Case studies in this section
Learning Contracts at Surrey County Council
The pilot programme
In July 2002 Surrey County Council introduced a pilot programme designed to improve the IT skills of staff working within the Sustainable Development Service (formerly known as Environment).
126 staff were chosen by a mixture of nomination by their heads of department, needs identified on their performance review, and self selection. All were give the opportunity to pursue the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). This qualification enables people to demonstrate their competence in computer skills across seven modules.
Staff were supported in acquiring and demonstrating the necessary skills through a combination of CD Rom, supplied by a company called Electric Paper, access to ECDL reference material on the Intranet, in-house courses and a clinic/coaching session. ECDL testing was conducted by external consultants. The target for this initial group of 126 staff was 50 per cent to have completed the whole qualification and 50 per cent to complete at least four modules.
Producing a learning contract
A key part of the initial process was the production of a learning contract. This was signed by the individual and his or her manager and signified that both parties were supported to the pursuit of the qualification. Most importantly the manager would ensure that the participant was allowed at least two hours a week to pursue the ECDL.
This idea of the learning contract has been continued in the next phase of the Surrey County Council ECDL project. This phase will involve some 200 staff across the full range of Council activities. They will be chosen using the same approach; the learning opportunities will be similar, though the clinics/workshops will be limited, as they proved less popular with the pilot learners. Tests will be taken in-house and as a result the costs will be considerably reduced - for each participant department will be charged £145 as against £300 in the pilot.
John Adcock, the County ICT Training Manager, feels that learning contracts have significant benefits for this sort of programme. However, he also feels that some people in the pilot stage underestimated the time involved and failed to sustain the necessary progress. As a result the learning contract has been changed so that the milestones in terms of modules completed are made more explicit. In his view this will greatly assist in clarifying the responsibilities and commitments of all parties involved. Extracts from the contract are shown below.
Course Details
The European Computer Driving Licence will be the accepted standard for IT skills at Surrey County Council and is an internationally recognised Information Technology qualification. After successfully completing the course, candidates will be equipped with all the core applications for using a computer at work.
The Candidate
- I understand the nature and requirements of the course and the commitment needed to complete it.
- I undertake to complete a minimum of 2 modules every 3 months.
- I agree to inform my Line Manager if I can't continue.
Line Manager
- I understand the benefits of this training to the candidate and agree to provide protected time per week to enable the candidate to complete the course.
- (2.5 hours protected time per week is recommended for full-time staff - this includes test time).
- To inform the Test Centre Manage if the candidate is unable to continue.
View other case studies in this section
Learning Through Team Reviews at Rolls-Royce
Change management
East Kilbride, in Scotland, is one of 17 worldwide locations that form Rolls-Royce Aero Repair and Overhaul Business. Some 1,100 people are employed at East Kilbride, the majority of who are skilled engineering craftsmen who are servicing a range of civil and military engines for over 90 contracted customers. It is a demanding high-technology engineering business.
The team review forms an integral part of a change management process that has transformed the business. At the start of the change process in 1998 the business was facing serious problems in an increasingly competitive market. Customers were dissatisfied, and turnaround times for repairs were unacceptable. The turnaround delivery time for the Pegasus (a military engine) in 1996 was 260 days; to put this figure in context, by 2001 this had been reduced to 58 days. The firm's reputation was suffering and staff morale was poor. A particularly high profile example occurred in 1997 when an aircraft carrier was ready to sail to Hong Kong at the handover of the territory to China. Sailing was delayed because a Harrier jet engine had not returned in time from East Kilbride to be refitted to the plane.
The overall change strategy focused on two main themes, that of processes and people. There were a number of elements to both these themes, including re-engineered processes, the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system, team-based working, a management re-organisation and the use of the balanced scorecard. These were seen as an integrated whole and a key aspect was engaging employees in the organisation. According to John MacInnes, the Organisation Development Executive involved at the time of the change 'traditionally we paid our workforce for their skills, but we didn't have the processes in place to tap into their knowledge.'
Team-based learning
Team-based working was an essential part of the change process. This was seen as a move from a command and control style of management to a leading and coaching style. There was a sustained effort to allow teams to own and resolve their own problems through knowledge sharing within a supportive environment. Team-based working began in 1998 and the change could be said to have been firmly embedded six years later. However, the devolution of responsibility through increased empowerment is a continuing activity.
The formal elements of team-based working are a regular team review, an allocation of and acceptance of team roles and responsibilities, and senior management sponsorship. A team of between 15 and 25 members is committed to hold a team review every four weeks; this is the formal means of allowing the team to review performance against agreed objectives. A team review session will last about one and a half hours and is run by the team members. There is a preset agenda which includes, turnaround times, work in progress, quality, cost performance, production scheduling, process improvement would be discussed and the 'softer' human resources and team working issues are also dealt with. All members of the team are encouraged to take on a specific role to support this team working. These roles would involve responsibility for co-ordinating capacity planning, finance and budgeting, risk assessment, the control of consumable items (those used up in the repair and overhaul process) through to a holiday champion.
The team coach
A critical team role at the time of the change initiative was that of team coach. This was an individual selected from within the organisation, against a specific criteria, provided with 14 days of off-the-job training and development, and charged with facilitating the team-based working process from within 'to create a vision that team members find inspiring.' This role was designed to facilitate effective team-based working. Initially the team coaches were expected to play a central influencing role with the team; they were then expected to operate as part of the team supporting where appropriate; in a third and final stage, when the team had demonstrated their ability to operate on their own, they would disengage from the team and move onto other activities. A number have become production managers. In addition, each team has a senior management sponsor whose role is to assist the team overcome any issues that prevents the team from making progress.
The results of this change strategy have by any standards been impressive. As has been noted, turnaround times for repair and overhaul have improved dramatically. Profitability has increased: the business has expanded. The team review plays a pivotal role in the improvement process through empowering the workforce and thus improving morale and commitment. It is fair to ask, however, to what extent is this a learning initiative? Like many change initiatives it involves a team-learning element linked with knowledge sharing and performance improvement. In addition, an inevitable by product of a process of devolved management is individual development of those who are shouldering additional responsibilities. Presenting at team reviews can be a challenging experience. This is particularly true if the business director is present: these more senior managers attend one or two team reviews each week.
