Appendix 2
Customer Services
Training and Development Plan 2006/07
The Training Service
Improving Performance Efficiency
Improving Knowledge & Understanding
Improving Personal Development
Contents
Introduction
/...... 3
Objectives
/...... 3
Staff Pledges relating to training
/...... 4
Review of future training delivery
/...... 5
Transparency of the Training Team and training
delivery
/ ...... 5Induction training for new starters.
/...... 5
Training requests
/...... 6
Mentoring scheme
/...... 6
Road Tester Working groups
/...... 6
Maintaining employee training records
/...... 7
SX3/Northgate Benefits and Council Tax system
/...... 7
Development of Middle Managers
/...... 7
Equal opportunities for all staff
/...... 7
E-learning
/...... 8
External training
/...... 8
Quality control checks
/...... 8
Staff Appraisals
/...... 9
Training for Internal and External Partners and Stakeholders
/ ...... 9The Training Team commitment
/...... 9
Customer Services Training and Development plan 2006/07
Introduction
Customer Services are committed to the provision of a professional and quality training service and will continually strive to improve the quality and delivery of training for staff within Customer Services and other internal partners and stakeholders who undertake work on our behalf.
The Training Service has responsibility for the training and development of over 300 staff within Customer Services, which includes the provision of Induction training programmes for new employees joining the organisation.
The Training Service provide training in a number of business areas within Customer Services including:
- Customer Contact Centre
- Customer Advice Team
- Council Tax and Recovery Team
- Council Tax & Benefit Processing Team;
- Central Team;
- Overpayment/Benefit Payment Team;
- Investigation Team
- Document Services
- Income Services
- Business Rates
Objectives
The Training plans for 2006/07 are primarily linked to key objectives of the city council’s Balanced scorecard and Performance Management Framework strategies, for the investment in learning and growth for staff in the organisation.
The Training plans are flexible to meet the changing priorities and challenges faced by Customer Services, to include the training required as a result of the expansion of service delivery. It also recognises the different skills and competencies needed by staff working in different areas within the business.
New services currently being introduced to Customer Services primarily affect the Contact Centre and Advice Team and it is important that staff within these areas receive the appropriate levels of training and support.
It is important to welcome new employees embarking on a career in Customer Services by promoting a professional and successful business by providing an informative induction-training course at the start of their employment.
It is recognised that staff working within the Council Tax & Benefit sections have to deal with frequent changes to legislation and new government initiatives and therefore training is key to ensuring that these changes are dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner, in order to meet the high standards of performance set by the government.
Existing staff must continue to be given on-going training and development opportunities, to ensure that they are able to deliver the high levels of service expected and will be encouraged in their career advancement.
Training plans have been adapted to reflect the different roles within the Customer Services Division to ensure that staff receive the appropriate training and obtain the appropriate qualifications required for their particular role.
All staff within Customer Services must be given equal opportunity for learning and development, irrespective of the team on which they work. Future training plans will take into account learning and development activities to include and be advantageous to all staff.
Senior Management recognises the need to invest in the appropriate levels of Training Officers to deliver the training requirements within Customer Services to ensure that the high standard of service levels to our customers is maintained and staff are given development opportunities to reach their maximum potential.
Staff Pledges relating to training
Training is recognised as a fundamental and important feature within Customer Services. There is a clear commitment to staff to ensure that the training they need to enable them to deliver the high standards of service and to enhance development and career opportunities is provided.
Customer Services are committed to a number of pledges to staff relating to training and these are as follows:
- Each member of staff within Customer Services will receive a minimum of 10 days training each year
- Staff within Customer Services are given up to 10.00am on a Wednesday morning for training related issues such as attending Staff Awareness sessions, reading staff guidance, E-learning etc, Alternative times will be allowed for staff who are not available for the training sessions on a Wednesday morning.
- All new staff joining Customer Services will receive a formal induction, which will cover the aims & objectives of the council & services, appropriate council policies, training requirements etc.
- Staff will be encouraged to undertake job related qualifications i.e. NVQ’s in Customer Services, call handling & Benefits, management related qualifications, supervisory skills, delivery of training related qualifications (Training Officers), ECDL etc.
