As e-learning software company ANGEL Learning grows, it takes some creative thinking to foster customer interactions.
That’s why president and CEO Christopher Clapp created the ALL (ANGEL Learning and Listening) Tour, which hit the road for the first time this year.
Employees formed groups of three or four people from different departments and experience levels. Each group will visit schools across North America from Florida to Canada. The trip will help employees gain different perspectives from customers while having fun. Destinations were selected randomly at a staff meeting, giving some employees a coveted trip to Florida in February or a less glamorous visit to Iowa in July.
“One of the things that’s emerged is somebody bought a little gnome, and you have to take the gnome and put the gnome in a picture some place,” Clapp says.
The gnome even brings a passport so the schools can sign or stamp it from the visit.
After each trip, employees get together for a debriefing – sharing their experiences, photos and stories of fun. Also, the well-traveled can help prepare novices by offering tips on what worked during their visits and what didn’t.
“I think it’s illustrative of what we try to do as an organization – keep things stimulating, keep things fun, but keep them really focused on the work at hand,” Clapp explains. The experience helps employees learn the vocabulary used by customers, see what their facilities are like and understand their location.
With trips overlapping, ANGEL is dealing with one predicament. “We’re having gnome hand-off problems so we’re ordering a couple extra gnomes,” Clapp admits.
Read more about ANGEL Learning and what makes it a Best Place to Work in the May/June issue of BizVoice®.
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