Renault chooses Epistema LMS to help sales staff learn about its products.

What was the background to your decision to develop the training procedure for your network of sales staff?

Every new vehicle launch gives rise to a need for training across our network. The sales staff get support materials and information from their own dedicated website.

Initially, we chose to create and send out e-learning modules, but we very quickly found that this approach wasn't suited to the restrictions we face. We have a strong need to customise the modules for each country, as the features of the models vary according to where they are being marketed. Furthermore, the speed at which the products develop gave the modules a very short lifespan. Productivity and the ability to respond were totally inadequate for supporting new vehicle launches.

What changes did you introduce?

We decided to set up a documentary area that contains standard group documents, thus reducing the effort required to create new resources.

The documentary area contains product files, videos and other text-based documents. It enables sales staff to access all information relating to new vehicle models. Conversely, there is no real educational approach on how to use the area, such as those offered as part of e-learning modules, which clearly present the various types of information to remember, along with how important they are, etc.

This led us to pairing the documentary area with self-assessment quizzes. This enables the sales staff to identify the information they need, prioritise it and assimilate it, making it easier to sell new vehicles. Questionnaires are quicker to design, extremely simple to create, and offer greater flexibility in customising for each country.

Which critical criteria made you choose the Epistema solution?

Renault already uses many sales training tools. We have also learned the lessons from our previous experience in terms of demanding a certain level. We want the clear benefits of a solution that offers:

• Good internationalization management, both in terms of translations and roll-out to different countries
• Fun questionnaires that use multimedia content
• Full, customisable reporting

The solution put forward by Epistema convinced us at every level, as well as providing a highly intuitive interface.

You handle product information for sales staff at a worldwide level, what structure have you introduced to manage the quizzes?

As each vehicle is adapted for the market in which it is being sold, we chose a structure that allows us to decentralise a part of the management process and thus make gains in efficiency.

First of all we created a standard, 50-question questionnaire centrally, which is organised into 6 topics that cover the various categories of knowledge required (safety, maintenance, the environment, etc). Every time a vehicle comes out, we customise the questionnaire with the features of the new model. Each country is then responsible for adapting the questionnaire to the specific local situation and for its translation. Our contacts in the various countries are actually highly enthusiastic, they like the ease of use and roll-out of this solution as well as the degree of freedom it offers them as a tool.

How would you sum up the solution after over a year in use?

The roll-out is still underway in 19 countries, 3 of which have already sent out 11 questionnaires - out of a total of 147 available in 7 languages.

Estimating return on investment is always difficult, but on a constant budget we have made efficiency savings and have a management procedure that meets our needs. We have also noticed an increased level of participation. Sales staff have provided a lot of positive feedback, they really like the opportunity to identify their level of knowledge and increase its depth in certain areas thanks to the documentary area.

So far, the assessment is very positive. We certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend the solution to other departments within the Group.