EY Winner - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand EY is a professional services firm, providing advisory, assurance, tax and transaction services. EY is committed to doing its part in building a better working world, the insights and quality services they deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. To help raise awareness of the learning and development opportunities available to EY’s 14,500 people across the UK, the Talent & Development team embarked on a week of interactive and engaging activities. During EY’s Learning at Work Week, the firm devised a programme of events to empower employees to engage in learning across the organisation and to highlight the resources available. The week resulted in a thousand hits on EY’s internal learning portal on day one of the campaign, two thousand colleagues listening in to dedicated webcasts and over six thousand colleagues taking part in a virtual ‘bite of learning’ initiative. Based on the feedback from EY’s employees, participants said they appreciated the different topics and formats of learning offered and the opportunities for further learning, they also said they felt inspired to take charge of their own learning and development. The Learning at Work Week aimed to encourage people to take advantage of EY’s rich learning resources and to complete EY Badges, a scheme which incentivises employees to learn new skills by providing the opportunity to earn digital credentials. The four levels of the EY badges (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum) are earned through world-class learning, fulfilling required experiences, and making a contribution to learning through coaching or training others and thought leadership. Talent Development teams across EY’s service lines helped to plan the week and delivered local events to reflect the key themes of the campaign. EY’s network of Learning Champions acted as strong advocates to reach a wide audience, and also took part in a special event aimed at developing their understanding and role as change agents across the business for Learning at Work Week and beyond. The Learning at Work Week was promoted using a variety of internal channels. A digital focused core campaign through an internal email communication and plasma screens was amplified with, for example, face-to-face promotion. EY also worked with external organisations to bring a fresh perspective. Internal and external speakers also conducted virtual webcasts on topics linked to EY’s Future Skills. These set out to inspire people to invest in their own development and included talks on creativity, mindset and different learning tactics.
Maintel Winner - The Open University Business School Learning at Work Week Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Maintel is a cloud and managed services company, with a focus on communication. As a fast-growing provider of managed communications services for the private and public sectors, we’re experts at securely connecting our customers in the office, on the move and in the cloud. Maintel’s Learning at Work Week supported its People Strategy, of which a key element is to integrate its people and their skills following a series of acquisitions. It contributed to building a thriving people centred environment that attracts and retains a diverse and skilled workforce; and a workplace that cultivates a culture of company-wide collaboration, ‘agile’ working and the company’s three pillars of digital workplace, customer experience and secure connectivity. Maintel wanted to create a Learning at Work Week that showed its commitment to its people and was fun, engaging and memorable. The company has a remote and agile workforce with 50% working at home.The week needed to offer something for everyone so that all colleagues could get involved. To do this, Maintel’s employee forum helped plan the week and employees were engaged at an early stage, invited to submit ideas and join a dedicated Company Teams group. The week included just-for-interest and business focused sessions. Office-based events, were recorded for colleagues who couldn’t attend. All colleagues received a learning pack full of learning resources and ideas, assessments and fun competitions with prizes, including ‘Fastest finger first’ typing competition and ‘Spot Seven Security Issues’ photo. There were webinars on being ‘Social Media Savvy’ delivered by the Digital Marketing Manager, and ‘Preparing for the world of work: it’s up to you’ on the skills needed to flourish in the new world of work. Maintel’s external partners demonstrated different technologies and how these will change workspaces and call centres. To promote inclusion and women in technology, the company hosted twelve girls from Bedford school. They took part in two-way presentations with Maintel apprentices and female engineers, offering an opportunity to learn from each other. An employee input event “if you were the CEO of Maintel” World café event showed the importance of internal collaboration and Maintel’s openness to employee ideas. A social media strategy using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter engaged colleagues early in the LAW Week campaign. The monthly bulletin and employee forum promoted the benefits of the week. In all offices, posters and a special video were displayed. A landing page for the week was put on SharePoint keeping colleagues informed on developments. Leaders briefed their team to ensure continuous collaboration and ensure that everyone felt included. To evaluate the Week, reactions were recorded at each session and then through monthly updates and follow up communications. The annual survey will help to evaluate the ongoing impact of the week’s events on the people strategy and company initiatives and objectives. The Week has promoted the importance of self-directed learning. It’s created a sense of belonging across the company and led to a range of positive outcomes. Employees made internal and external connections, expanding their knowledge and networks. Building on feedback, the team will launch a Learning Vault for shared resources and roll out Maintel Champions building on the success of employee collaboration. The CEO for a Day event, alongside other employee ideas, has shaped new employee benefits available from January 2020. Learning requests from colleagues and line managers have increased by 15%, including on training and security awareness. The business is embracing the use of technology for blended learning and remote training and is investing in infrastructure to support agile working. The focus on diversity and wellbeing has led to new national training campaigns at the company on diversity, inclusion and agile working. Maintel has officially partnered with Bedford school to ensure ongoing commitment to women in technology. Maintel’s attrition rate has gone below it’s targeted 12% for the first time in over a year, currently below 10%, and the company has seen an increase in ‘boomerang’ employees as word spreads about the great things on offer.