- Each member of staff within Customer Services will have an annual appraisal, which will be undertaken by their line manager. This will be used as an opportunity to discuss performance & training issues.
Review of future training delivery
A complete review of the delivery of training in Customer Services has recently been undertaken to ensure future training strategies meet with the aims and objectives and the commitments given to staff. The review has also taken in to account recommendations as a result of the recent IIP inspection.
The review included a wide consultation programme, which included meetings between The Training Team Manager and Senior Managers, Team Managers, staff representatives. The consultation process has proved to be an invaluable and worthwhile exercise and clearly identified strengths and weaknesses within the existing training provisions.
It is important that future strategies for the delivery of training in the organisation are clear and transparent and that the Training Plan provides all staff with equal development opportunities and the necessary skills to carry out their duties and encourage career development.
Whilst it was acknowledged that the quality of the training provided was of a high standard, there were weaknesses identified in the training service delivery that needed to be improved.
In response to the findings of the review, a number of key activities and actions will be introduced during 2006/07 to improve the training service delivery and these are summarised as follows: -
Transparency of the Training Team and training delivery
From April 2006, the Customer Service Training and Quality Assurance Team will comprise of a Training Manager, four full time Training Officers, 2 Training and Quality Assurance Officers, 2 Quality Assurance Officers and one part time clerical support.
A Customer Service Training Service site has been introduced on the Intranet, to include a profile of the Training Team, the individual Training Officers and the activities of the team.
The activities of the training team will be reported monthly and will include training delivery, outstanding requests for training and
external training delivered and/or arranged.
The Training Team will produce regular newsletters and include latest learning and development opportunities for staff to participate and will also allow all staff to follow the progress of the training delivery and offer suggestions and ideas for future training activities.
The Training Team will encourage closer working arrangements with staff and Training Team members will circulate around the other teams during the Wednesday morning training period to support staff through learning activities.
Induction Training for new starters.
It is important that new employees to the organisation are welcomed with a professional and informative induction to Salford City Council and the business of Customer Services.
All new starters will be provided with a one-day induction-training course on the first day of employment, followed by a programme of training within the area of business to which they have been appointed.
Training requests
A process for requesting training has been introduced and all training requests must be made by Team Managers or Team Leaders and channelled directly to the Training Team, using a standard request for training proforma. The Training Team will endeavour to meet the request within a reasonable timescale, subject to the priority allocated to the request. Training should not be requested from individual training officers as this pressurises Training Officer into reactive training and can result in incomplete guidance and confusion for staff.
All training requested and agreed by Managers and staff during the appraisal process must be forwarded to the Training Team and recorded for future reference and training allocation.
Training requests will be acknowledged and where possible a timescale for delivery will be given.
For new starters managers must complete the training request form with full details of the training requirements and duties of the new employee.
The training plan will be agreed between the Training Officer and the Manager/Team leader of the team, to ensure both parties are clear on the expectations of the training to be provided.This training plan will be reviewed and amended where necessary during the training period.
At least two weeks notice of the commencement date, position and duties for the new starter is required to ensure an induction-training plan can be in place and delivered at the start of the employment.
Mentoring scheme.
A network of 30 mentors has been formally introduced throughout team within Customer Services.
The mentors will support the Training Team and the future training strategies.
The primary role of the mentors is to provide support and assistance for new starters and colleagues on the teams following formal training programmes and the introduction of new working practices. It is hoped the new designated roles will bridge the gap between the training resources and staff and provide direct support on the teams and significantly improve the sharing of information and clarity of staff guidance.
Close working arrangements will exist between Training Officers and Mentors on the teams to review and agree future training strategies and provide regular feedback to management and staff on initiatives for improvement in the training service delivery.
Road Tester Working groups
All new working practices and procedures to meet with major changes in legislation will be tested jointly by Training Officers, Mentors and a tester group on the respective teams, prior to rolling out to all staff. This practice will ensure guidance for staff is practicable and workable and will reduce the need to change/ revise staff instructions within short periods of time and avoid confusion to staff implementing the changes.
Maintaining employee training records
The Training Service will support the City Councils initiative for all directorates to maintain training records for employees of the council on a corporate training database. The Training and Management Events database is a module within the council’s SAP system and the Training Team will contribute to the development of the system to the benefit of all users in the future.