Skills matrix
What links the process firmly to individual learning, however, is the skills matrix. This is a chart that maps the current capabilities of all team members against business requirements. These capabilities embrace both essential engineering skills and the softer skills and competencies involved in team-based working. Thus the current capabilities of any team member are made evident to all the team and the team is encouraged to work to find a solution. One of the roles is that of training co-ordinator and a solution based on on-the-job learning within the team will be sought. One essential factor to be considered is the immediate importance of the current business competence requirements; another is the overall level of competence within the team. If a need is recognised as important, and is best met through off-the-job training, a solution will be found, possibly using the facilities of the company learning and development centre located at the East Kilbride site. Generally, however, with team-based working and learning the amount of off-the-job courses has declined and 'menu-based' training has become less important.
With this method of working, roles and responsibilities have changed. The role of the line manager has become more strategic, though there is still a need for the performance management role, driving process improvement and dealing with sub-standard performance. The heart of the process, however, is self-management within teams leading to the delivery of business excellence.
View other case studies in this section
Protected Learning Time within Enfield Primary Care Trust
Background
Enfield Primary Care Trust is responsible for the health care provision for the population of a large London borough. In addition to taking responsibility for the Trust's 900 direct employees it also provides support for General Practitioners (GPs) and their staff. There are just over 60 practices in Enfield, which range in size from GP practices employing no more than three or four staff to larger group practices which employ as many as 20 staff.
Encouraging HR best practice for such a diverse group is not easy. Some GPs are committed to effective knowledge and information sharing at a professional level and carry this ethos into their practice by encouraging all of their staff to learn and develop. Others question any time spent on staff development.
Promoting HR best practice
Gillian Morris, the HR Manager at the Trust who carries responsibility for promoting HR best practice amongst this group, stresses that she must proceed through influence: 'pointing out the benefits and highlighting the risks'. There are however some opportunities to advance effective learning and one of these is the review of critical incidents. All incidents, clinical or non-clinical, which could have patient or organisational implications, must be reported to the Trust. GPs and their staff are encouraged to review and learn from such incidents.
To assist the process, and promote learning more generally, in 2002 the Trust introduced a protected learning time (PLT) initiative. Each of the three localities in Enfield (Enfield North, Southgate and Edmonton) holds an event once a month. Attendance for GPs and their staff is mandatory, though enforcement is difficult and procedures are currently under review. To support the initiative, and underline its importance, locum GP cover is provided by a GP or co-operative, which is paid for by the Trust. This ensures that while the practice is training, patients will still be able to receive medical attention.
Learning through shared knowledge and experience
These PLT events, which last half a day, are organised by a member of the Trust's staff who has specific responsibility for this activity. GPs and practice staff are asked to contribute items for consideration on future agendas. Each of the three localities, however, has a designated lead GP who will carry responsibility for determining at least part of the agenda. Often, this will take the form of a facilitated discussion on an important recent critical incident. In this way, as well as protected time, there is a strong emphasis on learning through shared knowledge and experience.
View other case studies in this section
On the job training at Roseland Care
Background
Care of the elderly is one of the biggest growth areas in employment. It is a challenging activity which may not seem immediately attractive to a job seeker. It is not highly paid; the work can be physically demanding, and the tasks that are undertaken may appear mundane. However, the job can be immensely satisfying with appreciative clients who value the contribution that effective care makes to the quality and dignity of their lives.
Roseland Care Ltd and Residential Home, which is located in Cornwall, offers accommodation and support for 31 residents, all of whom are over the age of 65. Round the clock (7 x 24) cover is provided by staff who are managed and led by Mrs Joy Floyd-Norris, a qualified nurse who is Roseland Care's matron. Some 45 staff are employed at the home, involved in care work (by far the biggest category), maintenance of the property, the preparation and serving of meals, cleaning and laundry. Many of these staff work only part-time; some only evenings or nights.
Given the difficulties in recruiting, and the imperative of retaining staff, Roseland Care places great emphasis in creating opportunities for development, particularly for those involved in the delivery of care.
Developing the care staff: induction
Residential care is highly regulated. All homes must be visited at least twice a year (one announced, one unannounced) by the Commissioners of the Social Care Inspectorate. There is therefore a compliance aspect to much of the training. One Inspectorate requirement is that effective induction arrangements for new joiners are in place.
However, Joy Floyd-Norris is keen to emphasise that what's at issue are standards of service rather than compliance. In her view the defining characteristic of good residential care is the ability to deliver to clients whatever they may require at the time to live a 'happy and contented daily life'. This may involve dressing, feeding, transporting or assistance with personal hygiene. However, all these tasks need to be undertaken by the carers in a way that maintains the dignity of the resident, whatever their physical needs. In Joy Floyd-Norris' view these skills and attitudes can only be learned effectively on the job. Induction training at Roseland therefore proceeds as follows. All new joiners working on caring duties are given an induction pack which lists some 30 items or activities that they must be capable of undertaking. The list, which was prepared by Joy Floyd Norris and her deputy, involves some 'technical' items (using a hoist to lift a patient for example) and well as the softer skills of personal care (procedures for washing a patient, for example).
On joining, the new member of staff is assigned another experienced carer who will act as mentor throughout this induction period and will demonstrate and give guidance and feedback on these identified tasks.
Joy Floyd Norris argues that this is effective because: 'High standards must be installed at the very beginning and embedded throughout. How to behave to a resident is something that can only be acquired if you see it being done in practice.'
Given this stress on standards, Roseland Care is confident that the mentors identified are capable of fulfilling their role as on-the-job trainers.
Developing the caring staff: beyond induction
Induction takes some three or four months, and caring staff are encouraged to progress and acquire recognised care qualifications. Of the 30 staff involved in care, six are qualified nurses but the remainder will have few if any qualifications before joining Roseland Care. A typical joiner will be a woman who has some care experience within the family, but could be wary of examinations.
As Joy Floyd Norris puts it: 'If you haven't completed qualifications recently it can be frightening to re-start. Committing yourself to paper to demonstrate knowledge can be particularly daunting.'