Lloyds Banking Group Winner - Charity Learning Consortium Impact Award for Shaping Digital Futures Joint Winner- Findcourses.co.uk Impact Award for Innovation in Learning and Development Commended - Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Lloyds Banking Group is the UK’s largest retail and commercial bank. It has a footprint that touches nearly every community and household in the UK. Each of the 70,000 people that work there has a role to play in helping to achieve Lloyds Banking Group’s vision of becoming the Best Bank for Customers. Lloyds Banking Group’s Learning at Work Week supported its three year Bank of the Future transformation strategy which identifies 10 key skills that need to be built. It’s objectives were to develop colleagues’ awareness and understanding of these skills and support a culture where learning is part of the company’s DNA. The team recognised that to do this successfully they would need to create something eye-catching and fun that engaged colleagues in a different way. This would help gain the interest of colleagues in a big organisation undergoing a large transformation, where there are constant messages and opportunities. They also wanted to create an engaging learning experience that supported a culture where people’s perception of learning is about ‘continually growing and developing’ and not ‘mandatory training’. In partnership with creative communications agency Top Banana, the team created a gamified learning activity ‘Skillsville’. Colleagues could use iPads to explore 10 Skillsville ‘landmarks’ and play a game at each through which they learned about each of the 10 skills. To fit with the ‘Skillsville’ theme and create a consistent internal campaign the team used comic book style characters and playful language. Profiles of learning role models were created using Skillsville comic book style case studies and bitesize vlogs called ‘Skills:Talks’. The team toured the key office locations with Skillsville, creating a visual display that presented a new environment for learning. To support Group-wide activity, the team worked with leaders in each division to show how Skillsville supported the business strategy and to schedule divisional events and messages (both face-to-face and virtual). This ensured that Learning at Work Week was supported by leaders and promoted in established divisional communication channels. Lloyds network of 650+ volunteer ‘Learning Legends’ helped to embed activity across the entire Group and supported the testing of the innovation. Overall this led to time spent on learning relating to the 10 key skills for the future increasing by 84% in Q2 2019 compared with the average quarter. By engaging networks, leaders and Learning Legends early in the campaign the team overcame the challenge of promoting a non-mandatory activity. The compelling campaign identity with recognisable branding ensured the communications stood out. Though it aligned with Group brand guidelines, the copy and imagery was very different to that of a traditional financial services organisation. A mix of online surveys, tracking of hits, and likes and comments on social media were used to evaluate the impact of Skillsville and to see if this innovative approach raised awareness and understanding of the 10 key skills and sparked colleagues interest in learning. Learning at Work Week supported the 565k learning hours completed in Q2 related to building the Group’s 10 key skills for the future (not including mandatory training). That’s the most learning ever completed at 84% higher than the average quarter since the team started measuring in January 2018. In addition, Learning Hubs were visited over 21,000 times in May, a 120% increase in page hits compared to the average month. Colleagues rated the Skillsville on average highly (4.3 out of 5) and specifically referenced fun, interactive, creative and thought-provoking the sessions were. This shows that the innovation helped to engage colleagues with the 10 key skills for the future and change perceptions around learning. This approach has supported the organisation’s transformation strategy and has been recognised by senior management as a great example of using innovation to drive the change for the organisation. More colleagues have engaged with learning and are equipping themselves with the right skills for their futures. This will enable Lloyds to serve its customers better in a digital world. This success will be built on and used for future activities including the use of virtual reality technology within the Group's personal vitality and resilience courses.
Bristol Energy Winner - The Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Bristol Energy is a national gas and electricity company, owned by Bristol City Council. It is a purpose led business; building a sustainable energy company with social value at its heart. From local job creation to staff volunteer days, carbon reduction activities and well-being initiatives such as training mental health first aiders, Bristol Energy put an estimated £7m social value back into the Bristol community in 2018/19. The company recently reached its 100,000 residential customer milestone and also supplies around 4,500 business meter points. Bristol Energy is growing its portfolio of renewable energy with 54 contracts with independent, renewable generators. In 2018/19, the business switched all tariffs to come from 100% renewable sources. Bristol Energy’s relaunched vision ‘to create a sustainable energy company that has social value at its heart’ was the focus of its Learning at Work Week. It was a perfect opportunity to educate and build the curiosity of colleagues about ‘sustainability’. This included Bristol Energy’s own specific contribution to the city’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, and the ways in which individuals and organisations can support sustainability by reducing their carbon footprints. The team brought together the vision and the company’s three values ‘Be Brave and Curious’, ‘Be Purposeful’ and ‘Be Connected’ to drive the design, communication and delivery of Learning at Work Week Each day of the Week focused on a different aspect with related activities. On Monday, Renewable Energy was the theme. Colleagues could find information on the Renewable Energy Facts Board; join in a Meet and Greet with the Trading and Renewable Energy Team and calculate their individual carbon footprint. Tuesday looked at Future Technologies with an energy products showcase and City Leap Projects Talk. On Wednesday, Recycling was the talk of the day with a bring and buy sale, the launch of an eco bricks initiative and information on recycling. Colleagues could check their energy efficiency on Thursday with top tips, a lunch and learn and videos on climate change. At the end of the week, the organisation ran a fun Bingo game and Sustainable Future Quiz and invited pledges from colleagues on reducing their carbon footprints. The activities were designed for all colleagues and offered in different formats. There were showcases and talks which people could attend at lunchtime to gain the most footfall and freedom to attend. The same information was then shared on the Learning at Work Week website (in the form of voice recordings and slideshows) so they could be accessed at any time and at any location. Bristol Energy also provided desk-based activities such as the sharing of articles, videos and key information to ensure that home workers, part-timers and colleagues with more restrictive roles were able to get involved. For each activity, colleagues could learn about the wider theme and what Bristol City is doing specifically to support this bringing the company’s vision to life. By starting with a carbon footprint calculator at the beginning of the week, colleagues could then learn throughout the week how to reduce their footprint in different ways e.g. energy efficiency or recycling, and make a commitment to this on the last day. Using innovative learning opportunities such as the bring and buy sale for preloved items and hiding energy efficiency tips across the office has helped build curiosity about