GreenTech meetings: how Devoteam trained its employees in green IT with an escape game

From September 18 to October 8, 2023, the Semaines Européennes du Développement Durable (SEDD, the European Sustainable Development Weeks) took place, an event aimed at raising employee awareness of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After a first session earlier in the year with the CSR ambassadors from the group's different entities, this was an opportunity for Devoteam to raise awareness of these issues among all its employees and to launch its upskilling program on the topic.

The Wokies met Magali REGNAULT (CSR Director) and Hervé DUMAS (VP Sustainability), who share their feedback after rolling out 3 new sessions of our green IT serious escape game.

Can you tell us about the context that led to the decision to run a serious game on responsible digital?

Responsibility is at the heart of our model. Our vision "Tech for People unlocks the future" and our mission "Empower our clients to imagine and realize better change" clearly set out what we want to do with tech: put it at the service of people and of a better world, because we are convinced that tech is part of the solution to our major social and environmental challenges.
That said, let's not fool ourselves: tech can also have negative externalities, which we must control and limit as much as possible.

We have to lead two transformations side by side: digital and sustainable. Our clients and partners are more and more aware of this, and they expect their technology partners to be able to support them on these topics and to be in tune with these concerns. On one hand, they want to continue and speed up their digital transformation to get all the benefits from it. On the other hand, they see the move to responsible digital as a necessary condition for the long-term viability of their business model, and not only as a question of ethics or compliance.

So, even though Devoteam has a team of responsible digital experts, it is essential that every employee, whatever their role and level of expertise, understands the fundamentals of this fast-growing field. The goal is for everyone to be able to apply the principles of responsible digital in their daily activities and across all their assignments.

To support them in this double transformation, we have revisited our responsible digital offerings:

• With 5 dedicated offerings: Sustainable IT strategy, Sustainable IT foundations, Tooling for sustainable IT, Eco Design, GreenOps as a Service
• With 3 principles to embed responsible digital in all our operations.

An ambition like this can only be achieved through employee training.

The first step was therefore to raise our employees' awareness of the major issues, key concepts and orders of magnitude related to responsible digital. That is why we offered them this green IT escape game.

We also launched a "Sustainable IT fundamentals" certification based on the MOOC of the Institut du Numérique Responsable with ambitious goals: 3,000 certified people by the end of 2023 (including 100% of the Executive Committee and 100% of our Tech leaders) and 100% of our employees in 2024.

How did you hear about the serious escape game? What motivated you to set up this format?

After a first meeting at the GreenTech Forum 2022, we ran a first session with our CSR ambassadors at our January 2023 kick-off.

The goal was to offer a fun and educational activity to our representatives in more than 20 countries.

After a successful first session, the choice to run 3 new sessions during SEDD 2023 was a natural one, for several reasons:

1. Easy to deploy: as an IT services company (ESN) with international employees, most of whom work on assignments at client sites, we needed a short digital format to bring on board employees in every country. The serious escape game, which lasts 1.5 hours, was the ideal solution compared to other 3-hour workshops such as the Fresque du Numérique.
2. Rich content and a global view: the quality of the content, which gives a complete overview of the environmental challenges of more responsible digital in 5 steps, was a must for rolling out the format and building a common base of knowledge for all employees.
3. A format suited to remote work: the fun and collaborative nature of the game, which makes every participant an active part of the progress, also tipped the balance.

As an organizer, and then as a player, what did you particularly appreciate about this format?

As an organizer, the turnkey side is very much appreciated. The only thing we are responsible for is recruiting participants, and suggesting teams if we have specific requirements for how they are made up. The Wokies takes care of the rest.

On our side, we communicated through our internal social network, and the sessions were relayed locally by internal communications and the CSR ambassadors. Registration was also available through the intranet page dedicated to SEDD.

As a player, we saw very positive changes in the platform between the test in January and the sessions in September. In particular, the video call is now built directly into the platform, which made exchanges much smoother and strengthened the collaborative side. The puzzles are fun and well paced. It is also a chance to meet colleagues from other entities.

From a learning point of view, the summary at the end of the game gives a good recap of the knowledge covered.

What feedback did you receive from users about their experience with the game?

User feedback on their experience was extremely positive. 75% of participants answered the satisfaction survey. Here are some key figures:

• Overall rating of the activity: 4.80/5
• Learning rating: 4.46/5
• 100% liked the storyline and would recommend the activity to a colleague.

These results show a very satisfying experience, both in terms of fun and learning. They prove that the game was well received by participants.

How will your collaboration with The Wokies continue, and what other formats could take you further?

We will keep offering sessions to our employees because the format has proven its worth.

At the same time, we also need to go further and offer certification training. Our goal is to reach 3,000 certified people by the end of 2023 (including 100% of the Executive Committee and 100% of our tech leaders) and 100% of our employees in 2024.

This serious escape game therefore fits perfectly into a broader training program. It was a great experience, and I recommend that as many companies as possible try it!

So what are you waiting for to add this fun, educational tool on responsible digital to your awareness program? Let's talk!