Roseland Care can claim a record of success. About 60 per cent of caring staff, discounting the qualified nurses, will go on to secure a NVQ qualification in care at levels 2 or 3. After induction the next stage is to proceed through a foundation course. A local college provides this, but they deliver all the training support at the residential home itself. Topics will include etiquette, checking against and detecting abuse, diversity issues - all of these topics are supported by workbooks. After success in a multiple choice examination a certificate is awarded.
The next stage is to proceed to study the competency-based and assessed NVQ at a local college, generally St. Austell. For staff under the age of 25, this will form part of a Modern Apprenticeship.
Motivation to learn
Although Roseland Care has been successful in encouraging care staff to proceed through this development path, ultimately it must depend on learner motivation. There can be no compulsion.
Joy Floyd-Norris emphasises the importance of adjusting the approach to make it easy for those who are tentative. The emphasis on on-the-job training and the delivery of the foundation course in the home rather than at College are two examples. She does however recognise that people with low levels of literacy may need extra support - the ability to complete a chart, for example, is part of the job. Arrangements were made for one carer to receive special support in written work during her time off, and the person concerned progressed to level 2 NVQ over time. It is important that people are allowed to proceed at their own pace and it is made clear that however long staff have been employed at the home it is never too late to begin. There is always support for them to acquire relevant qualifications.
View other case studies in this section
One-to-one IT training at Transport For London
Background
Transport for London (TFL) is a large, high profile organisation which faces the considerable challenge of planning, arranging and delivering the bus and underground services which serve the needs of the capital city. London Underground, which is the main focus of this case study, employs 12,000 staff in total of whom some 2,500 are office-based management and administrative staff. In late 2002 TFL recognised that they faced a particularly difficult challenge following the introduction of a new system. Their experience led them to reconsider their approach to training in IT skills.
The skills and knowledge required.
As part of a wider business improvement programme, London Underground planned to introduce SAP (an enterprise resource planning system). This would include a number of modules including HR, finance and procurement. Implementation was planned for spring 2003. However, in November 2002 the project team responsible expressed concern that the IT skills of potential users were not of the levels required to permit acceptable use of the new system's functionality. One thousand London Underground staff were involved but the problems experience by one group offers an illustration. Some 120 operational trainers would need to use the SAP system to record their progress on delivering training to drivers and station staff: such training could concern safety issues, and precise recording and early input of results was essential.
Those responsible for IT training in the learning and development team realised that prompt action was required. How could basic IT skill-levels be diagnosed rapidly and appropriate training put in place? The problem was not complex - what was at issue was some straightforward skills and knowledge mainly reporting to the core Microsoft Products - but the timescale was tight and budgets constrained.
According to Tom Harlow, the member of the learning and development team responsible for developing their approach: 'Even at the outset we had doubts about whether the traditional approach of a one or two-day course could deliver what would be required'.
The first step in defining the approach was to send the now 1,100 staff involved a questionnaire, which asked them to assess their current capability. This consisted of some 40 statements covering the main applications. The importance of this questionnaire was indicated by advance e-mails and underlined by support, in the business, from senior management. As a result over 90 per cent of questionnaires were returned within the three-week deadline and it was possible to proceed to the next stage of the training needs analysis - the review of the results.
One obvious way of analysing the data was to consider a number of identified needs or deficiencies. There was a proportion, some 15 per cent of respondents who had no needs. This group required no additional training. There were a range of intermediate needs and some 120 who recorded more than 20 needs; this population clearly needed to advance a great deal if they were to reach required standards.
The solution adopted
For the population as a whole the following options were considered:
- First, a training course or workshop. Using the information from the training needs analysis it would be possible to group people with similar needs and these courses could be targeted more effectively.
- Secondly, work based coaching, offering individual tailored tuition delivered by WWP trainers, a main supplier of TFL's IT training, at the employees' desk.
- Thirdly, for someone with few if any, identified needs, tips e-mailed to them at their PC.
- Fourthly, again mainly for those with limited needs, direct personal support through a telephoned helpline manned by WWP staff.
A thorough examination of the training needs analysis by Transport for London and WWP Training led to the derivation of a rough rule of thumb. A single need or deficiency could absorb five minutes of training on a one-to-one basis and 10 minutes in a classroom time. The solution adopted after consideration, was to deliver all the training on a one-to-one basis. This was accomplished over a six-week period in spring 2003.
The other means of delivery were found to be less appropriate. However, all learners received a series of some 40 e-mails each one relating to one of the topics in the original needs analysis e-mailed over the training period. This served to re-emphasise the importance of the training and reinforce its content.
All the monitoring, feedback and evaluation received subsequently has indicated that the approach adopted has been effective in terms of meeting the business objectives. In addition the learners seem to prefer it. A series of mails and informal approaches to the learning and development team have requested more of the same.
See also "Necessary Measures", Learning Centre, People Management, 20 November 2003.
View other case studies in this section
Implementing a basic skills programme at TNT
Background
TNT UK Ltd has over 9,500 staff working throughout the UK and Ireland. Its core business is express and logistics delivery services both within the UK and internationally. The frontline of TNT's operations comprises of drivers and loading bay operators who work at the major depots and sortation centres. TNT offers a range of training to its staff in all roles at all levels. A need was identified for basic skills training for frontline staff. For instance, some workers who could not read had learnt from experience that trailers are parked in bays according to their destination so, for example, they knew parcels for Manchester would go in the van in bay eight. But when the parking place changed they were not able to read the changed destination and filled the vans incorrectly, leading to increased costs in rectifying the mis-sorts.
The basic skills programme was established as a joint initiative between TNT and the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G). T&G provided the trainers and a contribution from the Union Learning Fund to establish the programme; TNT provided the resources including the office space, computers and refreshments. The role of the T&G's learning representative was crucial in identifying staff with basic skills needs. Individuals were identified and encouraged by the union representative to join the pilot programme. The challenge was to motivate staff to take part in the programme without it being perceived as a stigma. Tactics included selling the benefits of the programme, for example, improving communication skills such as reading, rather than focussing on tackling problem areas or deficiencies.