different ways of being sustainable. To win the bingo, participants had to engage with the activities and information presented during the week encouraging colleagues to be curious in a fun and game-like way. To align the week’s promotional activities with the sustainability theme and with carbon footprints in mind it was decided to make communications mainly online and through word of mouth. When paper based promotions were used, such as the teaser poster, these were made of recycled paper. A special Learning at Work Week promotional sign was made out of used paper, plastic bottles and plant pots to show colleagues how to get creative and repurposed items. The team created a special collaboration space for LAW Week where all the activities took place and key information was posted. A LAW Week website promoted activities, took bookings and featured a daily blog to update colleagues on events. A hashtag for the week #SustainableFutures promoted the week through the company’s internal social media platform and on the website. Face to face promotion included colleague briefings hosted by the Managing Director and team meetings by the LAW Week Colleague Project team. The week was evaluated using data from a survey, the answers to the Sustainable Futures Quiz and the pledges made by colleagues to reduce their carbon footprint. The team could see how much information colleagues had retained and their engagement in sustainability matters. Colleagues appreciated the different formats for the sessions and found the week enlightening. They were encouraged to find out more and in some cases make changes to their home and work lives in relation to sustainability. Overall, colleagues have engaged and become energised about sustainability. This benefits the company as it feels more confident that colleagues understand what the vision means and the importance of sustainability to the business and the city. The week has helped colleagues be more curious, a key value, and this will be supported by further lunch and learns on the vision and wider values of the business.
Cambridge Network Winner - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand Cambridge Network is a membership organisation based in the vibrant high technology cluster of Cambridge, supporting growth in the region through recruiting, developing, attracting and connecting. Cambridge Network ran a truly collaborative Learning at Work Week to achieve shared success. It created partnerships to help build learning cultures at work and increased the reach and support of the Network. Building on its existing ‘Cambridge Network Learning Week’ Forum set up in 2018, Cambridge Network acted as a catalyst to create a broad schedule of learning activities open to over 400 workplaces. Over a nine month period the Network ran collaborative meetings with organisations and trainers. The resulting activities for Learning at Work Week reflected the interests and needs of the companies and businesses across the region. The week’s activities were diverse, from two hour tasters to two-day courses, panel sessions to training videos. Sessions were hosted at partner organisations and offered employees and their workplaces the chance to develop skills in leadership, management, influencing, communication and interviewing amongst others. To raise awareness of the importance of mental health awareness training, the Network linked up with Mental Health Awareness Week and ran sessions on stress reduction, self-harm and eating disorders. A special Apprenticeship Day promoted apprenticeships in the region. Apprentices talked about their achievements and organisations discussed their experiences and apprenticeship opportunities. Alongside the meetings, CN’s Cambridge Network’s promotion encouraged a wide range of people to get involved and share with their teams what was happening. Forty organisations attended the activities and the network has made new connections, grown its reach and membership and raised awareness of the support it offers amongst hundreds of companies. By opening up the majority of in-house activities to the general public, this has encouraged new relationships and collaboration leading to new projects. Cambridge Network has shared its evaluation and learner feedback with trainers and organisations to support continuous improvement and help with the design of future courses. The project has reinforced the importance of partnerships and sharing resources, and the value of learning and development for all types of organisations.
HSE Chemicals Regulation Division Commended - The Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Chemical Regulation Division’s (CRD) primary aim is to regulate the safe use of biocides, industrial chemicals, pesticides and detergents to protect the health of people and the environment in accordance with the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) mission. Better wellbeing, forging career pathways and improving basic skills were all on the agenda for CRD’s Learning at Work Week. The division (within HSE), ran a week that supported business goals and divisional needs through a series of interactive and business-focused events. The design of the week demonstrated the division’s positive and inclusive learning culture, which supports everyone’s growth and development. Colleagues were invited to make suggestions for the week in special drop-in sessions, giving everyone a sense of ownership and responsibility and making sure the programme was accessible for all. Learning opportunities took place at all three of CRD’s sites. To support health and wellbeing the division provided advice in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Week, so colleagues could recognise potential problems and address them. Through the week, colleagues were empowered to take control of their own development and use this for the benefit of others in the organisation. Skills sharing was built into the week as a way to promote internal networking, give insights into different work areas and help colleagues gain new knowledge to apply to their own subject areas. Twenty eight bite sized learning sessions took place. There were webinars and skype broadcasts open to everyone including lessons learned from communications and chemicals in the environment. Webinars allowed CRD to design and deliver sessions with the interest of smaller cohorts specifically in mind, and make these available across the organisation too. Colleagues could better their writing skills and learn strategies for resilience and wellbeing in workshops. Scientific and operational colleagues heard about internal projects relevant to their work. There was a demonstration on beekeeping and drones in agriculture for colleagues interested in the environment and innovative technologies. Enthusiastic new starters contributed to the schedule by training others on technical areas of the business. The recruits gained new skills in delivering training whilst giving back to the division their time and energy for the investment made in them. Everyone could take part in non-work related learning opportunities too, including Spanish for beginners, craft club and sign language. A nominated communications lead designed a range of posters and flyers to promote the week alongside direct mail, launch messages and reminders in the weekly newsletter. HSE’s internal social media platform let colleagues in other divisions know what was happening and to encourage wider participation. The organising team acted as advocates for the week and promoted the event verbally across the division. By using eventbrite, the team could easily see where there were still spaces on sessions and open these up to colleagues from across HSE such that 500 places were taken up over the events. As all sessions were delivered by colleagues for colleagues, CRD ran a low cost event that has led to significant benefits for colleagues and the organisation. The profile of CRD’s L&D group has been raised and the week will inform activities planned for throughout 2019/2020. The successful week has sparked wider interest and other Divisions are planning to participate next year.
