Mobile Learning in the Carwash Industry

In the age of the internet, computers, tablets, and smartphones, the way we train our team continues to develop. Some companies started to move their learning and development systems into an electronic format in the 1990s with the development of personal computers. Yet, in my experience, most industries didn't complete the transition to electronic learning until much later. The advancement of electronic learning, or e-Learning, continues to develop to the point that it is easier than ever to train using this method. E-Learning has evolved into mobile learning or m-Learning.

You might ask, "What is the difference?" The answer is that there isn't much of a difference. A desktop or laptop typically facilitates e-Learning, while m-Learning is usually on smartphones or tablets. They both occur electronically, but m-Learning is portable and more accessible. For this reason, mobile learning formats and platforms are some of the best ways to train your teams. We will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of using m-Learning in the carwash industry. But first, let's look at the differences between the two major types of mobile learning platforms.

The typical way to facilitate mobile learning is either on an e-Learning course platform or through a learning management system. However, there are some differences between the two. An e-Learning platform typically offers courses and content that the employer pays for to provide access to their employees. This content can be specific to the subject or the industry. However, it is usually not specific to the company, especially for small businesses. Also, companies that purchase e-Learning platform access don't own or control the content. One significant advantage to an e-Learning course platform is that small business owners don't have to produce the content. On the other hand, the most substantial disadvantage could be that the content is not explicitly designed for their business.

A learning management system, or LMS, is typically purchased to provide you with a platform for learning. But the platform is a blank canvas. The most important advantage of the LMS is that you can use it to teach your team exactly what you want to teach them about your specific organization. The LMS is where you document all of your policies, procedures, processes, and any other training that you will provide to your employees, also known as business process documentation. The business owns the documentation and content, and this content becomes the company's playbook. However, the most significant disadvantage to a learning management system is that you have to provide the documentation and content. To develop this content, you need two things. First is the knowledge and ability to produce the content. Second is the time to produce the content. Unfortunately, most small business owners don't have both in combination.

Another advantage of having LMS implemented within your organization is the speed at which it can be updated. For example, since most of the content is stored online, you can update a policy with the click of a button. Indeed, content should be reviewed and updated annually, at a minimum, to ensure correctness and regulatory compliance.

Using mobile learning to introduce either an e-learning course platform or a learning management system, or a combination of both, to your employees at the carwash could be a game-changer for you to build an excellent carwash company. Let's discuss what we see as the substantial advantages and disadvantages of using mobile learning to assist in training your carwash team members.

The Biggest Advantages of Mobile Learning

It's Flexible

The flexibility that m-Learning provides is excellent for the carwash industry. It saves time and money from keeping paper copies or paying a trainer to provide all the information to every employee. Also, employees can work at their own pace, which means they can come back to the training later if they are interrupted. Usually, all the employee has to do is download the application and set up their login, which is generally emailed to them.

Availability of Information

Many managers can remember when almost all the processes, policies, and procedures were documented somewhere in a book or binder. How often have you had to pull out a book or binder and search the table of contents or the index to find what you are looking for? As a manager, half of the time you need to look up a policy you are away from the site and got a call you were not expecting. With a learning management system, any employee or manager can pull up policies, procedures, and processes with the click of a button. Most systems also provide a search box to search what you are looking for, anytime and anywhere.

It's Consistent and Scalable 

One of the biggest problems with starting a small business is your ability to train the employees consistently. Mobile learning gives you the ability to do just that. It trains everyone the same way, so your training program is consistent. That consistency allows you to scale your business or open other locations because you already have everything documented in one place, and everyone is being trained the same way. 

Tracking and Reporting

Most business operators and owners want the ability to pull up data and interpret that data to make business decisions. If fact, we love doing exactly that and are usually unhappy if we don't have data on something. There is no difference in the area of employee training. Henry Ford once said, "The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay." Mobile learning systems allow owners and operators to see who is and isn't trained on all subjects. You can tell who is doing what and when. You can tell when someone is ahead or behind. We want and need this data to run our organizations successfully.

The Biggest Disadvantages of Mobile Learning

Requires Internet

Most e-learning course platforms and learning management systems require an internet connection. So, a lack of internet connectivity will stop the process and is a hindrance if your carwash is in an area with lousy cell service or you don't want to provide employees with a Wi-Fi password. You may consider setting up a tablet for employees to learn on so they don't use their phones. The use of phones brings us to the next point.

Using Smartphones for Training

Most platforms have an app that can be downloaded to smartphones or tablets. Employees having access on their phones is excellent if they need to reference material or policy on a particular subject. However, if employees use their smartphones to learn, you are basically communicating to them that it is acceptable to be on their phones at work. Most of us agree that employees should stay off their phones while working at the carwash because of safety and productivity standards. Nevertheless, if you ask them to use their phones for m-Learning, you have set a double standard. As suggested above, you may consider other alternatives to phones or create a policy that states employees can only be on their phones while completing their mobile learning. 

Supervision of Work

Because most m-Learning is done by working at your own pace, employees that don't want to do other work may intentionally take longer or act like they are doing the training while doing other things. If you allow employees to complete the training at home, you may not be able to track how long it takes them. Since you can't always supervise the employee's time, we suggest that you develop a standardized way to pay employees who do training at home. This means tracking how long it takes the average person to go through the modules and paying everyone the same. On the other hand, it may be best to have the employees conduct all of their training at the carwash to be supervised in the process. Training onsite also allows them to ask questions during their training. 

Work Environment Factors

When employees conduct their training at the carwash, there will be issues with where and how it should be completed. The carwash can be loud and distracting. Employees need a quiet space such as an office or break room to immerse in the content thoroughly. Of course, there are other distractions, such as customers walking into the lobby or office and asking for help. It may be best to set up a station on a laptop or tablet with headphones so that employees can hear videos and not be distracted by other factors. 

Follow Up

Mobile learning is a great way to present employees with basic concepts and company policies. However, it is a long way from actual on-the-job training. Though electronic or mobile learning has come a long way, it cannot replace a trainer demonstrating how to do the job or the employee doing it themselves. For this reason, following up on the employee's training after they finish m-Learning modules is critical. M-Learning is only a disadvantage when the management team or trainers fail to conduct the follow-up training. If the carwash management team is held accountable for conducting the real-world training after the mobile learning, the combination becomes a great duo and source of exceptional training. 

Final Thoughts

Regardless of what platforms you decide to use at your carwash, the advent of mobile learning is something in which carwash owners and operators should invest. But, of course, this type of learning structure has advantages and disadvantages. Still, we believe that the benefits of m-Learning far outweigh the drawbacks because the drawbacks can be managed and effectively eliminated. Therefore, the question is, "How do you effectively establish mobile learning at your carwash?"

At CarwashOS, we provide you with customized training content, policies, processes, and procedures for your specific carwash so you can train your team based on your expectations. In addition, we partner with the LMS company known as Trainual. Trainual gives you all of the benefits you would see from an LMS platform mentioned here, while CarwashOS provides all of the content and sets up the services.

To find out what carwash consulting services CarwashOS provides or learn more about how we can help your carwash achieve long-term results, schedule a free 30-minute consultation.