Elearning! Magazine: Building Smarter Companies via Learning & Workplace Technologies.
Issue link: http://elmezine.epubxp.com/i/611643
18 December 2015 / January 2016 Elearning! red academy properties must be an artful blend of diplomacy, marketing, education and infuence. Every location manager has to understand the "why" behind initiatives and training programs, and every property manager and franchisee needs to see the connection between brand initiatives and his or her own bottom line. With more than 400 properties all over the United States and now including international markets, these complex communication and education challenges are more daunting than ever. ENTER RED ACADEMY In order to reach its goals, Red Roof Inn had to address very specifc business needs. Te Learning and Development team realized that it must provide knowledge, support and continuous learning to the feld teams that include: >> managers/owners, >> hourly GSRs (guest service represent- atives), >> corporate ofce and call center teams, and >> senior management. Te expressed strategic goal was to ensure properties across the entire brand consistently deliver the highest level of quality, service and value to their guests. Like many other organizations with widely dispersed workforces, Red Roof Inn faces obstacles like making training easy and convenient to access for employees at all levels, and the ability to provide "just-in-time" training for programs to make the greatest positive impact. Te organization must also track the completion of training across the brand, and it must provide compelling content to meet the changing needs of its teams to keep them growing and developing. All of these challenges must be met with an eye on the cost of labor. RED Academy was built with the end user in mind. Like most organizations, Red Roof Inn views managing labor costs as a priority, but beyond the costs, it's about efective and efcient use of time. With cost-control objectives in mind, learning program managers migrated Red Roof tools, resources, manuals, templates and videos from two existing SharePoint sites. A key priority was to make it easy for employees to fnd what they need. Tis was accomplished by adding metatags to each resource to ensure that no matter how users searched for content, they could fnd the information they need. Employees access RED Academy literally anyplace and anytime. Running a 24/7 business means it's impossible to hold training sessions for all employees at the same time. Te ability to take "on-demand" training allows the brand to deliver the same consistent message to all employees, who can now access learning away from the hotel, or from the ofce, and from the classroom. Managers and employees can access and launch training from any Just like other organizations, Red Roof must provide compelling content to meet the needs of its teams.