Acro Aircraft Seating Highly Commended - The Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand ACRO AIRCRAFT SEATING design and manufacture seats for today’s discerning airline passengers, balancing cabin economics and passenger experience. Striving to create ‘perfect comfort for passengers’ Acro Aircraft Seating is going through a period of transformation after a significant change in leadership and focus. The goal for Learning at Work Week was to continue embedding a culture ‘where people feel fulfilled and able to grow’ as well as support business change and continuous improvement. To promote to colleagues different aspects of change and how to be ready for it, a theme of ‘Future Ready’ was used. Each day of Learning at Work Week had a different focus to drive improvement in key areas of learning and development and support personal development in readiness for changing environments and roles. The tangible outcomes sought included increasing engagement and use of the company’s LMS, completion rates of Essential Learning and Personal Development Plans and supporting business change and continuous improvement through learning & new skills. The activities for the week aimed to promote colleagues’ thinking on how to be Future Ready and introduce tools that could help to do this for work. Acro Aircraft Seating’s employees have varied roles. Some are home-based, others travel and there’s of mix of manual and office workers. Learning at Work Week needed to include a broad set of topics and flexible access to learning so there was something for everyone. Mini-workshops were run by colleagues on business aligned themes. Drop-in sessions provided personal one on one consultations. People could access webinars wherever they were. Daily themed emails had hints and tips with reminders of daily activities. A dedicated page on the company’s LMS directed colleagues to an expanded library of learning resources including from new partners Learnhacks, Clear Lessons and GetAbstract. Workshops were held on Continuous Improvement and Project Management. A ‘Think Tank’ gave everyone the opportunity to improve a key process. It’s anticipated that the resulting ideas will lead to improvements and cost benefits. Managers were engaged early in the process, with special pre-launch sessions about the week and their role in learning. This helped them prepare, discuss and engage with their teams about the week in a way that worked for them. Colleagues were invited to run and suggest additional ideas for the mini-workshops. Desk drops with goodies and invitations, and a poster and newsletter campaign set out to capture interest across the company. The event was embraced by all levels and departments. 87% of people managers attended pre-launch sessions including executive level colleagues. There was a marked level of engagement from colleagues engaged in manual work, who continue to proactively seek development support. The percentage of people using the LMS has grown to 89% from 72% pre-Learning at Work Week. Completion rates of Essential Learning have improved by 45%. The week has led to sustainable benefits. There has been a 30% increase in Personal Development Plan objectives being set, plus a peak in requests for one to one discussions and consultancy. There is an increased interest in Apprenticeships with five in the pipeline for production and warehousing. People are using tools for continuous improvement and project management in their working practices, making them more consistent across the organisation. As well as improving a key business process overall, the ‘Think Tank’ initiative has already led to change which will enhance productivity. Finally, the data from the week has helped build further sustainable learning resources to support change and business improvement.
