Bloomingdale's deploys employee training tech to reduce safety claims

Dive Brief:

Bloomingdale’s is one of the first retail customers for the newly-launched Axonify Impact Learning Attribution Engine, which helps retailers make connections between employee training, behavior change and business results, according to an Axonify press release.
The department store said it can attribute one third of its safety claim reduction to training efforts on the Axonify Microlearning Platform, translating to a savings of $3 million in one year.
The Axonify platform, equipped with machine learning technology, collects data as employees engage with it, and adapts learning programs to specific employees. It also can help employers discover which programs are generating the greatest impact, and how knowledge and participation influence business results.

Dive Insight:

As technology, and more specifically automation, take on a greater role in retail, many retailers are determined not to let human employees fall through the cracks. Many have recognized that human engagement with customers will play a more important role in their successes as a competitive advantage against e-commerce competition. That is, if they are able to train (or perhaps "re-train" is the better word) them to thrive among the evolving needs of customers today.

Investing in ongoing training to minimize workers’ compensation and general liability claims is a well-meaning pursuit for retailers, but in many cases they may be spending a lot of money on it blindly, without any sense of its true business impact. Many learning and development teams within retail organizations may be asking for and spending training dollars without being able to do much to really prove it was working.

Axonify claims it helps retailers like Bloomingdale’s connect the dots. Bloomingdale’s had more than 10,000 employees participate in safety awareness training that played out in three-to-five minute training bursts during their shifts on their POS systems or tablets. Considering retailers often save such training sessions for specific training days or special events, a system that allows them to train in action could save time and money.