Resources

Case Studies

SumTotal Systems Powers eLearning at U.K. Retail Giant B&Q

When B&Q, the U.K.'s number one do-it-yourself and garden center retailer needed a fast, efficient way to train its busy and burgeoning workforce, it turned to a proven learning solution: SumTotal. In under a year, the company experienced five-figure savings (expected to climb to six figures in 2002) compared to its old training methods. What's more, in the highly competitive DIY retail environment, B&Q staff are equipped to offer customers advice and help above and beyond most other retailers.

The Company
Founded in 1969, B&Q employs more than 28,000 in over 300 stores throughout the U.K. and the number is rapidly growing. The corporation operates B&Q Warehouses, for both DIY and trade customers, and smaller B&Q Supercenters, which give DIY customers easy access to everyday items. Together, they stock more than 45,000 home improvement and garden products and serve everyone from the most occasional do-it-yourselfer to trade professionals.

International operations include nearly 50 stores from Poland to the Pacific Rim. In addition, the B&Q transactional website provides 24/7 access to products, ideas, expert advice, and "how to" guides.


The Challenge
B&Q’s mission proclaims that the company "will be the best at giving people the inspiration, confidence, and solutions to create homes to be proud of". To accomplish that, and to meet the high customer expectations identified by their annual customer surveys, B&Q needs employees of the highest caliber.


Because B&Q stores are already so popular and crowded, same-store sales growth targets cannot be achieved simply by attracting additional customers. They can be reached only by increasing the amount shoppers spend during each trip. That requires skilled, knowledgeable employees who can advise customers across a wide range of product areas.


But the company’s rapid expansion and proliferation of products was placing a heavy burden on its increasingly expensive and decreasingly efficient face-to-face training. B&Q decided that although traditional training was still best in some cases, it could often be replaced by eLearning courses provided via PC in each store. More importantly, eLearning would provide the ability to manage, track, and validate all forms of learning, both on and off line.


The SumTotal Solution
B&Q conducted an extensive review of eLearning products, evaluating each against a specified set of criteria. Each product was expected to be:

• Easy for all staff to use


• Easy for the HR and IT departments to install


• Quick to roll out across the entire store network


• Cost effective compared to existing training methods


• "Future proof," as evidenced by active product development by the vendor


• Functional out-of-the box, with minimum customization required

After the review, B&Q conducted a month-long trial that pitted the top three systems against each other in a series of qualitative and quantitative tests that involved nearly 40 B&Q staff members. Each eLearning product was put through a standard series of tests, and the staff members evaluated each from the perspective of different job roles. At the end of the trial, the solution of choice was SumTotal.

In February 2001, after a test run in five B&Q stores in different locales, the SumTotal platform went live. Installation took only two days, demonstrating its out-of-the-box functionality. Customization for B&Q took just a couple of additional weeks. By the third week of March — an implementation period of less than two months — eLearning was under-way.

In a move that has worked particularly well, a staff member in each store was appointed to coach the store team through the eLearning experience. This gave learners someone onsite to answer questions, help with technology issues, and generally support them as they learned.

Today, employees in all the company’s U.K. stores use the eLearning system. According to Steve Hammant, a Project Leader for B&Q, staff feedback has been extremely positive, calling the SumTotal system clear, easy to use, and logical to work through. "Sometimes," he says, "we have a problem getting people off the PC when they’re training, as they like the experience so much!"

"SumTotal has reduced our four-hour Health and Safety training session for new staff to about one and a half hours. And as staff gain familiarity with the system, their confidence is increasing when dealing with customers. You can’t put a price on confident staff, but it’s possibly the best ROI we could have hoped for.”


-- Adrian Jones, E-Training Manager, B&Q

---

Download PDF version of this case study.

(SumTotal, SumTotal Enterprise and the marks relating to SumTotal products and services referenced herein are either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.)

 

If you would like to talk with us about how we might help you strengthen your learning and development, talent and employee performance, please call us at 1-866-SMTOTAL (866-768-6825) and ask to speak to one of our sales professionals, or use our online contact form to have us contact you.