Overview

Research
summary

Case Studies

Your views

Discuss in the
communities

Responses

Case studies

• Sharing Knowledge in a Merged Function: NGT
  
• Using Technology Enablers to Develop Individual Responsibility for Learning: the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
  
• Whole Life Development in the Army
• Focusing Individual and Organisational Learning at West Lothian

Sharing Knowledge in a Merged Function: NGT

Merging operations

NGT was formed in October 2002 by a merger of National Grid, who own and operate the high voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, and Transco, the transporter of gas in Great Britain. The merged organisation is the largest investor-owned utility in the UK where it currently employs some 15,000 people. It is predominantly an engineering company, with a large operational workforce who are responsible for maintaining supplies. In addition there are significant numbers of support staff, including, for example, those working at call centres dealing with emergencies and customer enquiries.

Both the merged organisations were energy utilities operating in heavily regulated environments. However, there were considerable differences in business processes and also in culture. There was a major task of integration to be achieved and one area where this applied was NGT Transmission Finance, which is responsible for financial planning, controlling, reporting and decision support. This merged function now employs 70 staff, most of whom are qualified accountants.

There were differences in IT and financial systems at the time of the merger but more fundamentally, product differences between gas and electricity meant that the financial processes diverged. There was a need for both consolidation and integration and, urgently, for knowledge sharing.

Utilising shared learning

The approach used was based on the sharing of information through shared learning. It began during the summer of 2003 with the preparation of a detailed matrix listing the areas of technical knowledge and skills which applied to all parts of the merged finance function. This matrix went into considerable detail (for example: various types of management, financial and regulatory accounting, together with specific management capabilities, IT and system skill areas). A 'Top 12' of these technical training priorities and needs were identified. For each of these 12 categories the number of staff requiring training was identified and the importance to the business listed.

The matrix produced could have provided the basis for a useful, but traditional training plan. However, it was to become the foundation of an exercise which emphasised the importance of learning through shared information.

In part this decision was one of necessity. Taught courses were simply not available to remedy deficiencies in knowledge in activities that were intimately connected with NGT's business processes. However, the necessity of sharing this information was seen as an opportunity to build a new culture and develop teamwork and to emphasise the importance of learning. The heading to the matrix set out the philosophy of NGT Transmission Finance in the following terms:

'Real learning - becoming able to do something you couldn't do before - requires real experiences and reflection. 70% of learning comes from experience, 20% from coaching and feedback and 10% from workshops, books and e-learning. Our staff have systematically identified their technical needs and we need to meet them.'

Importantly, a subject matter expert, who was a current member of Transmission Finance staff, was designated for each of the technical training priorities and needs. These subject matter experts were charged with delivering learning lunches for the more urgent of these needs. They were required to prepare an outline, communicate and co-ordinate a one-hour training sessions, follow-up, evaluate and feedback information to allow the matrix to be updated. All those involved were offered train-the-trainer support.

The process continues to flourish and evolve. When a business process is changed the question is now asked what learning goes with the change - should a workshop be arranged? Learning sessions are 'swapped' with other directorates. The finance directorate run learning sessions for the legal team about business finances and they, in turn, reciprocate with sessions on license requirements, codes, statutory acts etc.

Continuing commitment to learning

According to Sue Lomas, the NGT Learning and Development Advisor who worked with Transmission Finance on the integration process, what was important was that an opportunity was created to build the sharing of experience into normal business activity. This was critical at the time of the merger, but will be retained because of its continuing benefits. There is strong ongoing support for individual learning in the company. There are 'learning curves', quiet areas with access to PCs, available at different locations in the Warwick Headquarters. There is a company commitment to e-learning and the amount of internally produced material is increasing. However, the process must be driven by the relationship between line managers and the individual employee. Transmission Finance has just designated a member of staff in each department to act as learning co-ordinators to encourage the process of sharing, but it is recognised that this must not diminish the responsibility of the key immediate parties to the learning process.

Using Technology Enablers to Develop Individual Responsibility for Learning: the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Context: Building on change

Building on a national system of standards and using new channels created by technology, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has developed an innovative approach to determining and meeting the needs of the individual learner. It has moved away from a traditional top-down training model, and used a competency framework to encourage firefighters to take responsibility for their own learning. Requirements and opportunities are made explicit through the need to produce a personal development plan.

This shift in focus has been given impetus by a significant cultural change process that is taking place through the UK Fire and Rescue Service. A climate for change was created by a wide-ranging modernisation agenda which coincided with a period of industrial action, culminating in a review of pay structures. In England the Bain Report (2002) proposed that pay should be linked to demonstrated competence. Likewise, in Scotland, the Scottish Executive produced two important reports outlining their modernisation objectives. One of these reports, 'The Scottish Fire Service of the Future' emphasised the importance of firefighters taking responsibility for their own personal performance and development. It wholeheartedly endorsed the new national occupational standards (NOS), which had been produced for the fire service in the UK.