The programme
The programme was designed to take place over five days. A continuous course over several days has benefits over a modular approach, for example, staff are less likely to lose interest or suffer teasing from colleagues. Areas included reading, writing, numeracy and PC skills. At the end of the programme the participants received certificates from senior managers, such as the operations director. Getting staff to take part in later programmes has been much easier - the participants were able to sell it to their colleagues and several successful courses have run since the initial pilot, with over 60 staff having completed the course.
Ruth James, Head of People Development, stressed the importance of planning and implementing the programme, saying: 'It needs time and must be done properly'. Senior managers are kept up to date with progress through monthly training reports.
Individual and organisational benefits
In addition to the learning of basic skills such as numeracy, reading and writing, one of the most important benefits of the programme has been to build confidence and self esteem. One member of staff, a man in his 40s, who completed the programme, said 'I'd never written a letter before in my life and now I have managed to do this'. There are also benefits at an organisational level, such as managing health and safety risks. For example, if staff are unable to read health and safety signs at a depot, it could have consequences far greater than miss-sorting or miss-delivering post.
View other case studies in this section
Removing barriers and encouraging collaborative learning at GCHQ
Background
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is a Civil Service department engaged in intelligence and security operations. Some 4,700 staff are employed; almost all work at the new, purpose-built high-security site at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - housing one of the biggest computer complexes in Europe. Staff are engaged across two main areas. First, GCHQ produces signals intelligence to protect the vital interests of the nation - in line with government requirements, and within a regime of clear legal guidelines. Secondly, the organisation is the national technical authority for information assurance - helping keep Government communications and information systems safe from hackers and other threats. This includes assistance in the protection of information networks supporting critical national infrastructures, for example electricity and water supplies, against hostile activity from whatever source and in whatever form.
As well as terrorist threats to institutions and individuals, GCHQ is concerned with fighting serious crime - ensuring, for example, that the financial sector is protected from fraud or illicit movement of money through 'hacking'. GCHQ staff must be leading-edge in terms of applications and their abuses: this knowledge extends beyond the obvious areas of technology and the Internet.
To fulfil these objectives GCHQ employs highly intelligent staff who are capable of absorbing and applying information very quickly. These professional staff do not need to learn how to learn. Many are fluent in a wide variety of languages - almost 100 separate languages were spoken at GCHQ at the last count. More mathematicians are employed than in the average university faculty, and GCHQ staff invented the cryptographic concepts later used to make the Internet secure.
The GCHQ Learning and Development staff operate within a knowledge-intensive organisation. This requires a very different sort of intervention from the traditional classroom-based training model and different skill-sets from the learning and development professionals.
Changing the culture
The Learning and Development team have a critical role to play in supporting organisational objectives and, in particular, the change management process that is underway at GCHQ. The changing nature of the external threat - new and more complex challenges to national security - requires a different approach to problem-solving. As Julia Cusack, one of GCHQ's management and development training consultants, put it:
"The emphasis throughout the organisation is on solving problems by combining expertise through cross-functional working. Knowledge sharing and collaborative learning is critical to our success. This is not consistent with a didactic approach to the delivery of training. We must deliver our management and interpersonal skills training in a way that is consistent with the business objective and vision"
It should be emphasised that such collaborative approaches to learning receive clear and powerful support from the top. They are consistent with the GCHQ Blueprint - a rolling five-year corporate vision - which sets out a shared aspiration for the way GCHQ will do business in terms of process and culture. The Blueprint, which was compiled on the basis of wide consultation with staff, emphasises innovation and flexibility.
Organisational agility achieved through collaborative learning is seen as critical to success. In May 2004 for example David Pepper, GCHQ's Director issued a message to all staff on coaching, in which he argued
" We should all see coaching as a natural role - not as an additional chore - and seek to improve our coaching skills. We all have our own objectives to achieve, and we rely on colleagues to achieve them. If we improve each other's performance we can take some load off ourselves and get more done as a team."
This sort of reinforcement, expressed in these terms, is of critical importance to the Learning and Development team. It is, in Julia Cusack's words, seeing the development of management skills as an essential part of the job - not an optional extra.
Combining expertise within GCHQ teams is critical. Much of the professional/technical updating can only take place in-house - as frequently the subject matter expertise is greater amongst GCHQ staff than anywhere else in the country, if not the world. Although, outside speakers and informal updating lunches are encouraged, it would be very hard, for example, to envisage an external tutor-led course on cryptography as a feasible way of extending staff skills.
As a result a particular job has been identified within the teams responsible for information assurance - that of development manager. The post-holder here is responsible for scanning the horizon for latest developments and sharing them with his or her colleagues - this is a full-time role.
The physical environment for learning
Knowledge sharing is seen as an integral part of learning, and the new GCHQ building is designed to encourage this. All offices are open plan and equipped on a standard pattern to allow, in response to changing business requirements, the immediate and easy formation of cross-discipline teams in new locations. There are breakout areas with comfortable furniture at convenient locations and a 'street' running round the building to facilitate encounters and exchanges. There is a conscious policy to shift away from strict 'need to know' to 'learning through sharing'.
Course delivery
Given this philosophy, the Learning and Development team stress the importance of bringing groups of people from different functions together for management and interpersonal skills development. However, this does not mean that there need be a taught element on courses.
A continuing major initiative is called Lead 21. This is more correctly described as an organisational development than a training initiative. The aim is to promote and practise (with the emphasis on the latter) the characteristics of the new desired culture for GCHQ. This stresses a more participative style of management and more team working and improvement at every level. The interventions, designed and delivered by GCHQ Learning and Development teams in conjunction with an external consultancy, International Training Services (ITS), The initial phase, launched in 1998,involved a series of off-the-job workshops. Facilitation was used but the emphasis is was on self-managed group work. Each workshop consisted of some 18 people, and action-learning groups comprising some 6 participants would meet between the workshops. The current phase sees the Learning and Development function encouraging 'support and challenge' groups. In this way individuals also manage their own development and learning outside the training interventions.
In Julia Cusack's view the following are the key elements of any initiative intended to promote interpersonal skills. People should be brought together in self-managed groups. There should be an aim to promote self-awareness (through the use of psychometric instruments and 360° feedback). Modules should be short and learning groups such as action learning or support and challenge used. Where an intervention from outside the group is required it should be facilitatory rather than directive or didactive.
