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Marc Van Hoeck, COO at Organic Bakery De Trog, decided to commission an interactive and adaptive app. The aim: to train employees and maintain their knowledge about the process and De Trog's housekeeping rules at a consistently high level.

The customer's need

The idea of the app matured at De Trog after a brainstorming session about how to motivate and supervise temporary employees more effectively when they start working at the bakery. De Trog is a food company. Hygiene and (food) safety must therefore be guaranteed, and quality comes first in De Trog's mission and vision. The challenge was to guarantee that level of quality in a multilingual environment with an alternating group of temporary employees. And it had to be fun and interesting for the permanent employees who were training the new people: they regularly need to have their knowledge refreshed without it becoming boring. Last but not least, it had to be possible to include every change in the working method in the training module.

The solution

The solution that NewBird came up with integrates all of the above in a simple app called BakeryBattle. The app has a game format with a learning curve that encourages repeated use. The app is installed on a smartphone or tablet and can also be used on the PC. Its use is stimulated by the game format, because employees challenge each other to play knowledge ‘battles’. Every battle consists of different questions, with or without illustrations. People by nature like to compete with each other, and the game is based on that principle. They learn the important rules in the meantime. After a battle, players can also check the answers to the questions. The game format has different levels, from easy to advanced. Different categories are also possible during the game, such as “My first day”, the warehouse, the packaging department, the bakery, and so on.

New employees play BakeryBattle during their induction period. The BakeryBattle is also played three times a year over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. That brings the employees up-to-date again. The game results include an evaluation. More than 100 employees, suppliers and external technicians are currently playing the game. The game is used to assess their level of knowledge. If their score is too low, they can be refused access to the bakery or to particular activities.

The benefits

De Trog benefits from this concept in a number of ways. New employees can be deployed in the short term, and the management can keep close track of the knowledge level of the individual employees and provide additional training for people who need it. The participants are positive about the app and feel it is user-friendly. They particularly like the game format and the learning element. The game has also further improved the atmosphere in the company.

Technical environment

The software is a Web application that runs as an App on IOS and Android. Development tools: Backbone (front-end), Angular (back-end) and Cordova (app build).

The parties

valueXstream is a team of experts, consultants and project and interim managers who specialise in supply chain management and optimisation. The main focus is on the operational organisation and the processes related to demand forecasting, stock management, warehouse and transport management, production, and the like.

NewBird is a digital agency that specialises in behavioural science, (game) design and technology. We help organisations tackle the challenges of the digital age with design-based thinking, rapid prototyping and digital production.