EVs are the future of the automotive industry. Running a Shared EV fleet is operations-heavy, be it having Yulu EVs in right zones or demand centers, relocation of our EVs or training on-field mechanics who maintain these EVs in good riding conditions. What makes the shared EV fleet at Yulu tick 24×7 is the dedicated work of our field staff. They keep the wheels of our vehicles running efficiently, day & night, rain or sunshine. 

Most of our Field Staff come from rural backgrounds, with little or no specialised education. So how do we equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills required to perform their day-to-day tasks in running a specialised platform like ours, that serves multiple e-mobility solutions like Shared Mobility, Intra-city Delivery or Battery-as-a-Service. 

This is a question our Learning & Development (L&D) team have been striving to solve from the inception of our business. Better training means better skills imparted to our field staff, that translates to better customer experience and business growth. The L&D team at Yulu train our field staff on the process, product and specialised skills of running EVs. 

Yulu Training Philosophy

Our field staff comprise pilots and screeners who swap batteries and look after the road-worthiness of our EVs, operators and drivers who relocate our shared EV fleet and batteries, and Marshalls who look after the safety of our assets. There are also warehouse and assembly personnels, mechanics, repair and maintenance personnels, who look after our vehicles, and Yuma station commanders who oversee our battery swapping stations.

Yulu L&D training philosophy is structured on 3 key pillars:

• Hands-on Learning: Our learning process encompasses extensive instructor-led training which includes practical demonstrations and hands-on learning.
• Audio-Visual content: AV content takes priority over text-based content to accommodate many levels of literacy as well as to make the content more attention-grabbing for people not familiar with classroom training. Most of our training materials are developed in-house. 
• Tech & Innovation: Continuous innovation for better engagement and effectiveness is something that our L&D takes pride in. We try to bring innovation in modes of training. We also strive to bring the most cutting-edge tech to training via the introduction of 3D interactive content and Augmented Reality (AR) content, to improve learner engagement.

Innovations in Yulu L&D  

The process of learning has changed and has become more personalised and immersive with new innovations in training aids & methods. We understand this and thus try to engage the learner in ways that are familiar to the world that they live in, where they are constantly subject to multimodal engagement. We today use gamified smartphone apps developed in-house apart from hands-on training on physical parts for better learning. 

Multiple languages is also at the core of our content development strategy, as our field staff have varied first languages. Our trainers speak multiple languages. We also use conversational language instead of technical jargon in our training, so that our field staff can easily understand the course content. 

So the next question arises – How do we assess if our field staff understand what we are teaching? We found out that text based questions tend to be time consuming if done orally. So, apart from text-based assessments, we have developed tests that are interactive like drag and drop tests, app simulation tests, voice based question and answer, simulation for decision making like in the case of battery swap, audit of assets, etc., to help overcome the literacy barrier and give us an accurate picture of their learning effectiveness.

Training for Yulu & Beyond

The training scope of our field staff is not limited to only hard skills but also behavioural and workplace skills, like interacting with managers and customers, workplace ethics, periodic self-assessments, etc. This helps our field staff develop necessary soft skills needed in a workplace and grow within the organisation. Also, since most of our field staff work in customer facing touchpoints, it helps in their ability to communicate adeptly with our customers. 

Our Field Staff strength is more than twice the strength of our in-office staff. Despite India seeing rapid economic growth, close to 90% of workers still remain employed in the informal or unorganised sector, according to government estimates. Yulu EV learning modules have enabled youth from rural backgrounds to secure skilled & semi-skilled jobs in the formal sector, at Yulu and beyond, and helped them understand the nuances of formal employment. 

We have also incorporated specialised training to help our Field Staff know about mainstream HR and employment policies while working in the formal sector like incentive structure in salaries, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) & Provident Fund (PF) benefits, and Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) at Workplace policies. This helps them develop a holistic and broader understanding of the world of work, makes them more employment-ready beyond their current role and organisation, and grow sustainably in their individual careers.