Case Study

Maxima Case Study: Digital Onboarding is Saving the Day

MAXIMA is the largest retail chain in the Baltics, employing 3,500 people across 83 stores in Estonia. The workforce comprises 15 nationalities with diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, ranging in age from 14-year-old interns to 71-year-old seniors. Employee turnover is typical for the retail sector at 85%, around 200 departures and new hires monthly.

3,500

Employees across 83 stores

2–3 days

Onboarding time, down from 2–3 months

50%

Savings on hotel and travel costs

30%

Of non-computer-users now online

From On-Site to Online

Previously, MAXIMA conducted onboarding at headquarters and local on-site training, which proved expensive and time-consuming. Store managers frequently prevented employees from attending training due to operational needs. Traditional training required 2–3 months to reach all employees, and some left before completing required courses. Administrative processes relied on Excel and SharePoint before the COVID-19 pandemic forced change.

One of the advantages of e-learning is that everyone can take their courses when they find a free moment.

Heldi Sakkarias

Talent Manager, MAXIMA Estonia

Necessary Qualities of an LMS

MAXIMA evaluated 20 LMS solutions, narrowing it down to 6 for detailed assessment. Selection criteria included usability for multiple instructors and trainers, excellent customer support with direct product manager access, automated planning capabilities, competitive pricing relative to functionality, multiple language support, and the capacity to manage thousands of employees. Coursy was selected as the preferred provider.

For us it was important that the system was intuitive to use, had fast support and was competitively priced.

Digital Onboarding Saves the Day

The most significant benefit has been digital, interactive onboarding training allowing learners to advance independently. Testing features maintain training quality. Centralized information improved reporting and enabled continuous adjustment. The authoring tool enables instructors to create courses directly within the system, sanitary workers complete 6 courses while customer service staff complete 12.

The number of trainees and the hours spent on courses has increased.

Benefits and More Benefits

Implementation delivered expected and unexpected advantages. Onboarding accelerated from 2–3 months to 2–3 days at full coverage. The organization eliminated 4 workplaces, reduced company vehicles, and achieved 50% cost reductions on accommodations and travel. Training shifted from 5–8 hour blocks to flexible 30-minute sessions. Unexpected benefits included unified instructor knowledge, cross-departmental collaboration, and process improvements, notably, 30% of employees without prior computer experience began using computers through Coursy.

Suggestions to Other Coursy Customers

MAXIMA recommends launching with a pilot program rather than preparing all courses beforehand, deploying technically skilled mentors to support instructors, testing training with diverse demographic representatives before launch, designating a responsible person while encouraging cross-department teamwork, featuring respected employees as video training actors, and designing comprehensive communication initiatives around organizational change.