In many ways members of GCHQ's Learning and Development team are in a strong position. They have support from the top, deal with committed and capable individuals and work in physical conditions which are almost uniquely conducive to knowledge sharing. Their challenge is to work in a way which is consistent with and models the ethos of the organisational and cultural change programme.
View other case studies in this section
Training for product and technical knowledge at SAP Dublin
Context: the nature of the business
SAP is the third biggest independent software supplier in the world and the biggest in Europe. It offers business solutions and software and is particularly well-known for its enterprise resource programme (ERP) products. It was founded in Germany in 1972 by four former IBM employees and its Headquarters remain in Walldorf, near Heidelberg.
The SAP Global Support Centre (GSC) in Dublin employs some 420 people and is the largest support centre outside Germany. Its main function is to offer technical support to SAP’s customers who have purchased the company’s software. Levels of support are specified in the contract between the customer and SAP.
The two biggest groupings of staff in Dublin are Service Delivery and Message Solving. The former function accounts for a large portion of the Dublin workforce and plays a proactive role in ensuring that the service elements take place. The SAP “EarlyWatch” check is a good example. This check analyses the components of the client’s SAP solution, the client’s operating system and database to optimize performance and keep the total cost of ownership to a minimum. A Service Preparation team using SAP software will allocate Service Delivery staff to undertake an aspect of EarlyWatch for an identified client. The staff member will undertake the checks through an remote link with the client’s system, using appropriate check-lists, and prepare a report highlighting any issues or difficulties: typical problems would be insufficient back-up systems, allowing users to take inappropriate actions or faulty configuration of part of the system.
The second large function at Dublin, Message Solving, is more reactive in its activities. As the title implies, they are responsible for receiving, prioritising and answering specific queries raised by clients. These are mainly sent electronically but some messages could be directed by telephone to employees at a SAP contact centre in Galway, West Ireland. Some calls may require some interpretation as the problem may not be apparent at first glance. Clarification may be required and more intractable or recurrent problems may be sent to Germany for further analysis.
Knowledge requirements from staff
SAP will undertake the training needed for staff to gain an understanding of their systems and processes. However all those recruited must demonstrate ‘learning aptitude’: an interest in and willingness to learn the technical aspects of SAP products, databases and operating systems. Customer handling skills, including communications, are essential but the bottom line is that customers want their system to be working to maximum efficiency and for any problems to be solved quickly. Product knowledge, and the ability to apply it, is inextricably linked with SAP’s proposition to their clients.
Aptitude and training is however only part of the way in which capability is built. As will be seen later in this case, the willingness to share knowledge is critical – committed and capable staff will become experts in a particular field or topic and can contribute beyond their immediate client-focused activities.
Initial and on-going training and development
Given the emphasis on product knowledge, much of the training content is very specific. It is set out in manuals and delivered by qualified instructors in the training room. Many of the modules may also be delivered by SAP instructors to IT staff employed by clients or to consultants retained by these clients.
Susan Byrne, the SAP Training and Project Manager at GSC Dublin, is responsible for sourcing training courses and identifying trainers in these technical areas. Management Development is undertaken by a separate SAP HR function.
The biggest volume of activity is the training undertaken to ensure that support staff have the necessary technical proficiency to meet client demand and expectations. The first requirement is for Service Delivery employees to be able to undertake EarlyWatch training. This involves three weeks in the classroom followed by six weeks in the workplace with coaching support from an identified experienced member of staff. The classroom element follows a lesson, exercise and solution sequence. The programme is split into three sections with the middle week of the programme delivered by Susan Byrne herself and the remaining four weeks delivered by other subject matter experts from the business. The subject matter experts from the business are the repository of technical expertise – they need to be able to give authoritative answers to any queries. They also need to be able to present information in a way to allow the learner to gain the required knowledge, but the emphasis will be on their knowledge and expertise rather than their training skills. However, an attempt is always made to find a balance between the two skill sets.
The biggest challenge is the one that follows when the learners leave the classroom: this is about relating theory to practical delivery. The role of the identified coach in the business is critical here. Given the pressure on the business, finding sufficient capable coaches will always present a challenge – though the individual’s time is allocated to a coaching time code.
New Service Delivery staff will undertake the second major course, ‘Going Live training’ a minimum of six months later: this consists of three weeks in the classroom and one week’s coaching support.
It will be evident that one practical problem is ensuring that there are sufficient participants to mount a viable classroom instructor-led course without delaying an individuals’ training for an extended period. This is an inevitable problem with a class-based course and a key part of Susan Byrne’s job involves managing and scheduling accordingly. There is considerable cross- region collaboration in place to ensure that training needs are not unduly delayed: often Irish employees travel to Germany, India or China to receive, and often deliver, training.
A similar training pattern is in place for Message Solving and for the course-based elements of more advanced technical product knowledge.
Learner attitudes
According to Susan Byrne most of the responsibility to keep up to date rests with the learner. Business requirements differ, but people who emerge as the most technically proficient do so because of their own drive and initiative – the knowledge they pick up is not learned in the classroom. Those employees who emerge in this way may well receive better performance reviews and hence more interesting and challenging assignments.
The proficient are always expected to share their knowledge with the less proficient. In part this is achieved through sharing case studies and examples at the team meetings which are generally held every two weeks. Across SAP as a whole there are weekly opportunities to participate in synchronised virtual classroom sessions delivered via the Webex platform. Often these will focus on the needs of a particular client or customer and involve SAP employees across the globe.
Given the importance of the role, the training of the 15 Support Team Managers and Team Leaders is given considerable priority at Dublin. Within the first six months all team leaders embark on a programme which involves three 2 day modules. These cover: an Introduction to Management, which is followed by a 360 degree assessment; Management Styles; and Advanced Management, which includes performance feedback and effective management styles. These modules are classroom based and delivered by an external consultant. This programme is currently being reviewed and updated to meet the new requirement of SAP as a global organisation. A new Management Excellence programme has been agreed by SAP’s German Headquarters, in order to have a consistent management certification from SAP. The content is likely to be similar to that currently in place at Dublin but the delivery could mean that more intensive and longer modules will be required.
