NXT Learning digitizes cleaning training
Under the name Cleaning Academy, Borago works with knowledge services within the cleaning industry.
– The target groups for our training include janitors, supervisors, procurers, and those who are employers of cleaning companies and cleaning organizations within municipalities, regions, and public housing companies, explains Karl Henriksson, CEO of Borago.
– We were involved in developing the specification for the professional certification in facility management as early as the 90s, in collaboration with the Swedish Public Properties and the Swedish Property Owners Association, as well as a few major flooring suppliers. They identified a need to structure the cleaning work to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on floors, explains Karl Henriksson, CEO of Borago.
Digital strategy
Borago is a leader in cleaning training and for a long time focused solely on traditional classroom teaching, but already in 2016, they decided to invest in a digital strategy.
– The educational material we had was 300 pages long, and the first digital courses we developed were actually more like a book online, Karl explains with a smile. There was hardly any interaction, and after a few years, we felt the need to create e-learning courses with videos, images, and interactive exercises that are easier for participants to engage with. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and put a stop to classroom courses, we needed to quickly find new channels for our training. That’s when we encountered NXT Learning.
Modern e-learning
The first course Borago developed with NXT Learning is about how to contract and measure cleaning quality. The course is intended for janitors and supervisors working with agreements based on INSTA800, the Nordic cleaning standard. The clients include governmental agencies, municipalities, regions, and cleaning companies..
– That was a course we had only delivered in classrooms before, Karl explains. NXT Learning understood our needs, and we found an excellent collaborative approach right away. With their assistance, we became much better at developing course content. NXT Learning reviewed and enhanced our content, giving it a cohesive structure and pedagogy. They basically helped us transform a classroom course into modern, easily accessible e-learning education.
When the script and the pedagogical structure were ready, Karl visited NXT Learning’s studio to record video and audio files for the course over two days. The course was finalized in January 2021 and launched in February. Shortly thereafter, it was time to digitize the next course with NXT Learning: the Facility Management Training PRYL 2.0.
– The digital PRYL training we had was too outdated, Karl notes. It consisted of long texts. We needed a new version with modern pedagogy. So, in April 2021, we initiated a project with NXT Learning. They helped us repackage the course and develop a pedagogical structure with clear objectives and purposes for each section of the content.
In total, it’s about 30 hours of training spread across around 100 lessons. The result was a modern e-learning environment where the training is diversified with various interactive exercises.
The same course in multiple languages.
Shortly after the launch, Borago sold the course to a Finnish company and once again received assistance from NXT Learning to create both a Finnish and English version.
– In addition to Finnish, having the course available in English has truly contributed to the course’s great reception, Karl explains and continues, Many individuals with immigrant backgrounds who aren’t proficient in Finnish can now receive vocational training. Moreover, the course can be completed much faster. Previously, it took 1 ½ years to complete the training; now, participants graduate after just two months.
The training has also gained attention in Finland, where the company reached the finals in the innovation category in the Finnish cleaning industry.
Pedagogical value-added
Karl emphasizes that the collaboration with NXT Learning has made the entire Borago team realize the value of a well-thought-out structure and pedagogy in educational contexts.
– A huge added value for us has been that NXT Learning isn’t just knowledgeable about pedagogy in general, but also specifically about pedagogy within e-learning, with more interactions and clearer structure. Now, we have achieved a more consistent and modern pedagogy in our courses, which has elevated the quality of the content we had and created significant added value for us. It’s also a great advantage for the users that they’re not just reading on a screen, but something is happening, explains Karl.
New business model and new customers
Supplementing classroom instruction with e-learning has also brought about a change in Borago’s business model.
– With classroom instruction, we used to charge for the actual on-site teaching, Karl explains. Now, we cover the cost of course production first, and then we can sell it as many times as needed. This makes our new business model scalable, unlike the old one.
– Furthermore, we have also reached an entirely different set of customers with e-learning. Smaller cleaning companies with about ten employees now have the opportunity to train their staff. These are customers that otherwise would have been too small for us to engage. Now, with the material organized, we can sell it as individual courses and repackage it for each customer, Karl adds.
More courses in progress
Now Borago is looking at the next course that needs to be updated and modernized. The content is mostly ready, but it will also receive NXT Learning’s touch of pedagogy and structure.
– Now we are developing material for new digital courses, and the direction will depend on what our customers demand. We will be revamping and developing 2-4 courses per year going forward, concludes Karl Henriksson.
