CUSTOMER CHALLENGES

Before Docebo, The City of Kingston was providing training to internal departments as well as external agencies through their previous Learning Management System (LMS) but, while it did what was needed, the system was simplistic in its design and functionality. This would sometimes hamper learning efforts by being unable to support engaging learning experiences, such as live videos and gamification.

After three years with their LMS, The City of Kingston was informed that their system would be sunset due to changes in their provider’s business strategy. Doing so required migrating up to 300 courses and existing course data (completions, outstanding assignments, etc.) for over 2,000 end users. The opportunity to breathe new life into the learning experience with a new learning platform was welcomed, but selecting the right vendor to do so was critical. The team issued an RFP with very specific technical specifications outlining what would be ideal for a replacement LMS system.

SOLUTION

One of the key requirements in a new learning platform was an intuitive interface for both system admins and the learners.

“With a workforce that’s so distributed, and one that needed a replacement solution, I needed it to be able to launch without too many user challenges,” says Anthony Amodeo, Learning & Development Specialist, City of Kingston.

“We’ve got bus operators, fire personnel, long-term care workers, recreation and leisure staff, you name it. So we needed a solution that was going to be easy to use, and accessible anytime, anywhere. That’s what Docebo provided us with.”

The team began looking at demos of different learning technologies, but what stood out with Docebo was the ability to begin using the platform immediately upon discovery with a trial experience that allowed for intuitive experimentation with how they could potentially use it. This ultimately helped streamline the implementation process.

“Docebo allowed us to start developing live within a test environment showcasing the ideas that we wanted to see. By the time the decision was made to go with Docebo, we had migration tools and files in place and it was a very quick implementation process from there.”

The City of Kingston also leverages Docebo’s Extended Exterprise App to deliver unique learning to both internal and external audiences. This enables the creation of multiple custom domains with distinct branding elements to establish an individualized look and feel for each audience.

“We support external agencies that have to do training, as mandated by our bylaws. Extended Enterprise gives us a way to create different pages within the system to allow those users to see a different front-end than our internal users – it’s like their own learning management system.”

When the system launch came around, the team was confident the rest of the organization would like the look and feel of the new system and the response was resoundingly positive.

“From leadership down to the frontline, they loved it. They loved how easy it was to get in with the single sign-on capability. In the past, our learning management system didn’t have that so people were always wondering, ‘how do I log in?’ and ‘what’s my password?’ Now, it’s the same as their network password – just boom and in you go.”

“In terms of support, you can just live chat right in the system and that’s phenomenal. There has never been a situation that something has been left unresolved. It has been a lifesaver.”

RESULTS

A major benefit The City of Kingston saw almost immediately was a surge in course completion rates thanks to the ability to create flexible admin profiles.

Within the Docebo platform, there are two types of admins – Superadmins, who have control over every aspect of the platform and Power Users, which are created by Superadmins and assigned a specific set of admin permissions for certain users, courses, catalogs, locations, and more.

“The Power User function is one of the most flexible and powerful features,” says Amodeo.

“Sometimes there is a desire to delegate certain responsibilities within the system, whether you’re monitoring training or even monitoring users. That wasn’t possible before and we now have the tools to enable supervisors or delegates to monitor real-time training metrics and send notifications and reminders. As a result, we are seeing completion rates soar.”

From a cost containment perspective, certifications and licenses have now been configured to support the automation of refresher cycles for courses and learning plans that are tied to annual accreditation. This is important for a municipal government because it gives the organization comfort knowing that refresher cycles will never be missed and employees will remain in compliance – and so far, The City of Kingston is already seeing a reduction in compliance issues.

“I can have learning plans connected to enrollment rules based on the entrance of new employees or transferred employees, depending on their job, department, union or whatever. It’s all automated and so that is a huge time saver and it frees up my time to do other things.”

“But the biggest ROI is really the fact that the user interface is so easy. People are encouraged and drawn to it. They have confidence that what they’re seeing is the latest and greatest and they can access it on their phone or tablet. They can see it anywhere.”

“The fact that we see more people now using mobile devices highlights the importance that the platform is responsive in its design.”

The platform also offers the ability to create a “one-stop-shop” for learning-related matters. Custom widgets allow the team to share videos of interest, post in-class training sessions, make announcements about upcoming initiatives, share catalogs of elective training and more. These capabilities are helping build and support a social learning culture at The City of Kingston and this wider impact on the whole organization is only set to continue.

“Before, I was a bit of a jack of all trades in the learning portfolio. But now, given the amount of potential of what the platform can do, we have two other resources that have joined the team. I can focus more on Docebo and the development and curation of learning through the platform. We’re now looking at how learning can better support The City of Kingston’s performance in terms of its services, and its ability to meet all the needs that govern how we operate.”