27 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 Lottery-Specific Needs It’s not surprising, then, that there is growing interest among lottery organizations in E-training, particularly after the pandemic severely curtailed in-person interactions with retailers and sales reps. Training needs across the lottery industry include: • New Retailers – typically delivered via a classroom, requiring retailers to find coverage in their stores and travel to a training location. As well as being less convenient and potentially delaying time to market, travel to classroom training adds to fuel use and emissions connected to travel. • New Store Employees – onboarding that often relies on other store employees or a manager who previously attended classroom training, making the process potentially limited and inconsistent. • Responsible Gaming – includes widespread and varied training needs for both Lottery staff and retailers, typically delivered by the Lottery. Multiple jurisdictions in the United States now require retailers to complete training on Responsible Gaming (RG). With increased attention to RG issues, training needs are likely to increase as well. • New Instant andDrawGames, Lottery Operations, Best Practices – normally rely on sales reps to train retailers. As jurisdictions operate with fewer sales reps, factors like distance and time-constraints present challenges for reps to visit enough retailers to provide adequate training. • Sales Reps – require training for games, onboarding, sales operations/common practices and procedures, leading practices, selling techniques and other skills, equipment or software, and more. E-learning can also be used effectively to train other Lottery personnel and vendors on various topics as needed, such as new games, promotions and initiatives, and best practices. How E-training Can Help The use of web-based training solutions can support these and other lottery industry needs by enabling all of the following improvements: 1 Train More Store Employees – and not just one or two people who represent the store. The retail industry is plagued by low staff retention. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average staff turnover rate for the retail trade is more than 60%. E-training alleviates the continual burden on retailers and sales reps to train store employees on lottery by providing immediate, consistent, on-demand training for all store employees. This can help to ensure that training content is communicated and completed to lottery standards by all store employees, not just the select few who attend in-person training. The same is true when accommodating the unique and often complex needs of corporate key accounts, allowing large numbers of employees to conveniently receive all lottery-related training in one consolidated location. 2 Onboard New Recruits Faster – E-learning gets new retailers selling more quickly by providing immediate, consistent, on-demand training. A hybrid approach that incorporates E-learning as part of the training program gives the retailer options, allowing them to learn at their own pace and revisit training topics as they want for need for enhanced comprehension in addition to classroom training. 3 Increase the Reach of Ongoing Training –including new products and other lottery changes, by quickly reaching a wide and geographically dispersed audience. A good E-learning training program offers learners the freedom to get trained at their own convenience – learners get flexibility in the form of the time, place, pace, or device for the training. 4 Track Certifications –such as Responsible Gaming. E-learning systems can automatically track and notify, simplifying record-keeping and improving efficiency to keep all staff current, rather than requiring operations staff to manually track and manage certifications. E-training also provides retailers with reminders and lotteries with tracking capabilities. 5 Track Learner Comprehension and Activity – LMS-generated reports provide the opportunity for lotteries to track course comprehension and modify training programs to fit the needs of retailers, provide enhanced learning experiences, and boost retailer engagement. 6 Facilitate Sales Rep Training – Remote options enable interactive, engaging training on the go or from home. Learning can be used to complement in-person training, as an additional tool for trainers, or, as in times such as the recent pandemic, when in-person training isn’t an option. For example, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales reps in one U.S. jurisdiction received training via E-learning on the features of Sales Wizard, IGT’s salesforce automation tool. Providing on-demand training options for topics such as best practices and lottery initiatives also enhances sales reps’ time in the field without taking away time in the field. 7 Improve Sustainability –E-training eliminates printed paper handouts and, by eliminating the need for participants to commute to training locations, avoids the associated amount of emissions released into the atmosphere.
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