Gamifying Training
Reece’s stores are very unlike common retail stores. It takes time to on board new staff members. Branch managers and senior staff had to train them all the way until they can independently operates and confidently contribute to the dynamic in stores. This is an exploration to address the most difficult area of learning for new staff members.
Role
Senior Product Designer
Squad
NGP
Company
Reece Group
Year
2022
One of the problems that we’ve identified was that new starters in stores would need one to two months to be comfortable and confident in serving customers on the counter. Here are some of the challenges;
To search for a product, a user must understand the Reece mnemonic composition that will become easier with time
Customers refer to an item with different names than what’s listed on the system
Customer refers to an item with many different names, this takes sometime to get used to
Problem
Prototype
How might we help new starters build confidence quickly?
One of the ideas that came out of that is gamifying training to increase time to competency.
This game simulates a customer coming in and placing an order, with an audio clip.
A user will then have to search for the product and find the right one.
If they struggle, there is a hint or reveal answer buttons nearby.
If they succeed, they will be rewarded 100 points
At the end they will be taken to a leaderboard where they can see where they sit among their peers.
I worked on an interactive prototype using Protopie.
Usability Testing
I tested the prototype with 5 new starters, all have been with the company for less than 6 months.
Before starting with the proto, I asked them some questions to validate the current issues they faced and they were validated.
The prototype was well-received, there were some feedbacks around time limit and how it needed to be increased. Users really like the leaderboard as it encourages them to compete with one another.
The hint I have on the prototype was more of the answer, they prefer hints. The placement of the hint button and the wording need to be looked at.