An integrated system

These standards, which were linked to the framework of National Vocational Qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications have formed the basis of a fire service Integrated Personnel Development System (IPDS). This system is designed to encompass the development needs of all fire service employees from entry level to the most senior positions. The IPDS allows for a more flexible, tailored approach to delivery of development opportunities - supporting a move away from training as courses to developmental learning, based on demonstrating and maintaining competence. This is a far cry from the very traditional 'train me' culture that has been prevalent in the UK Fire Service for more than 50 years. This new approach has afforded the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service the opportunity to research alternative delivery methods, including the use of electronic media.

Bob Virtue, Director of Fire Service Training for Scotland, in his guidance circular, expressed the possibilities in the following terms: 'Records must indicate where and how competence has been achieved, identify role related development needs and describe how these have been or will be satisfied. Recording systems that are non-bureaucratic save management time and encourage people to feel they 'own' their development.'

The IPDS sets out clearly the development features applicable to each of the key roles that form the career progression in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: starting at firefighter, this progresses through crew management onto the other management roles ending at brigade management. At each level the competences that must be demonstrated for the role are made evident, providing a framework for personal development planning and review, access to associated development programmes and workplace assessment systems. The IPDS process indicates what is involved in progressing from one level to another, so a career path is made explicit. The achievement of accredited vocational qualifications as an element of the process career progression is stressed throughout.

At present this electronic mapping of competences, development opportunities and link with qualifications is set out only for the main firefighter career structure (which make up some 9,000 of the 10,000 Scottish Fire Service employees) but plans are to create similar frameworks for the other job roles in the Service. All eight Fire and Rescue Services in Scotland are fully committed to the system and it is being developed as a joint activity.

A learner-centred approach

The IPDS is, however, far more than a way of transmission of requirements and opportunities. The use of electronic technology allows the individual firefighter to assess and benchmark his or her current competences against the requirements of the job. In this way an individual personal development plan is created and shared with the firefighter's manager and other managers in the fire station. A new firefighter will use a browser to access the system and create an initial Personal Development Record (PDR). This allows the individual to submit evidence of prior learning and thus identifying the areas where development is needed and those where competence can be demonstrated (thus making progress towards an accredited vocational qualification). Many new entrants to the Fire Service have relevant prior experience (in the armed forces or in voluntary service for example). Once this approach has been thoroughly embedded and understood in the organisation, considerable cost savings can result by avoiding wasteful generic training. It marks an important step towards a learner centred approach. The system also allows individual training to reflect more closely the particular risks associated with the area covered by the fire station where the firefighter works.

It is not just at the induction stage where there will be benefits for the individual and the organisation. Each station must undertake an incident review after it is called into service. After each significant incident those involved will be encouraged to reflect on their performance against the relevant competencies using the IPDS. This will form a key part of the individual's requirements to maintain their skills and knowledge to the appropriate benefit of competence throughout their service.

Criteria for success

IPDS is an ambitious initiative and a number of elements will determine its success. First, it is essential that the technology is seen as user friendly. As Diane Lauder, the project leader for IPDS puts it, competencies must be self assessed through a simple process of 'tick and click'. There are significant access issues to be resolved at station level - for example, in remote areas firefighters as members of the part-time service may respond from home and not from a station base. Of critical importance, however, is the need for the firefighter's line manager to be supportive of the individual's development efforts and career ambitions. Here there is a recognition that improved coaching skills are required in the service and indeed a greater awareness of the importance of coaching as an essential management role.

Other activities to shift the emphasis from training to learning will proceed at the same time. At present the development opportunities set out in the IPDS are predominantly course-based. A major e-learning initiative is underway with modular content being created especially for the service. Links with local further education colleges are also being developed. There is likely to be greater emphasis in learning through participation in simulated incidents followed by reflection - this has always been part of fire service training. In the longer term there is a desire to build more peer networks to share and learn through experience.

Whole Life Development in the Army

Background

Effective education and development is a continuing critical activity for today's Army. Responsibility for ensuring it takes place is exercised through the chain of command but overall learning strategy is formulated by the Directorate Educational And Training Services (DETS). Over the last three years, after a challenge from a new Adjutant General, they have developed and promoted a new model: 'whole life development'.

Essentially whole life development is based on a recognition that both professional development and personal development matter to the modern army. Personal development can be divided into three categories:

• Category 1 deficits or needs concern what the soldier must be able to do in his or her current job. A deficit here can be critical. There is also an essential need to remedy basic skills deficits.
• Category 2 deficits are those that will affect eligibility for future jobs - at which stage they will become Category 1 needs.
• Category 3 concerns development activities that are driven by personal motivation - they lie beyond the boundaries of immediate and future jobs.

Should Category 3 learning matter to the Army?

Major Chris Hanlan, who is responsible for the application of whole life development, is convinced category 3 should matter, though he admits that strong opinions to the contrary have been expressed. However, internal surveys have shown that in many cases it is these learning opportunities that are valued the most by the soldiers. Many are linked to external qualifications - project management for example. If soldiers are offered the opportunity to pursue such learning, they feel that they are acquiring skills that will benefit them when they leave the Army. One effect, paradoxically, is that it can improve retention.

More generally the acquisition of learning skills is of wider benefit, whatever the context in which they are acquired. These categories have assisted in clarifying training and learning in the Army. Another result is the firm recognition that the responsibility for dealing with any learning deficits lies firmly with the chain of command (the individual's manager).

