Collaborating with experts across departments in ISS, Petra and her team came up with three solutions:
An ergonomics course aimed at the ageing workforce to reduce body strain and ensure correct posture while cleaning. Here, cleaning staff were given sensors to attach to themselves, while a team of ergonomic specialists studied the findings to see which muscles and ligaments were under strain. Using these findings, ISS made instructional videos to demonstrate to staff how to best complete their jobs without overloading their bodies.
A series of e-learning courses to provide easy access regardless of where people are located (or if Covid-19 restrictions made in-person training difficult) Through a combination of videos, quizzes and live online learning, staff were taught key skills for their jobs. To meet the needs of non-native speakers and the digitally illiterate, text was replaced with images and colours to simplify the learning process.
An audio learning tool designed to provide an alternative to digital learning for e.g. adopting new cleaning techniques. The tiptoi® (in German), as it’s called, was developed in collaboration with the game-and-toy producer Ravensburger. Tapping an image on the ISS course materials prompts the device to play the relevant text in the learners’ native language. This device provided employees with an interactive, offline experience – offering a more relaxed learning environment.
“While the ergonomics and e-learning courses proved effective, we quickly noticed that some of our older or less tech-savvy employees were uncomfortable with tablets or touchscreens,” says Petra. “The tiptoi® offers a smart and simple alternative for educating and onboarding new staff.”
Each solution was rolled out in six languages: German, English, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Romanian and Hungarian. Early results reveal that the project has been received with great success, with the audio learning tool, in particular, popular amongst frontline staff. By 2022, ISS Austria aims to roll out the project to its entire 6,500 frontline workforce.
