This is how Beter Bed got all its employees to learn

With more than 1,000 employees, Beter Bed is one of the largest providers in the Netherlands in the field of sleep experience. At Beter Bed, they believe that as part of being a good employer, employees have the right to develop themselves. That is why they have been using SkillsTown's online learning environment since December 2019. 

We spoke to Lynn Hakkers, Learning & Development specialist at Beter Bed, about her experiences with the platform and how they are deploying it at Beter Bed.

A learning solution for all internal audiences

In late 2019, Beter Bed began looking for a new way to unlock knowledge for their employees. Lynn explains, "We were looking for an online learning solution that is adequate for all audiences within our organization and we were looking for a way to intrinsically motivate our employees when it comes to learning. SkillsTown fits this well because, in addition to the professional modules, there is also a lot of content in the area of leisure. In addition, the variety of learning solutions such as the podcasts, essentials, webinars and e-learning modules was also an important reason to choose SkillsTown. This broad offering appeals to us enormously."

Proprietary tutorials and instructional videos

One of the uses of SkillsTown's online platform at Beter Bed, is to unlock in-house knowledge. As a retail organization, Beter Bed employees need an enormous amount of knowledge. Think of product knowledge, instructional videos on the systems, but also role plays on how to speak to customers. Because this is a lot of organization-specific knowledge, Beter Bed has chosen to secure this knowledge itself via the online platform. For example, they have created their own essentials (micro-courses) in which employees share their professional knowledge in a short video.

"The variety of learning solutions such as the podcasts, essentials, webinars and e-learning modules was a major reason for choosing SkillsTown."

"We have many employees who have been part of the organization for years. That is quite unique for a retail organization like ours. All those years of experience also brings an enormous amount of knowledge. We want to safeguard that knowledge and share it with other colleagues. In our opinion, SkillsTown is very well suited for that. We use it mainly for product knowledge, instructional videos and role plays. It is a great way to give enthusiastic employees a stage and we notice that employees enjoy learning from other colleagues," says Lynn.

Onboarding of new employees

In addition to developing its own training courses, Beter Bed uses "learning lines" in the online environment. In these learning lines a combination has been made of own developed trainings and existing SkillsTown trainings. This allows new employees to get acquainted with Beter Bed.

Lynn explains, "We have a central online onboarding program. Regardless of which discipline you work for, every employee follows part of his or her onboarding process through the online academy. The learning lines here are a great way to share new knowledge. For example, we have created a learning line called "Welcome to Beter Bed!". In this learning line, employees will find a combination of existing and self-developed training courses to familiarise them with our organisation, products and attitudes at Beter Bed. In addition, we have prepared a learning line for each employee that specifically fits his or her position. In this way, we ensure that employees become even better at the role they perform."

Ultimate benefits according to Better Bed:

• Truly an expert in online learning
• Hugely customer-oriented
• Always an up-to-date offer
• The cooperation is very personal and fine
• Very wide range of learning solutions

Integrated into HR policies

At Beter Bed, they believe that training and development is an 'ongoing' process. That is why they have integrated the online learning environment into the HR policy. "Together with employees, we hold periodic end-of-trial interviews, development interviews and progress interviews. During these interviews, we look at the learning goals employees have and how the Beter Bed Academy can contribute to them. We think it is important to integrate the online academy into our HR policy in order to give it permanent attention," Lynn said.

"Once employees have seen it and used it, the response is very positive and enthusiastic."

Positive experiences on the learning platform

Better Bed has been using SkillsTown's online learning platform for about eight months now, and employees are extremely enthusiastic. Lynn explains, "We looked in the academy to see which colleagues were active. We asked them what their experience was and whether they wanted to share it with others as part of best practices. We found that this is enormously inspiring. We get back from colleagues who have worked with us for a long time that at the beginning they were somewhat critical of the new initiative. But once employees have seen it and used it, the response is very positive and enthusiastic. We have also recorded vlogs with several colleagues in which they share their experiences. This way we can inspire other colleagues to take a look at the platform as well."