Get off to a flying start with the smileCAMPUS

The initial situation

Train employees efficiently

As part of its company-wide digitalization strategy, Sanitätshaus Aktuell AG decided to set up a comprehensive online academy to offer employees and franchise partners high-quality learning content.

Due to the strong growth of the association in recent years, there was an increased need for training - especially for the employees of the franchise partners in the medical supply stores. As the franchise partners are spread throughout Germany, it quickly became clear that a decentralized solution and digital learning content would be the best option. Sanitätshaus Aktuell AG was therefore looking for a partner that would enable the company to quickly and efficiently train and educate its employees with entertaining content.

The challenge

Motivating learners

A few years earlier, Sanitätshaus Aktuell had already attempted to introduce an online academy. Unfortunately, the project did not meet with the desired acceptance among learners and was lost in the day-to-day business. This experience made it all the more important for the new online academy to be a success right from the start.

Another special feature: Sanitätshaus Aktuell's main aim with the academy is to address the over 8,000 employees of the franchise partners, i.e. an external target group. Experience has shown that motivating them to use the online academy is more difficult than with internal groups of people.

In addition, there is a high fluctuation of employees and many career changers among the association members, which is particularly evident in sales in the medical supply stores. Retail sales staff need to be familiar with the product range in order to be able to provide customers with professional advice. They also need to know the basics of clinical pictures and types of care. Quick and uncomplicated onboarding is therefore essential in order to be able to train new employees in the long term.

The solution

Take off with the smileCAMPUS

In the course of the coronavirus pandemic, various innovative and digital projects were launched with which Sanitätshaus Aktuell wants to ensure that the association is equipped for the future. One of these projects is to reactivate the idea of the Online Academy and make it a success. As the old system was no longer up to date and did not have the necessary functions, Sanitätshaus Aktuell AG chose youknow as the content and technology partner for its "new" e-learning content.

The Learning Management System (LMS) from youknow enables Sanitätshaus Aktuell to provide decentralized training for its own employees and those of its franchise partners. The smileCAMPUS - the name of the online academy - offers various courses for employees and partners. From onboarding training to specialist topics such as law and contracts, soft skills training to the topics of communication, language, personality and skills and more, the smileCAMPUS offers a comprehensive range of courses for learners. Originally, only specialist and compulsory topics produced in-house were to be included in smileCAMPUS. However, as Sanitätshaus Aktuell wanted to launch as quickly as possible and offer its trainees a comprehensive course catalog, content was also purchased externally. From webinars and explanatory videos to web-based training (WBTs) and many other learning formats, smileCAMPUS initially offers learners everything they need for successful further training.

The highlights

High acceptance of learners

The smileCAMPUS has developed into a popular platform for employees and partners, which is actively used and also actively filled by users (keyword "user-generated content"). The appealing design, high-quality content, intuitive operation and excellent internal marketing have led to the online academy being accepted relatively quickly by learners. In the meantime, franchise partners are also creating their own courses and managing them independently, e.g. their own product training courses for sales staff. The demand is so great that the original number of users has been increased from 500 to 2,000.

In order to get its members and partners excited about the smileCAMPUS, Sanitätshaus Aktuell carried out extensive marketing for the online academy. The smileCAMPUS was presented at specialist conferences and symposia, for example. The advantages of the platform were explained during presentations and special workshops on the LMS were offered so that learners could get to know and try out the system live. In addition, there were various activities on the intranet, e.g. an Easter egg challenge in which learners could find Easter eggs in the courses or feedback sheets. The distribution of postcards with a QR code leading directly to the smileCAMPUS also had a supporting effect. The aim of the measures was to keep the hurdle for learners as low as possible in order to increase acceptance and motivation. These campaigns were so successful and the participants so enthusiastic that they motivated the franchise partners to create their own learning content.

What happens next?

Promoting more independence

In order to increase the acceptance and intrinsic motivation of learners, the production and learning process should be made even more efficient. To achieve this goal, the franchise partners will be able to organize themselves and manage both the content and the users themselves.

There are also plans to integrate a store into the smileCAMPUS, which franchise partners can use to book seminars independently.