Apollo-Optik's challenge
Founded in 1972 and based in the Bavarian city of Schwabach, Apollo-Optik is part of Grandvision Group and, with more than 850 stores, it is the largest optical retailer in Germany. Behind all those stores are over 1,000 managers, and the HR team is always looking for new methods and ideas to give them the best possible training and make them shine as leaders.
In search of new ideas to broaden the spectrum of learning, the team visited Learntec, a major technology fair in Germany. There, Game Strategies looked like an innovative and effective way to take their leadership training further: helping and motivating managers to become better team leaders with something innovative, digital and flexible.
- Help and motivate managers to become better team leaders
- Offer innovative, digital and flexible corporate training
- Find new ideas to broaden the spectrum of learning
The solution
Apollo-Optik started with a test: a group of managers tried the game before the experience was expanded. Interest was so high that 40 participants from different departments were finally chosen, and other countries in the Grandvision family, such as the Netherlands, Italy and Austria, took part in the test.
The game was Pacific, Game Strategies' serious game on leadership and team management. You survive a plane crash, end up stranded on a desert island and only get back to civilization by leading the other characters to build a hot-air balloon. Its lessons come from hundreds of interviews with CEOs, executives and senior managers of large corporations over more than 12 years, and with them the managers learned to set objectives, identify each team member's needs, give feedback and delegate tasks.
All of it with a simulator for learning by doing and zero hassle: players only need an email and an Internet connection. That flexibility let Apollo-Optik combine Pacific with other leadership courses and launch it in several countries at once.
The games they played
In their own words
It's a playful way to learn something new or to update something already learned. It is also a good practical exercise because you can make mistakes with only virtual consequences.
It's fun and practical. You learn while playing.
It is a varied and innovative learning approach.
The results
Over 95% of participants said they loved the game. Most agreed it was a completely different and enjoyable way of training, and that Pacific showed them new as well as familiar leadership techniques: it helped them learn new skills, revisit known tools and rethink how they approach their daily work routine.
The impact went beyond training: game-based learning also contributed to the good performance of the business itself. For the second time in a row, Apollo took first place among optician chains for service, with a Service Experience Score (SES) of 71.2%, in a ranking based on more than 1.5 million customer reviews. Encouraged by this first project, Apollo will also use other Game Strategies games in its talent and training programs.
More retail & consumer goods case studies
100%completion rateCoca-Cola FEMSA trains 850 managers in leadership with Pacific, and every one of them finishes
98%find what they learned directly applicable day to dayDecathlon trains 250 store managers in France with video games, and 98% find it directly applicable
+69%team motivation and engagementJTI boosts employee engagement by 69% and productivity by 60% with game-based learning
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