FITFLOP X HOWNOW

From 0 to 69%: How FitFlop Transformed Employee Engagement In Learning And Development

69%
answered positively when asked “Do you have access to the L&D you need to do your job well?’.
68%
responded positively when asked “Is FitFlop a great company for you to make a contribution to your development?”.
13
increase in leader check-ins with their team since implementing their People Leader Development Toolkit.
COMPANY
FitFlop have been game-changers since they entered the footware scene in 2007, creating wellness products engineered to work with your body, so you move better and feel great.
EMPLOYEES
250+
Headquarters
INDUSTRY
Retail Footwear
USE CASES
L&D Engagement, Mobile Learning, Employee Development

Your people want more access to learning and development opportunities!

It’s the industry narrative but is it really true at your company? FitFlop asked and found out.

In their 2022 engagement survey, L&D was in the top two things people would improve about working there.

In less than a year, they turned it around to the point that 69% had positive sentiment towards their L&D offering (with 25% neutral and just 6% negative).

Here’s how they did it.

They rolled out their People Leader Development Toolkit

In just a few weeks, they saw close to 50% participation in the course - highlighting the enthusiasm for growth.

The toolkit aimed to empower managers with the capabilities of leading with empathy, acting with integrity, and inspiring their teams.

It covered topics like their values and levels, rewards and recognition, mental-health check-ins, inclusion at FitFlop, and much more.

FitFlop's People Leader Development Toolkit covered core topics to help leaders support employees better.

Managers are the single person with the most influence on employee performance and growth, with more people saying that they like working for their manager (48%) than their company (39%).

At FitFlop, the toolkit led to a 13% increase in the number of people leaders conducting check-in meetings with their team increased between Q1 and Q2 in 2023. 

Accessible mobile learning for in-store employees

If you’re working in a busy store, it’s unlikely that you’d have access to a laptop for learning or that it would be helpful in the flow of your day-to-day role.

FitFlop enabled retail employees to download the HowNow mobile app on their personal devices, allowing them to do on-the-job training and access information during the flow of work.

Context is critical to learning and applying learning, and it’s crucial that in-store and in-office employees have consistent access to development opportunities.

FitFlop emphatically ticked that box!

FitFlop made learning accessible on mobile and desktop, supporting their retail employees.

Opening their New York retail store provided the perfect opportunity to put this into practice and show the impact it could have on performance. 

People on the frontline needed product knowledge and customer service training ahead of opening and this was delivered through a mix of company-consistent and store-specific resources.

From a range summary resource that took 15 minutes to complete to two-minute videos on store stock and product returns.

FitFlop’s US VP of Sales highlighted that HowNow had been crucial in enabling the new store employees to deliver the best in class customer service and expertise in product knowledge FitFlop expect.

Creating a pathway to career progress for entry-level roles


FitFlop were able to use their HRIS as a single source of data by integrating it with HowNow, and it allowed them to segment learning based on relevant people data.

Case in point, their career development and levels pathways - using people data to create groups on the stages people were currently at in their careers. From Level 1 (CEO) to Level 9 (Administrator).

People in those groups are automatically enrolled in relevant pathways that contain courses and resources designed to give them the indicative skills FitFlop expects for their people to progress from, for example, Level 9 to Level 8.

FitFlop built pathways to progress people through their internal company levels.


Internal retention, progression and succession are fundamental to FitFlop’s ability to move faster and deliver on growth plans:

“The development and retention of talent is a key strategic priority for FitFlop, and is central to our five-year plan. Earlier in 2023 we rolled out our FitFlop levels to bring greater clarity and transparency around remuneration and career development at FitFlop.

“This has been positively received but is just the first step. To make a difference to our people (and this is confirmed in our most recent engagement survey) we need to provide learning pathways to support progression through our levels.” - Gianni Giorgiades, FitFlop CEO

From the increase in manager check-ins to the 69% who positively view their company’s L&D, FitFlop have transformed the perception of development in the business.

And they’ve done it while delivering consistent opportunities and role-specific resources for people across every part of the business.


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