COLOGNE, Germany, March 09, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The call came after the astonishing success of a pilot training project run by Bosch-Siemens, aimed at improving product knowledge and technical know-how of point-of-sale staff.

The project launched with a successful pilot in 20 stores, which saw a 26.2% increase in sales of washing machines across, while stores that did not take part in the training saw a 13% decrease.

Now the scheme has been expanded across the Nordic region and over 1,000 staff are using the BSH GO training apps across a number of major retailers. It has been played 110,000 times representing 1,300 hours’ worth of training time.

Developed by gamified training specialists Attensi, the training uses ‘gamified’ techniques to encourage staff to play – and replay – the training simulations.

Ellen Vrålstad, Attensi VP Sales and Business Development, said: “This approach to training, using gamified simulation-based apps that are delivered via mobile, has benefits for everyone involved. The staff improve their knowledge and sell more units, boosting their performance. Meanwhile the retailers can offer specialist knowledge and service levels that customers won’t get from online competitors.

“The data shows people aren’t just completing the training two or three times – they are coming back, time and again, and in some cases playing it up to 10 times. This repetition helps to close the knowledge gaps that we identified at the start by up to 93%.

“Most importantly, it has offered a significant competitive advantage to our client, Bosch-Siemens, and has really helped their products to stand out on the shop floor. We now have ambitious plans to continue the roll-out into 2022 and beyond.”

Bosch-Siemens focused the initial training on a very specific product feature: auto-dosing of washing liquid in its high-end washing machines but it has been expanded to cover a wide range of appliances and features.

“Auto-dosing is an innovative feature that people are very interested in, but it helps if they can have the benefits explained in detail,” said Thomas Antonsen, Bosch-Siemens’ Head of Sell-out Management and Training Excellence Northern Europe.

“We initially worked with 20 retailers to gauge the success of the training – we targeted stores within the same chain, and of similar sizes. 10 were given the training, and 10 weren’t. Of those that had the training, we saw an average sales increase of 26% on the machines with auto-dosing.

“We are, of course, interested in selling more of our own products, and equipping POS staff with the right product knowledge has been proven to offer a significant increase in sales.

“But we see this as being beneficial to the retailer, too, because it helps them to offer something that online retailers cannot. Knowledgeable and friendly staff, who can offer face-to-face contact and answer difficult questions, are still valued and will make customers more likely to purchase, especially when it comes to big-ticket items such as electronic/white goods.

“This pilot took place in the Scandinavian markets, but it has now launched in the United States and the Baltics. We hope to launch it in the UK soon.

“We don’t expect this to entirely replace face-to-face contact – we still cherish the ability to deal with our clients face-to-face when restrictions allow, but this allows us to deliver training in a way that point-of-sale staff actually want.

“People want content delivered to them in a convenient, accessible way and our Attensi training app has helped us to achieve that.”

Attensi, which uses a combination of gaming and coding experts, along with behavioural psychology expertise, says the methods help make the learning stick, making critical product knowledge easy to recall and pass on to customers.

“We have been working with Bosch-Siemens since 2018. The success of the pilot scheme paved the way for the project to be expanded and we are always looking for new and interesting ways to develop the training we offer,” he added.

“We are now introducing a competitive element, which gives staff members high-score tables, so they can compete with their colleagues. People get really competitive and almost forget that they are learning while they chase the top of the leaderboard – it’s like the heyday of 1980s arcade games, except people are learning while they play!”

Feedback from staff has also been positive, with staff welcoming the flexible approach to the training, meaning they can do it at a time that suits them, and with 100% of staff agreeing the training has made them better at recommending products to customers.

Attensi has delivered gamified simulation training in more than 150 countries and more than 50 languages. Our customers include Circle K, Bosch Siemens Home Appliances, Accenture, Hiscox, Equiniti and many more.