SumTotal? Systems (Nasdaq: SUMT), the largest provider of talent and learning solutions, announced that Sheetz, Inc., one of the top convenience retailers in the nation, has deployed a SumTotal learning management system (LMS). The LMS is an enterprise software platform for managing talent as well as analyzing, storing and delivering learning. Sheetz is using the software to instruct more than 10,000 employees, across more than 320 stores, on safety, customer service and preparing food.

In terms of getting a return from its investment, Sheetz has a number of objectives: to reduce the time it takes to get an employee certified in their job area, to cut the transaction time at point of sale and to boost the accuracy of orders.

This is a new investment in technology for Sheetz, as there was previously no LMS in place. George Depetro, Sheetz senior instructional designer and a member of a multi-functional LMS project implementation team, said, "We want to drive consistency. We want people to get the same great product across the six states we serve. There's a need for rapid e-learning because we want to quickly turn around programs to our employees. With the SumTotal system in place, we believe we can train our people at the point in time when they need it most."

The LMS also will allow Sheetz to closely monitor employee performance and ensure adequate training for those that need additional help. Depetro said, "We plan to measure a lot of our stores' performance simply by analyzing what happens at the automated point-of-sale devices. If we see workers, or managers, who aren't performing on par with other stores' personnel, we can flag courses in the LMS to help those individuals bridge the gap with training."

The LMS will allow a greater degree of control for compliance. This will help Sheetz's management meet a commitment to high standards. One example of this will be delivering instruction to all Sheetz employees on their responsibilities when selling restricted goods such as alcohol and tobacco.

In the short term, the use of the LMS will be concentrated on delivering courses that show employees how to assemble food such as hot or cold sandwiches. The courses also show workers how to run point-of-sale devices. Additional courses will explain why it's necessary to use exact proportions of meats, cheeses and condiments for food preparation, all in easy-to-follow and relevant ways.

Although the emphasis is currently on training employees in the network of stores, in the longer term, Sheetz plans to use the LMS to deliver management training.

The LMS will also give Sheetz employees the option to go back to a course and get more learning when they need it. With an increased understanding of processes and procedures, Sheetz believes employee turnover should drop too. The LMS will deliver courses that teach workers how to handle multiple priorities, which will improve customer service; workers will know what to expect when a store suddenly becomes very busy.

"Delivery of consistent and efficient in-store training is a critical business problem for all retailers," said Josh Bersin, president and founder of Bersin & Associates, a research and advisory firm specializing in enterprise learning and talent management. "An integrated, easy-to-use LMS platform such as SumTotal's solution provides benefits at all levels. Corporate executives can get up-to-the-minute information on critical compliance training for stores and regions; operational managers can track employee progress and course completions; and employees are more knowledgeable and receive the just-in-time training needed to do their jobs."

Sheetz selected the SumTotal LMS because, as George Depetro explained, "The SumTotal LMS is a great fit for our needs. Being a success in our industry means Sheetz is a flexible and responsive organization that prides itself on quality and consistency. Our new SumTotal LMS reflects all of these qualities and will allow us to continue to grow our business and develop our staff, safe in the knowledge that our standards will never be compromised."