TAP the key for BT Expedite
Sally Taylor, Head of Client Training at BT Expedite says: 'When we display a slide that says our trainers have a TAP qualification, we're demonstrating to our clients that they are in safe hands. TAP provides a rigorous structure for course design and endorsement of high standards of training delivery, which gives clients and our staff the confidence that we know what we are doing.'
BT Expedite, the Retail Specialist Division of BT, is one of the world's leading providers of software application solutions to the retail sector. The company was formed in January 2004, when BT acquired the UK assets, operations and distribution rights of global retail software supplier NSB.
It now works with leading retailers throughout the UK, Europe and North America, helping them to streamline processes, optimise information and meet the evolving merchandise and service expectations of multi-channel shoppers. In an intensely competitive sector, where store staff turnover can be as high as 76%, ensuring that retail staff have rapid and cost-effective access to high quality training is as important as the software itself.
"Our clients spend substantial amounts of money on software solutions and it's our job to make sure that staff are competent to use it, not only to achieve cost efficiencies and support business growth, but also to deliver excellent customer service -that all-important differentiating factor," says Sally Taylor, Head of Client Training at BT Expedite.
Sally, her team of senior training consultants and a large field training delivery team are responsible for designing and delivering bespoke, blended training solutions that meet the very different needs of clients ranging from W H Smith and Mothercare, to Primark and Oasis.
"It's absolutely vital that we listen to and understand the specific challenges and issues faced by each client because every retail environment and application of software is different," explains Sally. "One of the reasons we have been so successful is that our consultants and trainers are all retailers by background, as well as being qualified trainers."
Sally finds it intensely frustrating that anyone can stand up and proclaim they are a trainer without any formal qualification. Ten years ago she completed The Training Foundation's Trainer Assessment Programme (TAP) Certificate in Training Delivery Skills course; a qualification she says has high credibility in the retail sector. With growing numbers of retailers making a point of asking whether trainers are TAP accredited, she decided that her team of senior consultants should also go through the TAP programme.
"When we display a slide that says our trainers have the TAP qualification, we're demonstrating to our clients that they are in safe hands," says Sally. "TAP provides a rigorous structure for course design and endorsement of high standards of training delivery, which gives clients and our staff the confidence that we know what we are doing."
This is particularly important given the high volumes of retail staff throughput, varied profile of training audience on any single course and differing training needs, from basic till functionality to quite complex functionality such as stock, cash management & ordering.
"TAP has made a huge difference," comments Sally. "It has helped us to win business and manage different ranges of skills and attitudes more effectively in a blended learning environment."
With such high staff turnover rates in the retail sector, one of the big challenges for retailers is consistency of training standards for staff when Sally's trainers have left the store. A key challenge for BT Expedite is managing several major training roll-out programmes simultaneously. "We could have three or four large training roll-outs going on at the same time, involving thousands of retail staff with varying skills, needs and abilities," says Sally. "We know we've done a good job when we leave the store, but what happens if a large number of the retailer's staff have moved on six months later?"
Determined to leave a cost-effective and lasting training legacy for their clients beyond the in¬store face-to-face training, Sally and her team set about creating an award-winning e-learning and communications tool. 'Virtual View and Learn' (VVL), incorporating 'Personal Learning Room' (PLR), enabling staff to access tailored training solutions online and at the point of sale, reducing ongoing training costs by as much as 55% compared to traditional paper-based programmes. This initiative has been so successful that it won the Generic Solution of the Year category at the World of learning Awards.
Following the success of both VVL and PLR, which today are deployed in 19 retailers, sitting on over 200,000 tills, across the UK, Europe and the USA, BT Expedite have launched BT Jigsaw. BT Jigsaw is a unique and ground breaking retail induction portal, which allows a retailer to track staff absorption & collect evidence that legislative subjects such as Health & Safety, Anti-Discrimination & Data Protection have been understood. These subjects are linked to overall competencies as part of a personal 10-13 week induction programme, which also has the capability to house NVQ content for a variety of retail subjects which can be uniquely tracked and monitored by a store manager. The BT Jigsaw platform is accredited by the awarding bodies, and BT Expedite has initiated a process which can award funding to retailers who undertake the programme.
As successful as this initiative has been, however, Sally firmly impresses on her clients that online learning will never completely replace the need for a qualified trainer for certain subjects.
"Effective training has got to be about a blended approach and I would say that TAP' has given us the final piece for our blended solution," says Sally. "We have the retail expertise, the accredited training delivery skills plus a comprehensive suite of award winning e-learning solutions to underpin our training and, most importantly, 'future proof' our customers, so that they can focus on the business of retailing in the knowledge that staff training is in safe hands."