THIS TEXT-ONLY VERSION HAS BEEN CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR MAXIMUM ACCESSIBILITY AND USE WITH SCREENREADERS, THEREFORE IT CONTAINS NO FORMATTING. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ A FORMATTED VERSION, VIEW THE PDF INSTEAD. TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING FACTSHEET Technology has tremendous potential both to increase your staff’s skills and to boost your company’s productivity. PEOPLE SKILLS TRAINING COURSES IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST FURTHER HELP AND ADVICE We asked some UK online for business case study companies for their thoughts on the role of technology in delivering training and on how businesses can ensure they have the right skills to get the best from technology. PEOPLE Few companies would consider moving offices or a radical restructure without consulting staff. However, too often technology projects are considered in purely operational terms, with little thought for how staff will be affected. All our companies agreed that the human aspect of technology mustn’t be ignored. The more radical the change, the more a business needs staff buy-in. To promote acceptance of technology, Rigibore, an engineering company, tries to foster a culture of innovation where employees are given the autonomy to develop their skills and ideas. Staff are actively encouraged to suggest how the company can improve systems and ways of working. Suzanne Bassett, Marketing Manager, is convinced that companies need to promote a much more positive view of the potential of technology. “Dare to be different,” she says. “If somebody has a belief in an idea stand by it and see it though to the end.” Nick Collins, founder of Zebra Communications, is equally positive about the need to create a sense of involvement and ownership among staff – a technology strategy needs to be overseen at board level, but it must reflect the experience of every employee. When hiring new people staff, a key consideration for Nick is their adaptability and willingness to embrace change. Examples of products and companies included in this leaflet do not in any way imply endorsement or recommendation by DTI. Bear in mind that prices quoted are indicative at the time it was published. SKILLS For David Taylor, Chairman of online bookseller Swotbooks, the biggest challenge he faces is “getting the right mix of in-house skills – understanding what you want and how your technology can help you get it.” To this end, the company has employed a blend of staff with of technical and bookselling expertise. They've also taken a pragmatic attitude towards the implementation of new technology, establishing back-up systems and carrying out extensive testing to minimise implementation risks. Owain Davies, Managing Director of Spencer Davis Engineering, takes a similar view. He urges companies to review their skills base before they make decisions about technology. “Walk before you can run,” he says. “It’s all very well investing in the tools, but you have to make sure you know how to use these tools efficiently. Don’t let the systems run away with themselves.” Our companies also agreed that getting the pace of development right is very important. Stephen Gardner, Marketing Systems Manager of chemicals supplier SwanTek said: “It's much easier to change systems than change people. Consultation is vital and sometimes you need to let people run with a system so they can feedback on what works and what doesn't. It has to be a two way process. This means you can't do things as quickly as you might want but this is a great advantage because you don't rush and you get a chance to test things and evolve.” This measured approach also proved vital for manufacturers Euroclad. Initially the company experienced a skills shortage when it tried to introduce technology solutions. However, once staff had become familiar with this system, the general computer literacy it had taught them made the roll out of other technologies much smoother. Technical Quality Manager Mark Jones says: “We're always aware that you'll never sell a system to staff which isn't better than the old system, so there's got to be a pretty demonstrable benefit for it to be successful. If the people at the top are enthusiastic about the changes and are seen to be using them themselves then that will help as well.” TRAINING COURSES Many companies were also keen on sending staff on structured IT training courses. However, with an explosion in the provision of adult education and training, it’s not always been easy for them to find reputable courses and advice. George Grainger, Managing Director of manufacturing company Phoenix Precision, praised Scottish Enterprise. “We get valuable help from them,” he said. “They’re proactive on e-commerce, and they have a training and a business development manager who visits us regularly to give support and help.” (Similar help will be available through Business Links in England and the equivalent in Wales and Northern Ireland.) Zebra Communications had a very positive experience of the online and distance learning network, learndirect. “We’ve put most of our staff onto learndirect courses,” says Nick Collins. “They’re very good and it allows staff to do the training when it’s convenient for them and us.” Other companies have preferred to use their own technology as a training tool. For example, holiday company Connoisseurs Scotland uses the Internet to cultivate relationships with trading partners by conducting online training sessions. Chief Executive Jeremy Hawking says: “Using the Internet and telephone conferencing I can train groups of travel agents all round the world without leaving Scotland where before I would have had to make 30 visits and 30 presentations.” Our final case study company was Antec International, a biosecurity company, which uses a mix of structured courses and its intranet to deliver training. The intranet is primarily used for less formal training – like briefing staff on new developments in the industry. This enables staff to react very rapidly to changing market conditions and recommend the right products to their customers. Antec is also an Investor in People company and spent £17,000 on IT training for its 60 staff last year. As Mark Blackwell, Antec's Marketing and International Sales Director, says: “We're committed to developing a culture of innovation in the company which means the need for training is constant and ongoing.” IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST RESEARCH & ANALYSE Set targets - Set goals for the training – such as improving customer service or cutting costs. - Agree specific, measurable objectives for what you want to achieve, such as reducing spending on freelancers or external consultants, greater