BCG Digtial Ventures Commended - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand BCG Digital Ventures’ collaborative Learning at Work Week promoted a new learning initiative and contributed to the success and development of DV’s employee experience and human experience goals. Following the company’s CEO’s announcement to partners encouraging engagement in 5 days of learning hours, the L&D team used Learning at Work Week to extend this to all employees. The company has also launched new core competencies. Learning at Work Week was seen as an opportunity to provide DV colleagues with new technologies and bite-size accessible sessions aligned to these, as well as raise awareness of the wider L&D offer and enhance the company’s learning culture. The team worked with different partners to create a successful week. The leadership team helped them to align the week to business priorities, the operations team supported the event development and the design team ran an ideation session, which identified objectives, content and format for the week. DV’s internal communication design team created artwork. Nearly all of DV’s current training partners took up the invitation to take part and new suppliers offered free demonstrations. This collaboration ensured that Learning at Work Week was truly a cross-organisation effort and not just an L&D initiative. Learning at Work Week activities were offered to all colleagues and delivered by external trainers and employees themselves. Colleagues were supported to take ownership of their learning and develop their creative and facilitation skills. There were bite-size learning sessions so anyone could attend even when limited by time. The topics were broad and diverse enough to interest everyone and were made optional to encourage learner-directed activities. Sessions on offer included ‘using strengths in a team setting’, ‘how to utilise your learning on your venture’ with BCG LAB experts, ‘an introduction to LinkedIn’ and ‘amplifying your pitching skills’. To develop leadership competencies colleagues could take part in sessions to identify their leadership potential and learn how to create a leadership culture that encourages entrepreneurship, creativity and devolved problem solving. Colleagues could boost their presentation skills and practice their pitches with virtual reality. The week was promoted using branded communications and benefit messages including through Company Time attended by all employees, a launch email and follow up emails, which highlighted core competencies and how to develop them with resources and activities. The week’s agenda was displayed on office screens and Slack was used to communicate and encourage sharing about each activity. An open area hosted the L&D Fair which showcased learning and development at DV and Learning at Work Week sessions. QR codes linked to the event pages were used around the office to enable colleagues to access information quickly and easily. After each activity, participants were invited to give feedback on a whiteboard or online questionnaire. The team wanted to raise awareness of the different L&D opportunities already available, create appetite for new ones but also give opportunities for people to learn in practical workshops. At the L&D Fair people used the library space to borrow books, with participants giving suggestions to buy new books. Employees have a greater understanding of what’s on offer and how they can progress within their career and the company. The DV core competencies launched in January this year have been given more visibility through the week. The business and people are now more aware of how L&D can support their career progression and how their individual contribution impacts business success
Baillie Gifford Highly Commended - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand Baillie Gifford’s third Learning at Work Week ‘Learnfest’ set out to promote a learning culture, stimulate curiosity and engage employees in learning. It was aligned to one of the company’s Shared Beliefs - ‘Our firm must be an engaging and progressive place to work’ and aimed to support broader priorities of Maintaining Culture, Globalisation and Managing Change. The team used the ‘shaping the future’ theme to reflect the business’ growth into new geographies and its increasing number of employees embracing technology. The team built a broad partnership of company groups and teams including those from Compliance, Early Careers, Information Systems Virtual Reality and its LGBT and Mental Health and Wellbeing Network. It also worked with external partners forming a wide range of learning providers and organisations including Project Scotland, GoodPractice and Clearly Financial Training. These supported the development of new learning offers for staff including engaging online content for staff working remotely around the world. A week long programme of activities were delivered under the banner ‘Learnfest’. The team created a week that would appeal to all with different topics, formats, duration and venues. Colleagues could learn online, through drawing and writing, and via virtual reality. They could visit pop-ups and the week’s marketplace, learn at their desks and outdoors, or learn together in a group. The sessions invited colleagues to ‘draw out their future’ and learn about ‘our investment philosophy’, the ‘3 dimensions of success’, and the ‘tiny habits that can help you thrive’. The Wellbeing group arranged therapy taster sessions on massage and reflexology. The design of the sessions helped colleagues develop core competencies, which include Communication, Idea Generation, Relationship Building, Confidence and Self-Belief, Business Understanding and Team Working. These competencies play a significant part in the company’s Performance and Development Framework. Workshops on Visual Thinking, Street Wisdom and Sleep reinforced a learning culture where staff are supported to look after aspect of themselves, be curious and creative, and have time to explore. The week was promoted through a variety of channels using the ‘Learnfest’ bold and bright brand. Managers were informed initially to let them know what was happening and why. Teaser emails, intranet posts and the company’s internal L&D network raised awareness. Novel and experimental marketing methods helped to create a buzz. Posters and postcards featured questions to stimulate debate and thought. Competitions and a time capsule challenge encouraged colleagues to try different things. Hundreds of colleagues took advantage of the diverse, creative and relevant learning on offer with nearly all of the 703 session spaces filled. The week gave employees an opportunity to learn and challenge one another outside of their normal day to day business. They rated the opportunities to discuss, interact and gain insights from colleagues across the business highly. Many of the sessions run during the week are now permanent learning offers. The business will benefit from the fresh perspectives, energy and motivation gained by staff. Learning at Baillie Gifford is mentioned positively by staff in engagement surveys, recruitment activity and in retention discussions and Learnfest is seen as playing a key part in this.
