Mitre 10
How Mitre 10 are transforming their whole learning content ecosystem using Chameleon.
How Mitre 10 are transforming their learning content ecosystem using Chameleon.
Heading to Mitre 10 to pick up DIY supplies is as Kiwi as grabbing a sausage from the community fundraising barbecues outside their stores. And when you’re a national home improvement icon, you take your L&D seriously.
About Mitre 10
Mitre 10 has been a part of New Zealand’s home improvement culture since 1974. New Zealand owned and operated with a nationwide network of stores, Mitre 10 is a true Kiwi success story.
Chameleon Creator
Mitre 10 now use authoring as the vehicle for their learning culture strategy. Making the journey of creation fast, easy and beautiful.
With 84 stores across New Zealand and more than 8,400 employees, Mitre 10’s Head of Learning Experience, Nish Pai, has a big job. She started working at Mitre 10 in 2021. But she was already a Chameleon fan. Nish explains, “Chameleon came into my life at just the right time. I was working at Douglas Pharmaceuticals when Covid hit. All our training programmes were face-to-face and many hours long, and we had to make them digital overnight.”
“I knew it was going to be a nightmare to convert our learning to digital. I’d been working with Rise and Storyline. Rise wasn't a big hit. All our programmes looked exactly the same and they were boring as hell. Nobody wanted to do a Rise module. And Storyline was too difficult for my learning practitioner to get to grips with. So, I was stuck with a lot of face-to-face courses to be converted to online learning, and absolutely no support.”
“Luckily, on day two of lockdown, when we were all still learning how to make kombucha and sourdough, Josh from Chameleon reached out and offered me a free trial. I said to him, ‘Tell me how to pitch Chameleon internally.’ And he said, ‘It's PowerPoint on steroids.’”
“That ease of use was very appealing. As soon as we got Chameleon, we created a module every day for the first 30 days. We were just churning out great online learning content. I couldn't believe the rate at which we were doing our job. So, when I went to Mitre 10, I made it clear that they had to invest in Chameleon.”
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“As soon as we got Chameleon, we created a module every day for the first 30 days. We were just churning out great online learning content. I couldn't believe the rate at which we were doing our job."
Everyone became a learning designer overnight
When Nish started at Mitre 10 there were eight people in the learning team. But intense specialisation made the team inefficient. Nish recalls, “Some people were only learning facilitators, others only project specialists, others only designers. And it took the learning team two months to create one piece of learning because their tools were so unwieldy.”
Nish changed the team’s focus. “Everyone became a learning designer. Now everybody on the team knows the basics of learning design and uses Chameleon. But initially people are scared when you introduce a new technology. Even learning teams resist change. And I remember myself struggling to learn Articulate 360. It was horrendous. So, I understand how scary it is to take on a new tool and I prepare for any initial resistance.”
“However, the feedback I’ve had from my team is how easy Chameleon is to use. It’s given them a tool and taken away a barrier. They can very quickly create something interactive and start testing it with people. Chameleon has become part of our lives. People parcel off little bits of learning to build. They do their own sound. They do their own visuals.”
“It used to take two months to do a module. Now it takes a week. We could do it faster. Initially, when we started using Chameleon, we churned out content like a factory, but we only did that to play catch-up and we were converting existing material. That’s not sustainable long term. Now we’ve a robust review process. We’ve a checklist for content, style, and graphics. Our branding guidelines are strict, so we must meet certain standards. Our subject matter experts are involved in the sign off. And then each piece of learning goes through a peer review.”
“Every time I interact with them there's this feeling of being at home. I'm with people who care about the learning mission I'm on as much as I do. It's a proper partnership and that's what I enjoy the most.”
Nish Pai
Head of Learning Experience
"Chameleon has become part of our lives. People parcel off little bits of learning to build. They do their own sound. They do their own visuals. It used to take two months to do a module. Now it takes a week."
Nish Pai
Head of Learning Experience
Confidence to build a new digital transformation team
Since Nish started at Mitre 10 she’s used Chameleon to create all sorts of learning material. She says, “We've done a whole campaign on wellbeing and another on mindset. We provide technical learning to all 84 stores. We’ve a new site opening, and we’ve used Chameleon to provide important information to the suppliers working on the build.”
“But the biggest value lies in the confidence Chameleon has given me as a leader. Recently, I recruited a whole new transformation team for a huge digital transformation project. I’ve had to bring in technical experts who have SAP data processing knowledge but aren’t learning specialists, and onboard them as learning experience partners. Chameleon has given me the confidence to simplify learning. Because it’s not easy to find SAP experts. But it’s very easy to get people to understand the best practices of instructional design using Chameleon.”
