How Orbus Reduced Training From 2 Days To 2.5 Hours Using HowNow

The challenge

Orbus faced the challenge of creating learning content for two audiences:

Internal employees who need to understand how their software works.

External customers who often need to learn independently to understand their software.

Their Foundation Certification Path solves these issues – particularly for the latter – replacing the need for two-day, in-person training.

The process

Orbus used HowNow to create a self-service, on-demand certification that customers could start as soon as they’d signed.

With instructions on how to use the learning space and navigate through the course, it offered an independence that reduced the need to wait for the next in-person workshop.

And the content was built by internal experts, allowing them to create relevant and contextual resources that can be understood and applied in moments of need.

The numbers

Orbus’ big three pain points

1. Training on how to use Orbus’ software would take two days and need to be delivered in person.
2. External customers would need to wait for the next workshop to learn how the software can be used.
3. And the Orbus team had to repeat the same training over and over again.

Their four-step process for delivering on-demand, virtual certification.

Step one: Setting everyone up to use Orbus’ learning space

What’s the point of inviting people to use a learning space and not giving them the tools to get the most from it?

Enter Orbus’ Welcome – Your Hive Orientation course! The first resource people are assigned and giving them the tools to navigate Hive (Orbus’ learning space) independently. As we’ll get to later, this allows them to not only complete the course but revisit resources later.

You can create the nicest-looking, most-aesthetic resource in the world, but if people don’t know where to find it or how to use it, it won’t matter. And this is especially important if you have self-service end users.

Step two: Using internal experts to create relevant content

One of the reasons you’ll always find HowNow beating the ‘tap into your subject matter experts’ drum is because it allows you to create relevant content that fits the context.

And this is a principle Orbus applied, working with internal subject matter experts to create micro-resources that solve specific problems.

Rather than building on assumptions, they used customer FAQs to understand the common pain points and challenges that content could solve.

Creating content from that meant resources were not only discoverable when people encountered real problems, but they could apply specific information and knowledge in moments of need.

Step three: Building in knowledge checks to drive application

Learn the information you need > apply it > increase the chances of retaining it.

Orbus didn’t want to rush people through content that wouldn’t challenge, engage or help them put what they’re learning into practice.

So, they built short knowledge checks into the course, aligned with those microlearning resources.

These are typically three short, multiple-choice questions, meaning learners won’t need an approved response to move on in the course. For admins, this empowers them to automate content delivery and let people progress in a frictionless way.

Step four: Baking gamification into content and courses

This step was all about encouraging people to celebrate new skills and professional development. When they complete that course, are we giving them the tools and guidance to celebrate that win?

Orbus ensure completion certificates are incorporated into their courses so that people can do just that. And they’re supported by guidance on where to post it, which hashtags to use, how to update your skills on LinkedIn and lots more.

“They’ve worked their way through this set of courses. So they should be able to brag about it.

At the end, we created a sequence of little Nuggets to show them things like:  How do I post my certificate on LinkedIn?” – Penny​ Simpson, Head of Learning & Enablement, Orbus Software.

The impact: Cutting training delivery from 2 days to 2.5 hours

“When a new customer came on board, the consultants would meet with them, there’d be an introduction call, etc.

Then they would start working on the project or implementation. And at some point during that, there would be some training.” – Penny​ Simpson, Head of Learning & Enablement, Orbus Software.

The trouble is, that relies on consultants scheduling regular slots and repeating the same conversations and instructions again and again…

Hence why that on-demand, self-service learning is so critical! A process that once took 2 days can now be completed in 2.5 hours.

Meaning Orbus have saved an average of 11.5 hours per training. And across the 71 people who’ve completed certification, they’ve saved 816 hours! Which equates to 116 working days…

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