The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Commended - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand Giving their employees beneficial opportunities to learn for work and life was at the heart of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s Learning at Work Week. The week supported the Trust’s strategic aims to ‘Provide research, development and innovation opportunities’. It reinforced the organisation’s culture which promotes the importance of personal development and wellbeing which is actively supported by the Trust’s CEO. It was a chance for the organising group to provide a wide variety of learning sessions outside of mandatory training. This aimed to make colleagues aware of the range of development opportunities at the Trust, and that these aren’t just confined to courses - there are many ways to learn. A multidisciplinary group met monthly to share ideas and plan for the week, ensuring a range of expertise and views. Members came from across the Trust from teams that deliver and support training and development including Organisational Development, Professional Development & Education Unit, IT Training, Medical Education and Communications. The group worked with external partners such as trade union learning representatives, Wakefield Adult Education and Affinity. To build the activities for the week, the group used feedback from a roadshow where staff suggested first aid, finance awareness particularly on pensions, and autism awareness as topics they’d like to learn about. The staff benefit roadshows were incorporated into the week and a new competitive challenge was set up to encourage staff to keep active. Colleagues were also invited to showcase their hobbies. Together this created a rich programme of events and sessions that would appeal to a wide range of people and their different learning preferences. There were sessions on Tai Chi, time management, presentation skills, assertiveness and emotional intelligence. Staff could learn about first aid, financial wellbeing and autism. There was a seminar about sleep and training on a variety of digital tools including Skype, OneNote and Excel. A multitude of information stands and interactive stalls gave colleagues lots of things to discover. These included from services and departments across the Trust such as childcare, careers support, staff benefits and occupational health, clinical research and physiotherapy. Colleagues could find about Unite and Unison unions, wellbeing, mental health, the staff gym and Body Shop. They could learn how to make mocktails and take part in a prize draw. To promote the week, the organising group used a variety of media and channels. They put information in the weekly bulletin, on the Trust’s intranet and on table toppers in the dining and rest rooms. Posters and flyers were distributed across wards and departments. The Chief Executive wrote about the event in his weekly blog and the Director of Nursing included information in a blog. Information was included in team briefs and on meeting agendas. The week was advertised on social media and on a ticker tape message on all PCs. Promotional stands highlighted the week on hospital sites and on the Benefits Roadshow. Over 1400 staff attended the week on three different sites. Colleagues found the sessions interesting and informative with 97% of participants rating the week as excellent. They are keen for more learning and follow up sessions on autism have already been organised by clinical staff for their departments. The week has helped the Trust show that it listens to colleagues and acts on their feedback. It has helped to raise its reputation as a place to work by showing that it dedicates time and resources to invest in its people. By showcasing the learning opportunities on offer, the Trust has successfully raised engagement in learning, This will help the organisation to deal with change in the NHS by supporting colleagues to continually learn and develop.
Wakefield Council Highly Commended - The Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Learning for the future was the driver of Wakefield Council’s Learning at Work Week. One of the Council’s key goals is to support its people through their journey of lifelong learning. It recognises that as the world of work changes and customer needs evolve, traditional skills may become outdated. People will need to continuously develop their skills, adapt and be open to new directions. Learning at Work Week was an opportunity to empower and encourage people to try learning in all its forms from work shadowing through networking, to sharing and learning from each other. The week was used as a platform to develop a skills and action plan linked to the Council’s business priorities ‘Successful People’ and ‘Successful Council’ and to highlight the principles that underpin the way the council works which include helping people to help themselves and being forward thinking which are all part of ‘The Wakefield Way’; the Council’s People Strategy and Children’s improvement plan. To achieve this, the council decided to offer positive learning experiences for colleagues, exploring innovation and promoting reflective practice. Nearly 20 events were run, attended by over 200 people with many more accessing self-help material on the Council’s Learning Portal. Learning activities were designed and delivered to be inventive, creative and most of all convenient to ensure maximum impact and attendance. They included ‘An audience with’; the Chief Executive and the Head of Intelligence and Technology, who shared their insights and learning with managers of the future. Workshops for Social Work practitioners looked at gang culture and the use of virtual reality to learn new skills. Others covered Digital Skills and Mental Health awareness. Colleagues could learn about the Council’s Libraries App and how to access self-help material on the employee Learning Portal. To support its People Strategy and our journey of lifelong learning the Council launched its Masterclass programme 2019 - 2020. To discuss new ideas and concepts that will develop ways of working and also generate ideas for new ways of delivering excellent services to citizens. This included masterclasses on Presenting Like a Pro and Understanding Your Target Market. To support reflective practice, colleagues tried Cornerstone Virtual Reality which used 360 degree immersive films and VR headsets to explore practice linked to domestic abuse and attachment related trauma. Short videos ‘through the eyes of a child’ helped colleagues to understand and interact with vulnerable children. The week also saw the launch of the Council’s workplace choir ‘One Voice’, which unites colleagues from across the organisation. A ‘One Council approach’ to promote Learning at Work Week saw the Chief Executive put the spotlight on the week through her weekly blog. The internal intranet raised awareness across the Council and Manager Alerts, emails and Team Briefs cascaded information across the Council’s directorates. To engage colleagues on frontline services, posters were displayed in rooms and canteens. To evaluate the week, feedback from participants was captured at all events and afterwards, through graffiti boards and at information stands placed in key locations demonstrating the Council’s Learning Portal. Learning at Work Week has acted as a catalyst and contributed to the Council’s journey of change and a culture of continuous development. Colleagues have been able to access and try new ways of learning, discover how they can develop themselves, and network with each other. Skills learned in masterclasses are being put into practice. In addition, the Wakefield Learning Academy was launched in September 2018 as a vehicle to drive forward practice improvements through effective learning solutions and interventions across the Children and Young People’s workforce. The evaluation of the Virtual Reality sessions has led to VR now also being part of Wakefield’s Practice Model ‘Connecting Practice - Relationships for Change’. VR will be used to understand how trauma impacts on the ability of adults and children to protect themselves and others as well as knowing how to successfully intervene in these circumstances.
