Training ROI for an Oil Major

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The Synopsis: Our client, an oil major, a Fortune 500 company, was losing market share. The last mile connect with the customer – Customer Attendants, didn’t create an impact. To address this, the client partnered with TMI e2E to train Customer Attendants across 270 outlets, focusing on upskilling and behavioural improvement to enhance customer experiences, retain clients, and drive sales of premium fuel variants, despite challenges in managing staff quality at franchisee-owned outlets.

The Challenge: The oil major faces stiff competition in India’s petroleum retail sector, particularly from competitors which have gained customers through premium service and pricing. Field research, in collaboration with TMI e2E, highlighted the need to improve service levels at the Petrol outlets. Demographic profiling of the Customer Attendants showed that they typically came from low-income family backgrounds, with low self-esteem and often were migrants from geographies in which they had not found employment. They were low on skills and motivation and went through the motions of performing the tasks assigned to them, akin to robots, for the wages they were paid. They did not have a natural inclination to go beyond the brief to make an impact on the customers or even try to have a conversation with the customers.

The Solution: The design of the program had 3-fold objectives:

  1. Make them own up the company brand as the employer and not the Retail Outlet Owner or the Manager (if it were to be owned by the oil major itself) and take pride in their job.
  2. Make them comfortable about the products, especially premium ones, the process from entry to exit of the vehicle, the quality and safety considerations.
  3. Make them confident enough to be able to have crucial conversations with the customers, based on their ability to profile the customer and make assumption on their needs.

All the above three objectives had to obviously result in growth in business – “tyrefalls (akin to footfalls in a retail outlet for shopping)”, volume growth of oil products and growth in offtake of premium products. Hard targets were not set for quantitative growth, as this was the first time that the client had attempted to deploy such a complex intervention that involved sustained inputs to Customer Attendants over 15 weeks to modify behaviors and create customer-service oriented retail outlets that would help them compete in an increasingly tough market. This pilot of 270 outlets was to help in setting hard performance improvement targets for the scale-up.

 

The Impact: The training program resulted in a marked improvement in the customer experience at these outlets. Customer Attendants are now better equipped to handle customer queries and requests and were more knowledgeable about the product they were dispensing. They were able to have meaningful conversations, drive offtake premium products, deliver more “tankful” sales (against the Indian customers normal habit of filling up for a round sum of money). This has resulted in more customers filling up at Indian Oil outlets and improved the margins of the Retailers given that the sale included higher percentage of premium products. Additionally, the Attendants felt valued as they had been given the opportunity to gain skills which would enable them to better serve their customers. This in turn improved employee morale and job satisfaction, which is expected to help in retention.

Addressing Skill Gaps

Many industries face a mismatch between the skills that job seekers possess and those that employers need. By supporting skilling initiatives, corporates ensure a steady pipeline of talent that is equipped with relevant and up-to-date skills.

Future-Proofing the Workforce

As technology and industries evolve, the demand for new skills increases. Corporate support for continuous skilling helps to future-proof the workforce, ensuring that employees remain competitive in a rapidly changing job market.

Enhanced Employee Morale and Retention

Companies that invest in the skilling and development of their employees often see higher levels of job satisfaction and retention. This reduces turnover costs and builds a more committed workforce.

Innovation and Competitiveness

A skilled workforce drives innovation and competitiveness within a company. By supporting skilling as a CSR cause, companies can ensure they have access to the talent needed to stay ahead in their industry.

Community Development

Skilling initiatives can lead to the development of more self-reliant communities. When individuals are equipped with the skills to secure meaningful employment, they contribute more effectively to the local economy and society.

Reducing Social Issues

By providing people with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce, companies can help reduce social issues such as poverty, crime, and dependency on welfare.

Empowering Marginalized Communities

Skilling programs often target underserved and marginalized communities, providing them with opportunities for economic empowerment. This promotes inclusive growth and reduces inequality.

Gender Equality and Diversity

Corporate-supported skilling initiatives can focus on promoting gender equality and diversity by encouraging the participation of women and underrepresented groups in high-demand sectors.

Positive Social Impact

Supporting skilling initiatives demonstrates a company’s commitment to social responsibility and community development. This can enhance the company’s reputation, making it more attractive to customers, investors, and potential employees.

Brand Loyalty

Consumers are increasingly favoring brands that demonstrate social responsibility. Companies that invest in skilling as a CSR cause are likely to build stronger brand loyalty and customer trust.

Enhancing Workforce Quality

By investing in skilling programs, companies help create a more skilled and capable workforce. This contributes to overall economic growth by improving productivity and innovation within the industry.

Reducing Unemployment

Skilling initiatives can reduce unemployment rates by equipping individuals with the necessary skills to secure jobs, particularly in industries facing skill shortages.

Challenge

One-time training interventions lead to poor retention in the frontline.

Training Intervention

A Continuous Learning Journey combines digital learning with trainer support, providing ongoing, personalized development. This model uses multiple touchpoints to address individual performance gaps, ensuring continuous skill improvement and real-time application. By focusing on personalized learning paths, it drives long-term growth and measurable results, empowering employees to adapt and excel.

Challenge

Large companies with large frontline workforces require extensive trainer teams.

Training Intervention

Trainer Augmentation offers a scalable solution by outsourcing your trainer capacity. This model allows you to quickly scale your training efforts without overburdening your internal resources. By bringing in experienced, external trainers, you ensure consistent, high-quality training delivery while freeing up internal teams to focus on strategic priorities. It’s an ideal solution when you need to meet growing training demands or launch new initiatives without compromising on quality or capacity.

Challenge

Uniform training for all employees fails to address performance disparities.

Training Intervention

Analytics-driven, cohort-based training identifies skill gaps using performance data. By segmenting employees into cohorts based on performance, organizations can tailor training to address specific needs, driving higher engagement and measurable improvements. This targeted approach ensures that training is effective, efficient, and aligned with actual performance challenges.

Challenge

Supervisors prioritize high performers, leaving low performers unsupported and underdeveloped.

Training Intervention

Sustenance Training offers a blended, on-the-job approach to skill development, addressing gaps in supervisor bandwidth and ensuring consistent employee growth. By combining structured learning modules with real-time support, this program provides targeted training for all employees, including those who need additional guidance. It empowers the workforce to build skills, improve productivity, and thrive, fostering balanced development across teams.

Challenge

L&D teams cut induction training due to limited capacity/expertise.

Training Intervention

Role Induction Training delivers a structured onboarding experience during the first 7-10 days. Combining company culture, policies, and values with tailored role-specific training, it equips new hires with the skills to contribute effectively from day one. This program bridges gaps in training capacity, ensuring a seamless and productive induction process..