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Taking training further with global Food Travel Experts SSP Group

Global food and beverage specialists SSP Group are rolling out Attensi training worldwide, using bite-sized, game-based learning to enhance employee development. The results have been impressive, with over 500,000 plays recorded across seven countries. In Switzerland, the Attensi training platform has significantly reduced training time, contributing to measurable efficiency gains. The impact of Attensi’s solution was also highlighted in the SSP Group 2024 Annual Report.

25%reduction in staff turnover
17xrepetitions per module
75%reduction in time to create modules with Attensi AI

"Our frontline employees are by far the most important part of SSP. For them to be able to know how to do their jobs well, to treat our customers well and serve great food is the point of my job."

Steph Rosenik of SSP speaking to camera in an airport terminal, an aircraft behind her
Steph RosenikDirector of Capability ⎹ SSP Group

Frontline staff: The heartbeat of SSP

SSP Group is an organisation of food travel experts operating in almost 40 countries worldwide. The company owns and operates over 3,000 restaurants, bars, and food and beverage outlets in airports and train stations, including well-known brands and unique locations.

SSP's portfolio includes its own brands such as Millie's and Upper Crust, as well as world leading brands such as Starbucks, BrewDog and Burger King.

92% of SSP’s 43,000 staff are frontline, working face-to-face with customers. They’re the beating heart of SSP, so it's essential that they’re well-trained in delivering a world-class experience to keep customers coming back for more every time they travel.

SSP Group wanted a solution that:

Helped to engage, motivate and retain staff
Could work for teams across 40 countries and multiple continents
Inspired users to repeat their training to build their confidence
Could be developed and adapted by L&D managers in-house
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Training challenges (and solutions)

SSP, like many hospitality companies, faces some serious challenges to delivering consistent, high-quality training to its frontline staff. At Attensi, we understand these barriers all too well, which is why we worked closely with SSP to provide bespoke solutions with impact.

Time

Working in hospitality, particularly in airports and train stations, is full-on. SSP’s restaurants are often jam-packed, and frontline staff can’t be spared for large chunks of time to complete lengthy classroom-based training or e-learning modules.

With Attensi’s gamified solutions, SSP can now break training down into microlearning modules that take only a few minutes each. That means that training is no longer a heavy, one-off drain on employee time, but they can accessed little and often as part of their ongoing learning pathways.

Clearly this is having a huge impact on employees’ experience, as SSP has seen an impressive 25% reduction in staff turnover since introducing Attensi training.

“We’ve found that our employees will voluntarily restart training if they want to remember how to do something. And it’s so easy because it’s probably in their pocket and they can pick it up and do it whenever they need to.”

Steph Rosenik of SSP speaking to camera in an airport terminal, an aircraft behind her
Steph RosenikDirector of Capability ⎹ SSP Group

Engagement

It’s no secret that statutory training like health and safety or compliance has historically been considered dry or even boring. Often staff know they have to complete it, but that doesn’t mean they want to. SSP wanted to change that.

Using Attensi training, SSP has made learning fun. Virtual scenarios with realistic customer dialogue help staff to see how their training applies to their role, while gamified features like points and leaderboards add a competitive edge that keep learners coming back for more (and building their knowledge at the same time). In fact, SSP staff have repeated each module an incredible average of 17 times each.

Two men at an airport café with a holographic training interface above their laptop

“We had a colleague in Austria working in one of our units who called the HR Manager just to inform her he’d pushed her from the top position of the leaderboard. That’s exactly the engagement and motivation we want.”

Thorsten Gallin of SSP in a dark suit, speaking during an interview
Thorsten GallinLearning & Development Manager ⎹ SSP Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Language

Any global company will tell you that manually translating learning and development resources into multiple languages takes a huge amount of time and effort. But it’s essential to delivering consistent training for every member of staff, no matter where they are.

With the AI-powered Attensi Creator solution (more on this later) SSP can now translate its content into almost any language at the push of a button, producing incredibly accurate and natural results.

“Even though we’re working across different countries, languages and cultures, the impact level was consistent and the output was sensational.”

Tyrone Hylton, SSP
Tyrone HyltonGroup Operations Training Manager ⎹ SSP Group

The results

25%reduction in staff turnover
17xrepetitions per module
75%reduction in time to create modules with Attensi AI

“We’ve seen an improvement in the results of our mystery shopping and a significant increase in additional sales questions, showing we’re on the right track with Attensi games.”

Thorsten Gallin of SSP in a dark suit, speaking during an interview
Thorsten GallinLearning & Development Manager ⎹ SSP Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Taking content creation to a new level

One of the most exciting things about SSP’s partnership with Attensi, is the ability to continually create new training content. Using Attensi Creator, L&D managers can easily build new games and modules either from existing materials or from scratch.

Attensi AI supports users through the whole process, from instantly translating dialogue and instructions into any language (essential for SSP’s global team) to offering tips on improving the content to increase engagement.

With this virtual help and a whole host of time-saving tools, L&D managers at SSP have cut time spent developing training materials by a huge 75%.

“Using Attensi Creator, I know I can create something fun, engaging, different – but I know it’s going to be beneficial and educational as well. It’s almost like you’ve got a buddy with you supporting you through content creation.”

Tyrone Hylton, SSP
Tyrone HyltonGroup Operations Training Manager ⎹ SSP Group

Learning about learning: Attensi University

Attensi Creator is a straightforward tool, but that doesn’t mean we don’t provide training of our own. Through Attensi University, L&D managers at SSP Group learned everything they needed to know about creating engaging game-based learning before they got started.

Plus, through our ongoing partnership, there’s always someone from Attensi on-hand to give advice and support if ever SSP needs it. After all, SSP might be the travel food experts, but we’re the experts in learning through gamification – and we love to share our tips for levelling up content.

Looking ahead

So far, SSP Group has rolled out Attensi training in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Germany and Switzerland with many more countries on the horizon. With amazing feedback from frontline staff, it's full steam ahead for SSP and Attensi.

A man in a suit and a woman talking as they walk through an airport terminal seating area

“There’s been no negative feedback at all. The only thing staff say is ‘give me more!’ We’ll definitely continue to create new games within the Attensi Skills app.”

Thorsten Gallin of SSP in a dark suit, speaking during an interview
Thorsten GallinLearning & Development Manager ⎹ SSP Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Are you ready to level up your training?