A flexible solution for training new employees



Sciforma GmbH, based in Taunusstein, Germany, is one of the leading providers of software, services and consulting in Project and Portfolio Management (PPM). The company implements customized solutions for customers and works with them in corporate project-teams to find the best solution. Furthermore, they not only support them with the tool Sciforma 7.1, but also with over 35 years of experience in Project Management. Bastian Schneider, Education Instructor, shares his experience with using CYPHER Matrix™.
What were the business's challenges before CYPHER Matrix?
Bastian Schneider, Education Instructor: Training new employees takes a lot of time and also for a long time it wasn’t easy for new employees to access learning content. So, we were missing a tool to optimize the right content in a suitable order. Nowadays, companies often have a lot of tools which need certain skills and knowledge. The challenge is to gather the material from all those platforms and provide it in only one platform. Many different tools offer different learning techniques: Wizards, White paper etc. What’s missing is consistency and overview. A lot of times consultants are not in the office and the access to learning material in a train can be difficult.
How did you find a solution?
We were checking the market for available solutions and selected the best one. Since not all users are learning constantly, we have the possibility to share licenses.
How do you work with CYPHER Matrix?
We train our employees by showing them a track with customized Learning Paths and combine that with face to face trainings, which we schedule with CYPHER Matrix. In addition, staff members can check their knowledge in small tests. It was important for us that no control from supervisors was needed.
Students can choose the speed of education on their own. This is important, so employees who would feel bored because of slow progress with topics that are easy for them can concentrate on more difficult ones, and take their time for these, when they need it. This way we achieve the best results.
We use CYPHER Matrix to preserve our knowledge. Employees know that they can find answers to their questions and review what they have learned. So besides learning, we use it as a reference guide. A big advantage concerning this point is the mobile app, which has a responsive design and allows us to visualize our content on phones without having to adjust the format.
Because of CYPHER Matrix, we are able to upload tool-manuals. In addition to that, we can support these manuals with descriptions and pictures to emphasize the most important content.
What results have you noticed since using CYPHER Matrix?
Due to the combination of different media (video, text, and external documents) it’s easier for our staff to understand the topics. CYPHER Matrix is the first contact point for them regarding knowledge. This means that they don’t have to think about who could have information about a certain topic. CYPHER Matrix allowed us to minimize the internal time requirements for training, because we fill it with knowledge from many different subjects and everyone knows where to find it. This enables the instructors to concentrate on other topics during the training phase.
Providing learning material on one platform instead of many different places is good for us because they have to be edited and you only have to do these changes in one place. Everyone, on an international level, who sees CYPHER Matrix, wants to use it because it’s intuitive, fast and available anywhere. That’s why we plan to use CYPHER Matrix internationally in the near future.
The team enjoys the learning system and gamification feature (King of Sciforma). Learning is not annoying anymore, it’s a possibility to expand your own knowledge and because of that to handle your job better. We have a commitment to our customers to provide them with people which are well educated in our product. So the customers also benefit from using CYPHER Matrix.
What do you like about CYPHER Matrix?
The support response times are very fast, often less than 10 minutes. If we have problems with the configuration, CYPHER Learning® helps us find a solution. Moreover, there is a development section where we can express our wishes and thereby have an impact on future features of the product.
We were able to adjust CYPHER Matrix to our corporate identity. Now the interface looks as we want it. A CYPHER Matrix plan contains unlimited storage space, so we don’t have to worry about mass data. Due to the responsive design, the learning material can be used on the go. The setting options have enough complexity while still offering an intuitive and easy to use interface for users. Everyone can manage their own learning time and pace and be independent from instructors.