Technology enabled-learning
As a high-tech organisation SAP is always seeking to use technology to enable the learning process. A current initiative, which is expanding rapidly, involves role-based learning maps. These have been developed by the Support Knowledge Transfer team within SAP. For certain key roles and tasks (currently embracing up to half the Dublin staff) short web-based modules are available to provide technical guidance: examples of subjects covered would be Starter in SAP AG, Service Delivery Role and Customer Managing Role.
E-learning may well expand at some stage in the future. But the basic training which is critical to the business will, in Susan Byrne’s view, continue to be delivered in the classroom with coaching support in the workplace to consolidate and transfer learning. In part this is because of the difficulty in ensuring that, in a pressurised environment with competing demands, learners and their managers would put aside the time to learn. In part this reflects learner’s preferences for, and expectations of, classroom training.
View other case studies in this section
Training for the business at Ventura
Ventura, a wholly owned subsidiary of Next plc, is one of the UK’s leading outsourcing providers operating customer contact centres. Clients include well-known public, private and voluntary sector bodies. More than 7500 people are employed at four contact centres in the UK and Pune, India. Almost half the UK agents (front-line staff who receive calls and offer advice to customers) are located in two large state of the art call centres in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire – here Ventura is the dominant employer in what used to be a mining area.
Outsourced customer service management is a very competitive business and two years ago Ventura underwent a major restructure to permit a more competitive approach to pricing. A key element in securing and retaining business is the quality of the agents; they must demonstrate a good telephone manner, understanding and empathy with the customer’s requirements and have the written communication and keyboard skills needed to prepare accurate and appropriate reports. Certain contracts also require selling skills and in some cases a specialist interest or awareness. For example, those agents serving a client who specialises in internet and broadband services benefit from a technical appreciation and IT knowledge, whilst those agents working on a client’s charity helpline have expert knowledge and share empathy on the subject.
The human resources function at Ventura has close links with local schools and colleges. As the largest employer in an area where the profile of employment has changed rapidly they need to signal clearly what skills are desired and work in improving the quality and aspirations of the local labour pool. In addition, contact centre work has previously been seen as a “stop-gap” job and not a long term career option. However, whilst there can be a degree of repetition to the task, call centre work can be highly varied with many opportunities for promotion. The working environment is good, there is plenty of opportunity for interaction with colleagues, and there is satisfaction in assisting people with their problems or meeting their requirements. Beverley Connor, Ventura’s Recruitment and Training Delivery Manager says, “We must strive for recognition for our training efforts and seek to remove the stigma associated with contact centre work.”
Recruitment and training
Following the restructure the combined recruitment and training function has expanded in size. A reorganisation of training delivery was designed to create a much closer link with the business areas. In the UK there are six training managers each of whom are supported by six to fifteen training officers. Training is mainly focused on core individual skills (interpersonal and the use of the systems) and product knowledge and awareness.
The main challenges faced by the recruitment and training functions are, firstly, attracting quality candidates from a demographic pool where core skills might not naturally exist, in high volumes, over long periods of time. Secondly, providing expert “niche” training from a centralised resource, where each client is just as important as another, making prioritisation a continuous agenda item.
There is a close link with the recruitment process which proceeds through assessment and interviews. The interviewing process is conducted around seven key competencies – for example convincing and assertiveness, team working and communication skills.
A particular challenge, closely linked to the business offering, is the need to deliver training against very tight timetables. If a new client is secured it is important to be able to deliver their requirements quickly. This will prevent the client’s customer experiencing any uncertainty of service provision. In the space of as little as four weeks from signature it may be necessary to set up a unit, design material, organise IT infrastructure, and install trained agents at their desks. Minimising ‘time to competence’ is a major determination of the success of the Recruitment and Training function.
Induction and beyond
This emphasis on ‘time to competence’ requires that relevant business training is delivered at all times, but particularly at induction: initial classroom training, reinforced by a planned transition to the work-team is the preferred method.
Given the demands of the clients, between 15 and 60 new people can start each week. They are grouped from the outset, into units of 15 or so who will be serving the needs of a designated client. After an orientation to the area where they will be working the cohort will undertake up to five weeks training for full time courses, delivered by the training officer who has responsibility for this particular client. The subjects covered will include behavioural skills and IT/keyboard training as well as product knowledge.
This customer-specific training takes place in one of the on-site classrooms and a special technology system (SMART) allows the tutor to project what is happening on any individual’s training-room PC. In practice call handling, keyboard entry skills and product knowledge are inextricably linked as the new joiner progresses to competence.
Once this classroom training has been completed the new staff members are placed in a special part of the work area known variously as a ‘development centre’ or ‘graduation bay’. Here, over the next few weeks they receive coaching support from both the training officer and the team leader for the section. The new entrants will take some calls, but these will be closely monitored or treated as joint calls. Their progress and performance will be assessed and on occasions the training officer will take the cohort of new joiners away to the training room.
Once the new joiner is fully competent he or she will join the team and be given feedback by his or her team leader. At the customer centre key performance indicators (number of calls, duration etc) are produced for each individual on a daily basis. They are consolidated monthly into an individual scorecard which also includes development needs. It is the responsibility of the team leader and their manager in conjunction with the training officer to ensure that these are met.
Off-the-job training and competence
An example is one contract where more on-the-job coaching support is provided by increasing the number of training officers. Additionally, some e-learning is in place where training product knowledge for a government contact is compulsory. Unquestionably the classroom is still seen as the most effective vehicle. Bronnie Linley, Ventura Training Manager, comments, “if there were definite cost advantages in using e-learning we would adopt it, but these would mainly concern product knowledge. Generally no two people are the same so why would we put all people through the same training package?”
Training is taken very seriously at Ventura. As new clients and new service requirements are added to the portfolio agents must be trained quickly but thoroughly. The emphasis is therefore on speed to competence so the classroom, supported by feedback coaching in the workplace, will continue to be the main method of delivery. It is also a vehicle for consolidating and emphasising the need for agents to work as a team in meeting client requirements.
