Media room
January 13 , 2009
Assurant Employee Benefits Earns Honors for Unique Use of Technology in Training
An employee training program delivered in a fun video game format has earned recognition for Assurant Employee Benefits, a leading provider of non-medical employee benefits based in Kansas City.
The company’s “It’s Your Business” initiative was recently selected to receive the award for “Best Practices in Workplace Learning and Performance through Technology Innovations” from the Kansas City chapter of the American Society of Training and Development (KC-ASTD). The award recognizes organizations that demonstrate success or innovation by utilizing technology. The program was also honored for outstanding achievement in the category of “Establishing a Workplace Learning and Performance Culture” for demonstrating achievement of an enterprise-wide culture of learning and performance.
Designed to be different from traditional insurance employee training, “It’s Your Business” uses gamer technology to deliver information that helps employees better understand company strategy, customers, how the company makes money and how each employee contributes to the company’s success. Customized video games that employees can play on their computers were launched in modules beginning in July 2008 and will continue to be rolled out through September 2009.
“The “It’s Your Business” initiative was driven by the need for employee training to achieve aggressive long-term company goals,” said Sylvia Wagner, senior vice president of human resources and development at Assurant Employee Benefits. “We wanted to offer something different that our employees couldn’t resist and their response to the program has definitely exceeded our expectations. More than 95 percent of employees participated within six weeks of the initial module launch and participation remains high with the second module during the company’s busiest business cycle.”
