Purolator And The Studying Community

How Hybrid Learning Helped A Company Achieve Its Goals

Purolator is a Canadian courier company and leader in the freight, packaging, and logistics space. To prepare for the launch of their 430,000-plus square-foot sorting and shipping facility, Purolator needed to educate employees and visitors about the new facility and its cutting-edge automation processes.

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Hybrid Learning: The Ultimate Guide To Customizing Learning Experiences For Your Team

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Hybrid Learning Case Study: What Were The Organization's Needs?

Purolator’s learning needs were as follows:

• Business Needs: Train all employees on the procedures and requirements for the new facility in a cost-effective and secure way.
• Learner needs: Educate employees and visitors about the facility’s capabilities in a way they can retain the information and visualize the full scope of the facility.
• Technology needs: Provide a tour and demonstration of the complete facility without having to enter restricted areas.

The Learning Network’s Approach

The Learning Network (TLN) conducted a 5-month needs assessment to dive deeper into what educational gaps existed and how they might be resolved. TLN interviewed frontline workers, supervisors, managers, and the executive team to document what worked in the past and what didn’t. The team also sought to learn how COVID-19 impacted employees’ wants and needs from an L&D perspective.

The Result

A 65-page report that discussed The Learning Network’s findings, methodology, and recommendations about the training Purolator should consider for their new facility.

Innovative, Hybrid Solutions

Over the next two years, Purolator and TLN developed an innovative hybrid learning approach to meet business needs, learner needs, and technological needs. The Learning Network’s integrated approach to educating employees and stakeholders included:

• Business solutions: Safety-oriented programs were rolled out for employees, including training materials via text, video, and other mediums.
• Learner solutions: A combination of in-person and augmented reality (AR) tours helped increase engagement.
• Technology solutions: An AR tour via Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 was used in conjunction with in-person tours. The AR tour helped visualize the equipment operations and sorting processes that were not otherwise possible during regular facility operations.

Over the course of the project, The Learning Network was also able to provide the following deliverables for Purolator:

• An entire digital curriculum for the facility.
• Instructor-led job aids and classroom materials to use on the facility floor.
• Assets and tools for managers to evaluate employees against their performance and measure key behaviors and skills (and keep with compliance requirements).

Key Outcomes

Since its launch in April 2022, over 150 Purolator employees, client groups, and visitors have taken the tour. By implementing a hybrid approach of traditional and AR tours, Purolator was able to provide a cutting-edge educational experience to all stakeholders. Some advantages of Purolator’s hybrid approach:

• Increased understanding: The NHO AR Tour can be experienced by up to 10 individuals at one time, each with its own unique HoloLens 2 device. This leads to an increased understanding of Purolator’s processes and a strengthening of knowledge for employees, customers, and partners.
• Better content: Learners can now explore the areas and functionality of the NHO they would otherwise not be able to experience due to safety or other restrictions.
• More innovation: The training approach exemplifies Purolator’s NHO’s project goals of being at the forefront of technological advancement and innovation.
• Accessibility improvements: The technology and development are sophisticated, but the final learning experience is very accessible. It removes a barrier to using the technology in other applications in the future.

Conclusion

Download the eBook Hybrid Learning: The Ultimate Guide To Customizing Learning Experiences For Your Team by The Learning Network to discover how you can launch personalized programs for your remote workforce and overcome the limitations of hybrid learning.