Most importantly the model makes sense in the organisation. 'Cat 1', 'Cat 2' and 'Cat 3' deficits have become part of the vocabulary. They will shortly be made more explicit in an Army educational intranet that is under development.

Career pathways

Another major change that was introduced in 2001 concerned the introduction of career pathways. Initially, they were presented in a paper version on an individual's personal development record. Soon these will be set out on the educational intranet.

The underlying principle is simple. For each of the major activities (infantry, logistics, medical, etc) a promotional pathway is displayed with corresponding training and learning opportunities displayed alongside. Various mandatory training activities, which apply to that activity, are shown, as are army-wide activities.

Although the principle may be simple, the introduction of career pathways in the Army was very challenging. It marked a conceptual change, as it was a move to greater transparency. The preparation of pathways also forced a number of challenges to the development processes.

Focusing Individual and Organisational Learning at West Lothian

Succeeding together

'Succeeding Together' is a major strategic initiative, which was launched in September 2003 by West Lothian Council Education and Cultural Services. The aim is to raise attainment and achievement of all pupils and students in all the Council's schools. A major component of the initiative will be a radical shift in both learning and development for teachers and enhanced collaborative learning through knowledge sharing.

Some 3,500 people are employed in education in West Lothian of whom approximately 2,000 are teachers. It is intended that all 3,500 employees will be involved in the initiative in some way. Initially when 'Succeeding Together' becomes operational in autumn 2004, the main focus will be the schoolteacher population based in 100 schools.

A combination of factors has led to the development and implementation of 'Succeeding Together'. A new Director of Education, Kate Reid, was appointed to her post at a time of pressure to improve pupil attainment. Researchers from Stirling University approached the Council and offered a new perspective on schoolteacher development. In addition, the McCrone report 'A Teaching Profession for the 21 Century' was published in May 2000. This report ranged widely over pay and conditions for school teachers, but contained important recommendations on teacher CPD (Continual Professional Development). The principle of 35 hours contractual CPD per year for teachers was established and the need for improved quality of provision was recognised. Historically, much CPD was delivered on a top-down directive model with insufficient onus on the recipient to take personal responsibility for implementation.

Clarifying priorities

One response in West Lothian Education was a new development planning processes for schools designed to focus on a few priorities and avoid initiative overload. An improvement plan process introduced in 2004 seeks to distinguish between improvement objectives and maintenance activities. The former are designed to advance the school's capability, are simply expressed, and are few in numbers (for example, to work with parents to develop strategies to enable families to play an active role in children's learning). The latter, maintenance activities, are less strategic and it is intended that they will be seen as part of the day-to-day roles and responsibilities of the management team at the school.

'Succeeding Together' is designed to create a link between the achievement of the improvement objectives and individual teacher development through the CPD process. Working with support from the University of Stirling's Institute of Education, the Council has established a framework in which this can take place. It is intended to move the focus towards organisational learning. The school will be seen as a learning community or learning organisation; more autonomy will be given to the school to identify and implement improvements and this will be the basis for individual and group learning. To quote from the Council's implementation guide:

'Instead of schools being told what priorities and activities they should be pursuing each will, working with its own school community, identify a focus for improvement in the quality of its student learning. The focus will be based on an enquiry into under achievement and where and how barriers to learning are being experienced by students. Focusing on this area, staff will then carry out collaborative action enquiries in the form of projects to develop creative and reliable ways of improving students' performance. There should be no more than three projects per school.'

This is an ambitious approach. One requirement for success, again to quote from the Council's implementation guidance is that 'we will all need to learn new ways of working collaboratively to increase individual staff and school capacity'.

Learning process

'Action enquiry' is one of the principles and designed to facilitate this new form of collaborative working and learning. The underlying processes have been developed jointly by staff from the University of Stirling and the Council. Action enquiry involves an exploration of where, why and how students are experiencing barriers to learning. This is followed by the development and implementation of strategies to remove these barriers. Subsequently there are phases of monitoring and evaluation, and review and refinement. Once action enquiry has been understood and embedded the individual schoolteachers' CPD should reflect this different approach. It should move away from a request for course-based training and be based in self and collaborative learning through research and enquiry.

The role of the Education Service's centrally located support staff will be changed considerably as a result - particularly those responsible for supporting CPD. Sheila Smith, Education Services' CPD Officer who has been involved in the new approach since its inception, has set up the programme of workshops and courses designed to gain understanding and acceptance of action enquiry. Another important role for the centre is to provide the time and space for the sharing of knowledge and experience. This will take the form of face-to-face meetings and these must be accommodated within the annual educational calendar and timetabled meetings. Such meetings will need to take a different focus, with an emphasis on exchange rather instruction.

Knowledge sharing through electronic means is under consideration as an option of the future. Ultimately, however 'Succeeding Together' will depend on the willingness of the management, teachers and other staff in schools to embrace the new approach. Teachers must take ownership of their CPD and ensure that it is linked directly to organisational improvement as well as personal development.

This was produced on behalf of the CIPD by the University of Cambridge, Programme for industry.