throughput of work or a reduction in customer complaints. Cost benefit analysis Compare the costs of training (including the cost of having staff unavailable during the training period) with the potential benefits, such as greater efficiency and improved capacity. CONSULT Skills audit - Conduct a skills audit – what skills do you have in-house; what is the level of staff capability; and what level do they need to reach? - Do you have sufficient skills in-house to conduct the training yourself? Professional advice If you lack the skills in-house, contact a Business Link adviser (or equivalent if you are in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland), in the first instance, for help on how best to: - outline your requirements - establish how much you can afford to pay - scope the project - advise on implementation. PLAN & TEST Evaluate options Compare your options: in-house training, off-the-shelf solutions or bespoke packages. - In-house training might involve no outlay, but will ‘DIY’ provide the quality and level of training you need? - Off-the-shelf solutions offer a more professional and structured approach and (sometimes) training to recognised standard, but its generic nature means you need to check the syllabus carefully to ensure your needs are met. - Bespoke training is likely to be the most expensive, but does have advantages. The training provider will work with you to develop a tailored package that should meet the precise needs of your staff. Which option you choose will depend on your budget and on the complexity and level of your training goals. Try before you buy - Send a few, key staff to be trained and evaluate the course. It may be that the lessons learned can be cascaded down to other staff without the need to pay for everyone to be trained. ACT Implement training - Make sure everyone is clear why they are being trained: explain the purpose of the training to staff; what they will learn; how they are expected to contribute; and how they will be expected to use the training in their work. Evaluate - Monitor and review the impact on your business and against your objectives. - Get feedback from staff about the quality and level of the training. - Evaluate the impact after six months and a year. Have you achieved your objectives? Establish how you could improve things further. - Continue to monitor technology developments and skills levels across the organisation to identify future training needs. FURTHER HELP AND ADVICE General - www.learndirect-corporate.co.uk – a government body offering advice and online training in technology, ‘skills for life’ and business management. - www.dfes.gov.uk/ukonlinecentres – UK online centres in England give you the chance to use computers, get access to the internet and explore the opportunity for further learning through technology in a supportive environment. - www.baol.co.uk/info.htm – the British Association for Open Learning, an industry body for online learning. - www.forumtt.org.uk – the Forum for Technology in Training. It offers information on the use of technology for training, including factsheets and other publications. - www.openscotland.gov.uk – ensuring the people of Scotland have the access, skills and awareness to enable them to make use of information and communication technology. - www.e-skills.com – the Sector Skills Council for IT, Telecoms and Contact Centres, e-skills UK is the industry-driven organisation responsible for developing the quality and quantity of professional skills in these sectors. Course listings - www.trainingpages.net – TrainingPages is the UK’s largest independent directory of training on the web. It lists thousands of courses, both on and offline in business and management, finance, health and safety, industry specific training, information technology and sales and marketing. - www.underoak.co.uk – the ‘UK Course Index’ maintains an independent database of training providers and management development courses covering all areas of people development, commercial skills and IT training. - www.floodlight.co.uk – Floodlight is the official guide to part-time and full-time courses run by public-sector colleges, universities and adult education centres in all the London boroughs. Online learning information - www.elearningnetwork.org – primarily a site for online trainers containing a wide range of information and news about e-learning tools. - www.bbc.co.uk/webwise – the BBC runs a ‘WebWise’ internet skills section of its website, offering a 10-hour internet introduction course, an FAQs section and contact details for its WebWise centres. - www.e-learningcentre.co.uk – offers information about e-learning centres as well as links, articles and events about online learning. Examples of commercial providers of online training - eu.knowledgepool.com/elearning – focuses on technology training. - www.247learning.co.uk – offers technology skills and course in business skills like negotiation, project management, customer services and time management. - www.beginners.co.uk – offers online training courses and a number of free technology tutorials. - www.learningmatters.com – lets you purchase and download training tutorials. - www.online-learn.com/btp – offers interactive online learning courses in a range of technology subjects. - www.saffroninteractive.com – covers a wide range of skills, from sales to health and safety. - www.skillsoft.com – offers a wide range of e-learning courses for businesses. Examples of commercial providers of general technology training - www.inconet.com – INCONET, the Independent Consultants Network, is a resource that matches independent consultants and trainers to business needs. - www.s-nt.co.uk – offers courses focusing on system and network training. - www.stehle.co.uk – offers a wide range of training courses including technology training. - www.symmedia.co.uk – focuses on multimedia training. For real life examples of companies learning how to use technology, look at the video diaries on our website at www.dti.gov.uk/bestpractice. For more information on achieving best practice in your business: - Visit our website at www.dti.gov.uk/bestpractice - Call us on 0870 150 2500 to order from our range of free best practice publications - Contact your local Business Link adviser by visiting the website at www.businesslink.gov.uk or calling 0845 600 9 006 DTI is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion in, or exclusion from, this list does not imply recommendation, endorsement or otherwise of any company, product or service. Remember that technologies and markets change rapidly so it is always wise to undertake your own independent research. Published by the Department of Trade and Industry. www.dti.gov.uk © Crown Copyright. URN 04/662; 04/04