Virgin Media Winner - Findcourses.co.uk Impact Award for Innovation in Learning and Development Commended - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand Virgin Media’s Learning at Work Week showcased new digital tools to connect people across the business and support its values and cultures. The company uses digital tools for business-wide priorities and strategies that need to connect people to each other and to essential information quickly. For Learning at Work Week 2019, the company promoted three new digital tools developed by its Innovation Lab and linked to its Grow People and Employee Experience Strategy. These are its mentoring programme tool, Connected App, which connects mentors to mentees, connects colleagues and provides a platform to share ideas, videos and articles; The Augmented Reality Leadership Pack supporting Virgin Media’s leadership induction programme; and Evalu8App, which lets learners give feedback on Virgin Media’s learning and development courses through mobile devices. The company promoted the apps in different ways and through different channels to ensure everyone at Virgin Media had the opportunity to interact with them and learn more. To encourage business-wide involvement, the team worked with internal communications, business partners, directors and area leads. To create excitement before Learning at Work Week, a promotional video and engaging teaser and poster campaign were shared on Intranet pages, in business communication, on digital screens and through social media. Learning at Work Week Ambassadors were recruited to engage colleagues in their areas and run roadshows that showcased the apps and the wider digital learning resources on offer. A Shaping the Future of Learning blog series highlighted developments the company expects to see within the next 10 years including on Field Based Learning and Microcredentials. These featured on Virgin Media’s dedicated Learning at Work Week digital pages, site banners and social media, and in its regular communications. Training sessions and roadshows took place at ten locations. Visitors to each roadshow were invited to record their feedback via the Evalu8App. Short ILT Power Hour sessions offered learning that business areas could attend together, without impacting on operational activity. In addition, virtual Power Hours were run via WebEx to reach wider audiences. The Virgin Values Moments competition, which used the in-house Augmented Reality App, invited colleagues to take a photo of a moment that captured one of the company’s six values. This engaging activity promoted the company’s corporate values and showcased the technology. User generated digital content was shared via Virgin Media’s dedicated Jive collaboration site. The creation of digital pages and videos, available 24/7, supported the ongoing development of a workplace culture where everyone has access to digital content. To promote Mental Health Awareness Week, X6 Wellbeing sessions were also delivered to support employees and managers. Learning at Work Week successfully supported Virgin Media’s business priorities and provided development opportunities that will unlock potential, drive performance and increase engagement. Over 2 hours were dedicated specifically for employees to participate in activities, exhibiting commitment to their development. Over 1000 colleagues in total attended roadshows, took part in sessions and used the new apps. Over 1200 people visited the iDiscover Learning at Work Week page an increase in usage of 31.2% following the week. The ILT sessions received positive feedback and has led to demand for further sessions and ongoing support. The provision of Networking learning is predicted to support collaboration in the business and actions are ongoing for the Innovation Lab, and wellbeing learning is predicted to reduce absence in the long term.
Advice Skills Academy Highly Commended - Pearson Impact Award for Promoting a Learning Culture Expand The Advice Skills Academy (ASA) is a partnership of advice giving organisations across the Liverpool City Region. ASA aims to co-ordinate and promote Learning & Development (L & D) and build workplace learning cultures across the partnership. Its members include six Citizens Advice organisations, Raise (an independent advice agency) and managing agent The Women’s Organisation who are the largest training and development organisation targeted at women in the UK. For Learning at Work Week, ASA set out to achieve three main objectives. First it aimed to build workplace learning cultures by providing L&D opportunities to a wide range of staff and volunteers in formats that fit with colleagues workloads. Second, it wanted to build workplace wellbeing to help reduce sickness absence, improve retention and provide support for staff. Staff at advice organisations operate in an environment with an increasing demand for services and clients who present with complex advice needs, which can lead to very high workloads. Third, ASA looked to promote a 70:20:10 approach to learning to improve the range of workplace learning that takes place, and increase the sharing of skills and knowledge amongst colleagues and between organisations. The partners worked together to plan, develop and promote activities based on a ‘Shaping your future’ theme. The activities were designed to fit the needs of each unique organisation, but used shared resources to maximise their impact. Drawing on evaluations, the partners identified learning linked to common job roles in their organisations that helps people do their jobs better. A focus on this meant they could maximise the number of people taking part and the usefulness of the learning. The partners also shared publicity and learning resources that they found had inspired learning both generally and for their previous Learning at Work Week. By working together and involving people who had participated in Learning at Work Week the year before, they were able to build a buzz about the Week and promote a positive view of learning. Whilst activities for the week varied for each partner, all included a mix of work-related and just-for-interest learning. There were group activities, online learning, lunchtime activities, advice related learning, learning about wellbeing, and craft and hobby sessions. The aim was to help colleagues learn together and recognise and share each other’s skills, knowledge and interests. Colleagues for instance could take part in a Bake Off, find out about employment law and early conciliation, learn about music and art therapy and check their numeracy skills as part of a broad programme of fun and informative learning. The week was publicised in the ASA newsletter in the months leading up to the week, on notice boards, in emails and on twitter. Colleagues promoted the events verbally in team meetings and through talking to peers which encouraged people who hadn’t taken part before to participate. Partners displayed inspirational quotes to inspire colleagues to think about learning and its importance for the future such as the Chinese proverb ‘Learning is a treasure that follows its owner everywhere’. Colleagues reported that learning during Learning at Work Week has led to a range of outcomes, from helping them do their job to opportunities to reflect on the learning they’ve done and how they learn. The week has helped partners continue to build a learning culture at work. A majority of participants say they are more positive about learning more generally and that their work performance has benefited from the learning they have done. Half are now proactively looking for more learning opportunities. Colleagues are thinking more widely about learning approaches and seeking to share their skills and knowledge. As one participant put it “Wish we could have Learning at Work Week more often. I really enjoyed it”.
