An effort to ensure the safety of Defence Housing Australia (DHA) staff has been awarded top honours at this year’s Australian Institute of Training and Development Excellence Awards.
DHA’s Physical Security Awareness learning module for staff, a collaboration with Endeavour, was created using realistic scenarios regarding potential threats to assist staff should they ever find themselves in similar situations in their everyday role. It beat 11 other companies from across the country to take out the Best Use of Technology for Learning category.
‘This was a delicate task as we did not want to misrepresent their clients as dangerous, but nevertheless needed to alert staff to the risks inherent in their customer-facing roles,’ Chief Operating Officer Madeline Dermatossian said.
‘Video was chosen as the optimal technology to trigger the required emotional response in staff, approximating real life as closely as possible.’
To further enhance staff engagement, the module was presented as a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ interactive comic strip. This combination of technology allowed the dramatic scenes to unfold differently depending on the choices made by the learner.
‘An overwhelming 82 percent of staff reported being “pleasantly surprised” by how engaged they became in the module. A huge achievement for a compliance module!’ Ms Dermatossian said.
DHA’s online survey also captured a high level of confidence following completion of the module, with 83 percent of respondents indicating increased confidence in safeguarding themselves and their workplace from physical security threats.