, manage the courses, and track performance.

“Now that we know that we have nearly unlimited training capabilities, we have a lot more we want to accomplish with Schoox,” noted Bill. “We’ve been very successful — and we’ll continue to expand our training program to ensure it stays as leading-edge as our products.”

Key Takeaways:

• 6 months to Schoox implementation
• 121 courses created, 30 delivered in Spanish
• Automated and timely reporting to keep management informed
• Provided the capability to deliver 15 Virtual Instructor led sessions during COVID-19 lockdown to over 4,200 attendees

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