Training on a shoestring
Julie Vazquez, Service Improvement Manager at the North West London Hospitals Trust, told us how she made a little go a long way.
Even when it seems there just aren’t enough resources to go round, with the right partners amazing results can be achieved. For example in March 2006 my Trust was to be the first in London to offer an electronic directly bookable service across all its specialties. However technical problems had put back the new system ‘Go Live’ date and had already dented user confidence in the project. By now there was a very limited budget to fund any training at all in support of the roll out.
We chose to work with Training Synergy because of their flexibility and experience within the NHS. From their portfolio of over 200 NHS experienced trainers, they were tasked with providing an effective training programme within tight budget constraints. A floor walking programme was designed by the training team to be delivered to users across all 3 Trust sites. The team had Choose and Book experience at both acute trusts and GP practices, so could therefore, instantly troubleshoot with live referrals. They also created a new electronic form to log any technical or process issues for the trust’s attention, on a daily basis.
As a result the trainers were able to identify business critical users who required 1-2-1 support and guidance, tailored to their roles. Speedy and regular reporting meant technical and process issues were dealt with immediately, greatly enhancing user perception and confidence. The trainers’ enthusiasm, professionalism and hands-on experience also helped to foster further stakeholder buy-in, particularly with reluctant users. All in all it was a very successful and cost effective way of supporting a new system implementation.
Niall Shanahan
Niall has over 12 years’ of professional training experience, designing and delivering training solutions to support management development, leadership programmes and technology upgrades, including bespoke IT and telecoms training. He also spent 4 years as a sales training manager for a leading training provider. As a result he has developed an acutely commercial appreciation of the training cycle and the need for genuinely consultative relationships with clients.
Blog date
05 July 2007
