TOPGOLF & KALEO CASE STUDY
Topgolf is the premier sports entertainment complex where competing in golf meets your favorite local hangout. You can challenge your friends and family to addictive point-scoring golf games that anyone, from the hopeful pro golfer to your neighbor’s 7-year-old kid, can play year-round. Topgolf features an extensive food and beverage menu to enjoy while you’re having fun.
THE CHALLENGES
As a rapidly growing company with 33 venues and 14,000 associates worldwide, Topgolf recognized they needed a more effective method for communicating operational updates and providing Associates access to documents. Topgolf needed a tool that would resolve the following challenges:
- Associates spent too much time looking for information; a lot of time was wasted because they couldn’t find what they needed.
- Associates weren’t aware of, and therefore weren’t following, mandatory new processes and procedures. For example, in some venues, Associates were not following proper procedure when creating new memberships, which resulted in a significant number of comped memberships.
- File repository permission issues were preventing Associates from getting the information they needed.
- Associates weren’t accountable for learning and using new protocols defined by the Operations team.
- Associates weren’t able to get answers to their questions after hours.
THE DIAGNOSIS
- Information was difficult to find because it was scattered across multiple repositories.
- New processes and procedures weren’t being followed because they were being mandated through written SOPs, which weren’t consumable.
- Maintaining user access in tech systems resulted in roadblocks to the smooth transmission of communication.
- No accountability for learning and using new protocols existed because the Operations team was communicating with Associates by email.
- After hours support for non-IT questions for Associates without a Topgolf email wasn’t available because the Topgolf corporate office was only open during regular business hours in the Central time zone and all communication required email accessibility.
THE SOLUTION
After evaluating Kaleo against knowledge management and social collaboration software, Topgolf determined the system’s challenges could be remedied by Kaleo’s Answer Management application. Kaleo would tie all of their repositories together by creating a Q&A layer, surfacing bite-sized information in the employee access point of choice at any time of day or night.
Like every other company, resources were limited at Topgolf, so a big part of the decision to use Kaleo was its lightweight deployment effort. After granting Kaleo access to content for transformation to Q&A, installing Kaleo's search widget, and training a few people, Topgolf was up and running. The entire process took less than 30 days.
THE RESULTS
Access to content increased from 6% of Associates to 100%
Kaleo provides a democratization of information for Topgolf Associates, allowing Associates at all levels to access answers and consumable information. The ease of use for both experts who answer questions and members who ask questions created a quick adoption of the software and repeated return use of the platform as a source of information. Kaleo’s ability to house a variety of files has even allowed experts to upload visual SOPs (videos) to make important information more consumable. In addition, Kaleo gives Associates the ability to customize the information they receive, much as they would on social media. The overall result is that Associates have quick, easy access to the information that helps them do their jobs well.
A reduction of 500 repetitive questions per month
Prior to Kaleo, Topgolf’s HR and Operations departments received a high volume of repeat questions, some as simple as “What are our paid holidays?” or “Are Associates of Topgolf allowed any perks when visiting the Las Vegas venue?” To date, Kaleo has deflected 13,778 phone calls. This decrease allows the teams to focus on more complex HR cases or immediate operational issues rather than fielding simple, repetitive questions.
Around-the-clock support
Instead of only providing support during normal business hours, Topgolf is able to provide a 24/7 support model with Kaleo. With venues all over the world, the Topgolf corporate office supports employees across 7 time zones who work beyond normal business hours. Associates can now get immediate answers at any time of day.
Clear visibility into training gaps
Kaleo’s user permissions are simple to use. Experts and owners of boards can quickly change access without going through IT. This feature means that changes can be made in seconds or minutes rather than hours. In a Guest driven business, minutes make the difference between an excellent Guest experience and poor one. Kaleo also features excellent reporting capabilities along with support from live Kaleo team members, which has allowed Topgolf to manage contests and track compliance regarding the consumption of important operational updates. For example, Topgolf can view reporting on the number of views of a specific question, the specific individuals who have viewed that question and even the number of times a specific individual has viewed a question.
"Kaleo is helping me achieve my vision of providing the right information to the right Associates at the right time. I love that I can create visual SOPs to speak to the generation of Associates who prefer video instructions to written documentation. In addition, I am able to determine what other information is needed based on questions asked and to track who has accessed important operations updates. All of this gives me insight into how I can best serve the field operators at all levels."
– Kate Walker, Systems Design & Communications Manager