“When people applied to join our new team, they were nervous, because they knew there’s a learning design component to their role. Everybody said, ‘I don't know how to design learning. I don't know how to use fancy learning design software. But I take a leaf out of Josh’s book. I say, ‘Can you use PowerPoint?’ They say ‘Yes.’ And I say to them, ‘We’ve a tool that’s like PowerPoint on steroids. Do you think you could use that?’ And they say, ‘Yes.’”
“Then as part of induction, I take people through Chameleon basics in week one because I don't want it to become this big scary monster. Initially I give them a very simple task. I don’t give them a work assignment because that makes the stakes too high. I say, go into Chameleon and use two or three features to create a two-minute intro about yourself. And once that's done, they lose their fear because they've tried the tool. The next time they use Chameleon to create a piece of learning for the business it doesn't seem that hard.”
.Tips for activating your learning champions
Nish’s next goal is to teach in-store experts how to create learning content with Chameleon. She notes, “It took me about two years at Douglas Pharmaceuticals to start getting our subject matter experts using Chameleon and it's taken me two years at Mitre 10. It's a big mindset shift to activate your in-house experts as content creators, no matter what industry you’re in.”
Nish has a few tips for activating your in-house experts as learning content creators. “Start by recognising your early adopters. These are your bright sparks, people already on the digital content creation journey. You don't have to try as hard with them. They get digital. All you have to do is give them tools to create learning.”
“The second tip is to build a foundation of digital literacy. We’re running a digital confidence campaign because I realised shop floor personnel don't have access to laptops and tablets, so they’re missing that confidence with digital tools. We're trying to change the digital culture in the organisation and Chameleon is the biggest power tool we have to show people how simple creating digital content can be. The digital confidence project has given me belief that I can raise the bar. Not everyone will be early adopters, but they won't be barriers either.”
“And then the most important point is to simplify your content creation ask. Start by asking your learning champions to give you a face-to-face training session. They run those all the time for colleagues, so it’s comfortable. Then get them to sit with you and write out the things they taught you. Show them the principles of breaking instructions down into simple steps. Prompt them to come up with real life examples. Then take them into Chameleon and show them how easy it is to translate their instructions and stories into a beautiful learning experience.”
“Chameleon really helps this process because it’s so easy to use, and there are so many ways for people to create content. They'll choose an interaction, they'll try it, it’ll look amazing, and they'll feel really smart. And at the end of all their hard work, their learning will look beautiful.”
Fun, easy, interactive learning
It’s great Mitre 10’s L&D team find Chameleon easy to use, and that subject matter experts are coming along for the ride. But how do Mitre 10 learners find Chameleon modules? Nish says, “Learners find Chameleon easy to use and the aesthetics pleasing. They enjoy the variety of interactions. It’s not click, click, click, click. It’s fun. They’re learning, but it's not boring.”
“My favourite compliment was when we launched our new learning management system with a Five Ways to Wellbeing module built on Chameleon. We gamified the learning five ways. Each way of wellbeing used a different learning interaction. And our Head of e-commerce who has huge UX design experience came back saying what a fabulous experience the module was.”
“We encourage learners to rate their learning experience. Already we’ve seen a pattern where new modules built with Chameleon get a good rating of 85%+ while older modules made on our previous software don't get as high a rating. People ask for the newer modules. And managers ask us how soon we can convert their team’s learning into Chameleon modules.”
A true learning partnership
Nish works with a lot of learning vendors. She says, “The thing I’ve appreciated most from day one is the ease of our relationship with Chameleon. I work with the international market leaders in learning software as well. I remember reaching out to one of them and saying this feature doesn't work. The timeframe they gave me for fixing it was six months down the line, and it was a feature we'd been promised when we bought the product.”
“Compare that to Chameleon. If something doesn’t work it’s sorted in days. My team regularly shares ideas for functionality and features and Chameleon’s willingness to work with us as a customer is exceptional. Our voice is important to Chameleon. Every time I interact with them there's this feeling of being at home. I'm with people who care about the learning mission I'm on as much as I do. It's a proper partnership and that's what I enjoy the most.”
Try Chameleon for yourself
If you’re looking for a quicker, easier way to create more engaging learning content, Chameleon can make DIYing your learning almost as much fun as a trip to Mitre 10.
We can’t promise you a sausage, but you can view a demo, or contact a Chameleon Consultant, to talk about a free trial.