However, the role of the trainer is changing and Ventura Training Manager, Anne Seymour says, “In the past trainers were there to test people, now we teach, develop, guide and help.”
View other case studies in this section
A Training and Development Programme for Legal Secretaries
Background: The Changing Job Role
Lawrence Graham is one of the top 50 law firms in the UK: it advises clients at all stages of their business growth, with a focus on their capital raising, real estate, risk & regulation and outsourcing needs.
Almost all staff are based in London, although the firm also has a Monaco office and services clients internationally. The practice has 270 fee-earning lawyers and 240 support staff – of whom 100 are legal secretaries, who are the focus of this case study.
There has been significant change in the role of the legal secretary over the past five years and this change is set to continue. In the past the job mainly involved typing and preparation of documents and administrative support for fee-earners. Client expectations have led to increased demands on the firm as a whole, but the legal secretarial role has been particularly affected by technology. There are now “different software packages for everything”. An effective legal secretary with the necessary skills will be involved in tasks like managing e-mails and documentation, maintaining client and contact details electronically, running conflict checks and operating the integrated online billing system.
The rapid emergence of technological systems has had significant impact on the relationship between fee-earner and secretary. The introduction of one particular system provides a good illustration. In 2004 Lawrence Graham invested in a system of digital dictation. This allows a lawyer to dictate at any location and insert the recording device into his or her personal computer. The result is then transmitted electronically as a digital file, placed in team folder, and has the potential to be accessed and typed by any secretary in any location. The full potential of this system is still to be realised but its arrival was one of the factors that led the firm to restructure its approach to secretarial provision.
The response
A major reorganisation of secretarial provision took place in April 2005. There was a new emphasis on secretarial teams which reflected the major business streams. Although established ways of working take time to change, there is an ongoing move away from a committed relationship whereby the secretary always works for one or two lawyers, to more of an integrated team approach. At the same time the post of Secretarial Team Leader was created and three appointments have been made to this position. This role is partly about the organisation of work-flows and partly about performance management — dealing with unpunctuality or other aspects of under-performance. Critically, however, it is also about encouraging and supporting the individual secretary in the acquisition of the skills demanded by the new role. The main challenge at present is to support the newly established Secretarial Training and Development Programme.
The programme
Ensuring the effectiveness of the new programme is seen as a team responsibility shared between Clodagh Beaty, the firm’s Training and Development Manager, three Secretarial Team Leaders and the IT Customer Services Manager and his team of three IT Trainers.
The commitment of the firm to the initiative is evident. Senior management have been persuaded of the importance of a significant investment in secretarial learning and development.
Clodagh Beaty has argued that the firm must have the capacity to embrace change and to embrace modern technology. Increasingly, lawyers joining the firm are IT literate, will do more themselves and expect a different service from their secretary. In Clodagh Beaty’s words:
“Our secretarial staff cost the firm almost £4m a year. If you spent that amount on a property you would expect to spend to maintain its value.”
Traditionally, Lawrence Graham's secretaries received only initial IT induction training. Under the new programme they will undertake compulsory modules, have the opportunity to attend optional modules, and be encouraged to participate in knowledge sharing events. A critical part of the Secretarial Team Leader's role will be to encourage all of the secretarial team to participate and update their skills.
One important factor which will affect the success of the initiative will be the confidence of participants. An initial compulsory element, therefore, is a one day ‘Rise to the Challenge’ module delivered by Platinum Training Solutions - external consultants who have been extensively involved in the programme's design and delivery. This module will consider personal motivation, the implications of continuous improvement and development for the individual, and managing change in the role. Lawrence Graham, as is common in most organisations, want their employees to take responsibility for their own development. However, as Clodagh Beaty emphasises:
“Yes they must take responsibility, but we must give them support and guidance. We have to both communicate the standards and give them the tools to achieve.”
The main compulsory element in the programme concerns Microsoft office products. All legal secretaries will be required to undertake the specialist qualification in Word at Expert Level. To make this possible, Lawrence Graham have taken the necessary steps to become an authorised Microsoft Testing Centre. Each legal secretary will undertake an initial assessment online and, in conjunction with IT training, produce an agreed personalised plan. The route to qualification will proceed through classroom instruction and support delivered by the IT Trainers - but will also encompass some self-study and e-learning.
Other compulsory modules include an Understanding the Business Session and short modules on Lawrence Graham procedures. A range of soft-skills training modules are available as options — for example, effective working relations, communications and planning and prioritisation. An enthusiastic legal secretary, who is fully committed to the programme, could receive up to five days off-the-job training in a year over and above the compulsory modules. In addition, the firm has introduced a requirement for continuing professional development for secretaries, whereby all secretaries should undertake a minimum amount of 10 hours training every year.
Delivery and support
This programme is to be delivered mainly through off-the-job events held in meeting rooms in the firm’s main offices. Clodagh Beaty believes that this is the best approach at this stage in the firm’s development.
“If a secretary is at her desk the fee-earner will consider that she is available for immediate important tasks. Moreover, all the participants work in the two neighbouring offices. Taking them away together must be the most efficient way of managing training and learning for us.”
The role of the Secretarial Team Leader is, however, crucial in ensuring that the participants transfer knowledge to the work-place and share experiences. Tracy Lowry, one of the Team Leaders, sees this as an increasingly important part of her job. She will be arranging lunch time knowledge sharing sessions above and beyond the course programme. She not only sees clear benefits but short term operational gains:
“It will take the pressure off those secretaries who are very knowledgeable and undertake the more difficult tasks involving PowerPoint and Excel. If everyone has a minimum standard, each Secretary will be able to take on any piece of work.”
An element of reluctance from some Secretaries is seen as inevitable and Tracy Lowry and the other Team Leaders are tasked with maintaining the general positive spirit towards the initiative. They are emphasising the benefits to acquiring transferable skills and the opportunities that self-development create. As the programme develops, the Secretarial Team Leaders will increasingly try to develop a more effective learning culture in which experiences are shared and leveraged. This brings together learning and performance management in a cohesive attempt to create effective group working.
