Interview LFB : Reduce our training time by 50% thanks to immersive learning.
With a “Provider Success Manager” philosophy, Sebastien Fons manages cross-functional HR projects within LFB Group. He drives projects such as skills development & performance and talent management with a focus on improving the employee’s experience.
Who is LFB ?
LFB is a French biopharmaceutical laboratory and one of the leading European players in biopharmaceuticals. Providing to healthcare professionals (mainly in hospitals) with plasma-derived medicinal products in three major therapeutic areas: immunology, haemostasis and intensive care.
Who are your learners and what are your biggest learning challenges?
The mission of the HR Development Department is to develop all group employees (more than 2,000 employees in France and around the world).
With the aim to double our production capacity, with the construction of a new plant and a context of high recruitment, we have chosen to digitize practical training at the workstation, in order to make our production operators be operational faster .
We had to find ways to onboard these new arrivals and optimize training time to empower them as quickly as possible without reducing the quality of our employees. That explains why we were looking for solutions like Uptale.
Why use Immersive Learning and why did you choose Uptale?
We were using quite standard pedagogical methods with presential, e-learning, practical training on the workstation, etc.
Through my different researches, I’ve identified Uptale as a potential partner in the Virtual Reality sector. Compared to a bunch of plethoric offers (full 3D, 360°, Augmented Reality…), it distinguishes itself by a singular approach, a philosophy of “Knowledge Transfer“. This is what convinced me, and today we are in total autonomy in the creation of our immersive experiences.
Another interesting aspect of Knowledge Transfer’s philosophy is to be able to help our technical experts in the creation of content with new pedagogical modalities. The Uptale solution, with its integrated authoring tool, allows our trainers to create their experiences and include them in blended learning paths.
What KPIs and improvements do you expect thanks to this new way of learning?
In order to achieve an accreditation, the employee must complete a number of theoretical and practical prerequisites. The priority was to optimize our practical training courses, which is constrained by the availability of resources, such as industrial tool and tutor) The power of Immersive Learning is to free us from the constraints of reality.
In a virtual environment, the learner can be train almost in unlimited ways. He can live the consequences of his mistakes and this enables a better anchoring of knowledge. From a pedagogical point of view, this is very interesting.
We immediately saw an interest in transforming and digitizing this type of content. In fact, we are aiming to reduce training time by 50%.
Can you tell us more about the first VR module deployed?
Not all of our operators are scientific experts. When you join LFB as an operator, you learn a job. There is knowledge to be acquired and mastered before you can exercise this profession.
This first experience in Virtual Reality helps to raise awareness on risks and safety at the workstation, and at the same time to train on the manufacturing process.
It’s also interesting, as soon as the recruitment process begins, to give them the opportunity to project themselves into their future working environment.
This first pilot was realized in only 5 days. The result is a ready-to-use VR training experience, with behind an entire platform to track scores and KPIs. This first experience has convinced strongly the management. We have then decided to contractualize with Uptale and start creating other experiences.
Can you tell us more about the next steps?
Our objective: create about ten experiments by the end of 2020. We are currently preparing two new VR modules on practical job training. Since our instructors are scattered on several sites (we have production areas all over France) we need to spread out, acculturate our trainers and improve their skills.
Making all of our people act on their own development is kind of our “disclaimer”, it’s our mission as a development department.
As you know it, Uptale can be broadcast on VR headsets, on the Web or on smartphones. What is your strategy for deployment?
We ordered six Oculus Quest, with two 360° cameras and tripods. The idea is to have a kit in two of our production sites. Later, we will order VR glasses (as the one from Homido) or cardboards to deploy more widely.
How will you promote this new modality of learning?
All of these are part of a Digital Learning strategy that is being implemented for the whole group.
We have not yet used all of the features offered by Uptale. We are starting to explore voice recognition for the sales population.
With the aim of opening the content creation to all employees, we aim to boost our experts community by giving them the opportunity to easily create and distribute their knowledge throughout the company.
What are the feedback from employees and management at this stage?
All the people who tested it immediately saw the interest of the technology. A video is better than a long speech, I let you discover their feedback in this teaser video.
This “virtual twin” enables the learner to apprehend his future working environment: the situation, the noises… Once in a real situation, they can immediately focus on learning.