For the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), working in a highly regulated industry like the financial market, mandatory training is imperative. But too often it can be poorly designed, leading to learning that’s time-consuming, frustrating and disengaging for employees.
In 2021, when LSEG welcomed Refinitiv into the group, bringing to life their code of conduct was more important than ever. LSEG needed to create a singular, flagship experience that took a practical look at what it means to live LSEG’s values.
So, LSEG came to Make Real to create the ‘Our Code in Action’ module, which demonstrates examples of conduct that could breach their code of conduct and the consequences – positive, negative, and neutral. This learning is anchored in global scenarios that mimic the day-to-day life of LSEG employees to create a sense of realism and relevancy.
Since its launch, the module has achieved hugely positive feedback:
LSEG was keen to move away from traditional mandatory training that isn’t contextual to the group, with implications that aren’t clearly linked to a learner’s work, and long pieces of text that learners just need to say they’ve ‘read’ to complete the learning.
Instead, the learner follows a fictional LSEG team along a series of scenarios covering topics such as competition law, conduct, sustainability and leadership. Throughout each scenario, the learner must decide which actions the characters should take, determining the scenario’s outcome.
When the scenario ends, the learner sees where they did – or didn’t – create a positive outcome. If they select an option that wasn’t quite right, they’ll miss out on filling their score bar and on snagging a value badge.
We decided that as the content is all about the behaviour expected from learners, an assessment testing knowledge wouldn’t work towards the learning goal. Instead, learners are empowered to take responsibility for their conduct by committing to the Code of Conduct.
This interactive training marked a significant departure from LSEG’s previous methods, moving away from modules that had the learner passively watching videos or reading text. The learning doesn’t simply list the do’s and don’ts of the Code – learners have to apply it to real situations and see the consequences their choices have.
Moreover, the Code of Conduct is designed to give a high-level overview of the behaviour LSEG expects. This means it can seem simple but it relies on colleagues’ interpretation. Breaches aren’t always obvious, so this interactive training aims to help learners recognise when conduct falls below the required standard and the steps they can take to address those moments.
Each scenario can be replayed so the learner can understand where they might have made a better decision, and try again for a more positive outcome. Afterwards, the learner watches or listens back to their recording, giving them a safe space to reflect on how they handled the conversation and what they might do differently in future.
Rather than flashy technology or tools, it’s the emphasis on contextual storytelling that transformed the mandatory training.
Instead of abstract situations that aren’t relevant to the learner’s daily working lives, we worked closely with LSEG to create scenarios rooted in actual potential situations. The fictional team is also made up of people who could really be working at LSEG. So, employees can see themselves in the scenarios, and better understand how to actually apply the Code of Conduct in their working lives rather.
Making the scenarios more realistic and a mirror to employees’ working lives also helped them to understand why they needed to complete the mandatory training and its relevance to their actual work environment.
Positive sentiment for ‘Our Code in Action’ has skyrocketed – a 408% increase in the number of positive comments from 2023 to 2024.
Comments from learners indicate just how engaging they found the learning:
Apart from the learners, other course owners who were hesitant about this training format are now keen to try out the scenario-based learning for their own modules. LSEG’s Talent Manager, Karen Burke, has commented on how colleagues are talking about the Code of Conduct training in offices across the world.
Mandatory training is often a tough nut to crack. Employees tend to expect they’ll be suffering through a slog of reading, or watching videos, or wading through slides, followed by tedious multiple-choice questions. This kind of learning rarely feels applicable to real work situations and doesn’t give learners a chance to apply the principles from the Code.
By making ‘Our Code in Action’ a scenario-based module, learners experience the nuance that comes with applying the code to real-life situations. These situations are unlikely to be black and white with clear-cut answers – so it’s important that learners can try out different approaches and understand how to take the best action in the circumstances.
We’re always happy to talk to you about how immersive technologies can engage your employees and customers. If you have a learning objective in mind, or simply want to know more about emerging technologies like VR, AR, or AI, send us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.