Islington Council Commended - The Open University Business School Impact Award for Supporting Business and Organisational Goals Expand Islington Council is working for a place where everyone can reach their potential and enjoy a good quality of life. The council is re-imagining and re-designing its services in response to changes in funding and increased demand from its community. To perform to the highest standards and work fluidly across organisational boundaries, it aims to empower staff and residents to be part of this change process through an approach grounded in prevention, early intervention and resilience. Learning at Work Week was an opportunity to support these priorities. The week’s organisers wanted to support and inspire staff to work differently, by bringing the council’s focus on early intervention and prevention and its values (collaborative, empowering and efficient) to life. The activities were designed to promote understanding of the council’s priorities, embed its enabling values, provide opportunities for staff to connect and collaborate to improve services, and provide practical tools to promote resilience and wellbeing. With 600 diverse services, it was important colleagues had a menu of learning opportunities to choose from. Twenty-six ‘labs’ were held over 2 weeks, incorporating Learning At Work Week. There was a mix of sessions for managers and staff, with popular sessions were run in satellite locations to promote connections across the organisation. Managers could choose sessions on ‘Bringing wellbeing to your team’, ‘Manager as developer of people’, ‘Self-directed learning’, ‘Drawn Out - a screening and discussion of a film made by young people on one of the council’s estates’. Everyone could take part in sessions on ‘Personal resilience’, ‘People powered problem-solving’, ‘Behaviour change techniques’, ‘Maths’ and ‘An introduction to commissioning’. The leader of the council and the leadership team met with small staff groups to be quizzed on strategic direction.In addition, there were case study sessions, workshops and talks from internal and external speakers and trainers. The labs were promoted through a range of channels and in locations across the boroughs to ensure participation from cross-section of services. These included a dedicated front page on the intranet and Yammer. Promotional materials such as the programme and calendar for the Leaders’ Lab and Learning Lab event were distributed. The council’s BAME, Disabled Staff, LGBT and Mentor Networks promoted the activities and information was provided in the staff bulletin and newsletter, and at team meetings and events. The organisers sent follow-up materials including slides, handouts and links, signposting further resources. Following the week, staff received a ’10 things we learnt bulletin’ with opportunities to maintain learning momentum. The Internal Communications team and the Learning and OD team demonstrated exemplary collaboration to achieve a hugely successful initiative that exceeded expectations. Over five hundred people participated in events and an estimated 48% of the workforce got involved in some way, with over 2000 visits to the intranet. People report greater confidence in their understanding about strategic direction and more informed about key corporate projects. There are new physical and virtual collaborations across the council and colleagues have identified tangible actions they will take to share knowledge and collaborate more effectively. Many participants feel inspired by their learning. The council will benefit from having a better understanding of colleagues’ needs and how these can be supported. It is expected that conversations between managers and staff will improve. New tools and models of knowledge are being shared across the organisation in team meetings and away days, such as those learned in the People Powered Problem Solving sessions.
Edge Hill University Winner - The Charity Learning Consortium Impact Award for Shaping Digital Futures and the Findcourses.co.uk Impact Award for Innovation in Learning and Development Expand Edge Hill University, ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, is a campus-based university in Ormskirk. Edge Hill University’s Catalyst is a new state of the art building that brings together Library & Learning Services, Student Services and Careers. With over 200 members of staff now under one roof, Learning at Work Week was a great opportunity for the three services to come together, get to know each other and most importantly have fun learning. Learning at Work Week provided staff with an opportunity to not only get to know each other but develop their skills and express their interests. To promote Learning at Work Week the team used print and digital media, alongside sharing information through word of mouth and at staff meetings. An online timetable was created with a linked booking system. During Learning at Work Week 28 creative and informative sessions took place, delivered by both internal and external members of staff. These sessions were predominantly delivered by staff within Catalyst, as it gave staff the opportunity to inform colleagues about their services’ developments and an opportunity to share their skills and interests. Sessions included: ‘Creative Card Making’, ‘Rubber Stamp Printing’, ‘Sign Language’, ‘Writing for the web’ and ‘Pocket Photography’. A range of informative sessions allowed staff to learn more about other teams and network with colleagues. The week has helped establish a positive learning culture and colleagues are keen to develop their digital skills further by getting involved in professional development initiatives. It has shown that learning and staff development works best when embedded in the culture of the department so the team have recently delivered ‘Learning at Work Week - Halloween Spectacular’ to continue the blended learning approach and further build a culture of learning at work. Alongside the face to face sessions staff also had the opportunity to explore an innovative digital offer, DigiQuest 2.0. DigiQuest 2.0 is an online course designed to support and develop staff's digital skills and capabilities, giving staff the opportunity to independently explore and enhance their digital skills. Using the JISC Capabilities Framework to structure the course, staff had to travel to 6 planets in order to improve and develop their digital skills. The course incorporates a variety of tasks for staff to engage with such as discussion boards, personal reflection activities, assessments, videos and LinkedIn Learning courses. Activities range from creating an infographic to learning the basics of Excel, analysing their digital footprint, exploring alternative presentation software, making online quizzes and participating in Twitter chats. The choice of tasks were described as ‘varied’ and staff relished the opportunity to try out tools they had never explored previously. Learners also had the opportunity to achieve digital badges, recognising their digital skills and independent learning. As a result of the week, staff have increased their confidence in using digital technologies and a range of digital tools. They are more aware of different technologies and their importance in the modern workplace.