Dis-Chem Pharmacists Train on the Go with Smart Cnnect

In-store advertising innovator Smart Media has partnered with e-learning provider Cnnect to launch a game-changing new way to train all Dis-Chem pharmacy staff on the move. The Smart Cnnect app is a digital training experience tailored for Dis-Chem nationwide.

“As the exclusive training partner of Dis-Chem, we have been looking at more innovative ways to address the product training requirements of the pharmacy group. To this end, we are proud to launch the Smart Cnnect initiative in the form of a mobile application that will replace physical training, especially in times where face to face interactions are at risk,” says Cecil Ungerer, Chief Sales Officer at Smart Media.

Multi-faceted training
This mobile digital training app is unique in several ways. It provides pharmacy staff with the required category, product, and continuous professional development (CPD) training they need, all using their mobile devices. Traditionally, access to pharmacy staff for product training has proven to be quite a costly exercise and tedious process with limited measurability. It also caused significant business disturbance to some of the pharmacy staff and the Dis-Chem branch receiving traditional training.

“Smart Cnnect puts our training in the pocket of every pharmaceutical staff member through technological innovation. It features an interactive environment with a gamified approach that makes the experience more fun and interactive. Through our partner Cnnect, we can provide expert training on a supplier’s product and get valuable insights on the engagement rate through analytics to customise it according to the pharmacy staff members’ CPD requirements, skills development, as well as addressing other needs as well,” adds Ungerer.

Micro-learning modules fit training into daily downtime
Gone are the days where training took huge chunks of time, causing business interruption and leading to poor information retention as trainees were overwhelmed with new facts. Pharmacy staff can now train at any time of day and from anywhere as the app consists of micro-learning modules. A quiet gap in the day that would normally be idle turns into a fast, fun opportunity for training and infotainment with high engagement rates.

Smart Cnnect’s micro-learning modules also make it easier to manage content authoring across the different product categories. Access to training is never interrupted because the app features offline training capabilities and tracking, which minimises internet connectivity issues and the need to complete training in-store.

Mobile innovation means highly engaged daily training
Since its soft (POC) launch at the end of last year, Dis-Chem pharmacy staff have already logged more than 3 500 training hours on the app. On average, pharmacy staff across the group spend 1.5 hours per day training. And on a more individual level, this works out to almost 20 hours per person training on Smart Cnnect. To date, almost 51 000 training sessions have been completed with a significant 90% engagement rate.

“We are living in a digital, connected world. The days of traditional training are becoming a thing of the past. The success of Smart Cnnect is illustrating the importance of embracing innovative technology and delivering all Dis-Chem pharmacy staff with more efficient ways to train and gain an understanding of the products they work with daily,” adds Ungerer.

While the offering will initially focus on the pharmaceutical side, plans are already in place to expand this mobile training innovation to a broader market later this year.