Eni's Play&Learn as a Learning Tool for Enhancing HSE Culture
Authors: Boccitto L. , Nicotra G. , Toso M. Dal , Daulova G. , Savioli L. , Tindiglia S. 
Published: September 2024

This paper presents the foundational elements of Eni's Play&Learn recent initiative and its implementation strategy, along with the methodology and achievements, insights, and survey feedback received from Eni operational work sites. Additionally, the paper demonstrates the broader influence of gamification in company training, in particular in the energy industry, and how it can enhance safety and environmental culture.

Play&Learn initiative was developed by Eni with the assistance of a gaming platform provider in response to the evolving needs of the fast-paced nature of society and leveraging flexible technologies. Play&Learn is a micro-learning tool aimed at helping employees learn and retain Health, Safety and Environment related information efficiently. The initiative is intended to engage all levels of the company population (from managers of various levels to frontline workers) and to offer them an entertaining but effective way to learn the main HSE principles and rules with the overall objective of enhancing the HSE Culture. This initiative also aims to underline the challenge of traditional types of training methods, which sometimes fail to engage employees efficiently, and this leads to lower attention rates, and moreover to a lack of practical application of company principles in safety and environment.

The initiative is based on a gaming experience with a simple set of questions on HSE principles divided into a monthly HSE path. The player's interaction with the Eni Safety and Environmental Golden Rules, and Process Safety Fundamentals makes the learning experience more engaging and enjoyable than traditional training, involving a wider audience and achieving a better result in the application of the knowledge as the microlearning approach is more effective than other learning methods.

Key features that made Play&Learn successful include time-limited gameplay and the flexibility for employees to participate at their own pace, reinforcing knowledge retention without overwhelming participants. Furthermore, the combination of rewards with recognition through the use of a leaderboard motivates employees, creating a competitive but yet collaborative learning attitude.

The gaming experience is integrated into everyday activities, topics are injected into the game on a monthly basis, with the possibility of reviewing what was learned previously. This continuously engaging approach ensures that learning is not just a one-off event but a sustainable effort, which supports the actual needs of the employees.

A survey on the game experience was conducted to gather users’ feedback and to identify the areas of improvement for the next developments. Feedback received from Eni work sites indicates a positive response to the initiative, with over 80% of respondents acknowledging its utility for learning purposes. With the feedback, the areas for potential improvements were also highlighted, including the ideas of more interactive platform and more importantly the expansion of access to contractor personnel to ensure a holistic approach in enhancing the HSE Culture.

This paper aims to share Eni's best practice in terms of microlearning, showcasing the adoption by Eni of modern technologies and innovative learning pathways, ultimately serving the overarching strategic goal of raising personnel awareness in safety and environment, and enhancing overall HSE culture in the organization. With the help of the insights obtained from this Play&Learn initiative, this paper wants to contribute to the effectiveness of modern learning opportunities in the high-risk industries.