Lawrence Graham would readily admit that there is nothing unusual in the taught element of the programme. However, the commitment to invest this level of resources in developing non fee-earning staff, and the support from the senior management team, are remarkable. The ‘support and facilitate’ or coaching role fulfilled by the Secretarial Team Leader also gives the programme an important extra dimension.
View other case studies in this section
Motivating the learner at Egg
Introduction
Egg is the largest internet-only bank in the world employing 2,500 people across three UK locations and has a reputation for innovation in financial services. Its main current activity is unsecured lending and deposit taking. The organisational philosophy or ‘enduring purpose’ of Egg is to ‘revolutionise customers’ experience of financial services driven through unleashing the power of people’. The Company’s approach to learning, training and development reflects this philosophy. This case study considers how this has found practical expression in the approach and supporting structures in place. As will be seen this places particular emphasis on the role of line managers.
Background
Egg was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Prudential – currently the UK’s second biggest insurer of a major financial services group. The ‘Pru’, as it is popularly known, built its strength and reputation on, in the context of time, an innovative approach to customer services. Questions about changing customer preferences and the long-term future of products through a direct sales force in the mid 90s led to the creation of Egg as an innovative stand-alone subsidiary. Subsequently Egg has been partially floated and considered as a business sale, but at the time of writing will revert to its original status as a company wholly owned by the Prudential. Egg’s successes include the elimination of tiered interest rates for deposits (which has had a considerable impact across the whole sector), the transfer of negative credit account balances at zero cost and lending at guaranteed rates. A venture in France proved to be less successful and demonstrated to Egg that customers may require a very different service in different countries.
Currently, with its reversion to the original ownership status, Egg is entering into a new stage of development. It employs 2500 people across three UK locations (London, Derby in the East Midlands and Dudley in the West Midlands). About half of these staff are customer service associates either working in a contact centre talking to customers over the telephone or via email or processing the requisite paper work. Another quarter are involved in IT – where systems assurance is of particular importance. The remaining staff members are specialists (risk, marketing, human resources, etc) or professional managers, many of whom have extensive financial services expertise.
The 10:10
Given its ‘enduring purpose’, Egg sees its approach to people development as one which extends beyond ensuring that employees acquire the immediate skills required for discharging the job. Development efforts should be consistent with an innovative approach to meeting customer needs.
Egg, beginning with the Founding Directors, has espoused a form of transformational leadership. The argument here is that every human being lives in a context and operates within self-imposed limits i.e. Egg chooses to see that every person operates within self-imposed limits and that it is possible to extend these limits at work through appropriate interventions. In the words of Neil Rodgers, the Chief People Officer at Egg,
“We want to equip people with the means to develop; motivate them to stay and to envisage the future they desire and make it real. People will then use discretionary effort because they have an emotional attachment to Egg. In that way they get what they want and Egg gets what it wants.”
10:10 is therefore an expression that it is not only possible to align individual ambitions with those of the organisation, it is also essential for superior outcomes. Only through people getting to 10 for themselves in the challenges they choose to take on at work, can they deliver at the level necessary for the outcome to be the 10 that Egg wants. This is of course an ideal state, but the aspiration is considered to be meaningful and helpful. What is important is that the staff member is aware of his or her ambitions and recognises the extent to which they can be achieved while working for Egg. If the individual decides to leave as a consequence this is a price worth paying for the overall increase in motivation and commitment. Understanding the motivation and learning preferences of employees is considered key to developing employees who are capable of, and focused on, high performance at work.
According to Neil Rodgers:
“Getting to 10:10 state demands much attention. It is about a good match between what the organisation needs you to do and what you want to do – what energises you.”
There are 10:10 instruments and material available on the HR part of the Egg Intranet. However Neil Rodgers is keen to emphasise that 10:10 is not a process or a meeting, but is best understood as the ongoing relationship the individual has with the organisation, within which the individual gets the opportunity to fully use their talents. It’s the operating practice (in every exchange between people) of thinking what actions will take place as a result of this conversation that have the best chance of creating outcomes that are a 10 for Egg and a 10 for us. From this practice, complex and unpredictable organisation design and results will emerge. Egg is anxious that development and performance management processes do not become paper-intensive, compliance rituals. The idea is that the 10:10 becomes ‘part of the DNA of the company’ (to use Neil Rodger’s words).
Currently Neil Rodgers is looking at extending the ways he can monitor progress without creating bureaucratic processes – such processes could lead to negative reactions in an area which depends on personal willingness and commitment. To help achieve this balance, progress and attitudes are monitored through the extensive use of employee feedback from surveys and from 200 face to face interviews a month.
The role of the manager
Egg strongly believes that people managers have a crucial role to play in building and sustaining employee commitment. It is evident that authentic commitment is vital if the 10:10 philosophy is to ‘become part of the organisation’s DNA’. As well as commitment, people managers need the necessary skills. Here Egg is in the fortunate position of being able to clearly identify those employees who manage others. Some 400 of the 2500 people are in such positions and are identified on the ‘Buzz’ system.
Over the last eighteen months Egg has invested in creating an infrastructure of programmes to equip these people managers with the necessary skills and understanding. A required event is a three day ‘know your people’ course which includes tools and techniques to allow the manager to identify starting-points and aspirations and get into rich conversations with their people. This course develops an understanding of how to recognise people’s motivations, development needs and career aspirations at work, so they can help people move from unconscious choice to conscious choice in what they take on in their work. A more skills orientated course ‘committed conversations’ is available so managers can develop competence in the conversations that allow people to choose.
These managers are evidently pivotal to making Egg’s enduring purpose a reality. New people are given an outline of what to expect from their manager and from life at Egg at the induction and are encouraged to give early feedback if these expectations are not met.
This approach naturally leads to development being tailored to the individual and to meeting the needs of both immediate outcomes and long term career growth. Egg does not accept that there is a clash between these, just as it embraces the paradox that the greatest success will only come where Egg and the talent of each person working for Egg are fully expressed and satisfied. It’s the only rational choice to make.
As Neil Rodgers puts it:
“The 10:10 must not be something that you have to do. It is neither a single conversation nor a series of conversations. We want it to become as natural as the normal social exchanges that take place in day-today work”.
View other case studies in this section