All training requested and delivered from 1 April 2006 will be recorded on the database and historical data held on the existing Training Service database will be prepared for migration to the new system.
Although the transition to the new system may initially result in some historical data being lost, it is felt that the long-term benefits will make it worthwhile.
SX3/Northgate Benefits and Council Tax system
Following the implementation of the new Housing and Council Tax and Council Tax software in June 2005, there remain many system issues and uncertainties to the expectations of the system functionality and it is important that this does not hinder the Training Team in meeting the training needs of the service. The Training Team will continue to be involved in testing new software releases and providing written guidance for staff where there are any system changes.
Development of Middle Managers
The Council is currently developing a competency framework to define the skills, knowledge and performance required by managers at all levels to enable them to manage and develop staff. A strategy for development of staff in middle management positions is being developed and will include a combination of external management training and shadow training/coaching programmes with current Senior Managers.
Equal opportunities for all staff
The Training Team will work closely with Team Leaders/Managers to encourage and assist learning and development of all staff on the teams and will support: -
- Training/Learning activities for Wednesday morning training hour
- Shadow training for staff to gain a greater understanding of the work of colleagues and the business area.
- E-learning in vocational and non-vocational related subjects
- Staff awareness sessions
- I.T. learning
- NVQs
- External training for vocational subjects
- External training in Supervisory and Management skills
- Professional business related qualifications
- ECDL
- Job related training
E-learning
It is intended that E-learning will form an integral part of the future delivery of training and guidance for staff in Customer Services, in work-based and business related subjects.
E-learning cannot and should not replace formal training programmes, however it is an additional learning tool that can be used
to enhance the training and development for all staff in the organisation.
The Training Team will promote and actively encourage participation from all staff in the use of e-learning. The Training Officers will work in partnership with the mentors on the teams to ensure everyone is confident and comfortable with this type of learning.
The team will provide regular e-learning sessions for all staff and will continually review the latest availability of e-learning activities to provide staff with informative and interesting topics of study.
As an introduction to this method of learning the training team will initiate with three e-learning software packages and provide training and guidance for staff in the use of the software:
Ivy Learning is a corporate E-learning software package accessed via the Intranet. Ivy Learning currently offers 60 E-learning courses in a wide range of subjects and includes self-assessment, competency modules to allow users to identify their own training needs.
Synergy Regs is a new E-learning software package that provides up to date guidance on Housing and Council Tax Benefit regulations and interpretation of circulars and changes reported to local authorities by The Department for Work and Pensions.
The software package is both tried and tested by other local authorities and early indications in these authorities are showing that the availability of the software encourages benefit processing staff to take personal responsibility for finding out information and is improving performance in Benefits administration.
IRRV Euclidian Benefits is an on-line Training Tool for Housing and Council Tax Benefits. There are 2 modules, one for learners and one for Training Officers and Managers and includes an on-line testing facility.
External training
The Training Service will co-ordinate training provision and delivery with external training providers as requested, where the training demand cannot be met in-house. Where there is a need for external training identified and an existing training provider is not known the Training Team Manager will endeavour to find a suitable provider to meet the requirement.
Quality control checks
The Performance Standards require authorities to carry out a minimum 4% check across a range of decisions made on Council Tax & Housing Benefit claims before a payment is made.
Additional targeted quality checks are carried out in areas of work considered to be high risk, including the work of new staff and new working practices and procedures.
Details of these quality checks are recorded on a central quality audit database, which is used to provide valuable information on performance. Managers and Training Officers will use this information to target training for staff and to review working practices, where problems or weaknesses in the processing of Housing, and Council Tax Benefits claims are highlighted.
Frequent quality checks are also carried out for staff in external services, to ensure the high standard of service delivery expected by the organisation and our customer’s is maintained. Where weaknesses or training needs are identified for customer facing staff, Training Officer’s supported by mentor’s on the team’s will provide the appropriate training and guidance.
Staff Appraisals
All requests for training identified and agreed by staff and managers during the staff appraisal process will be channelled through to the Training Team using the Training Request form.
The training request will be acknowledged and recorded on the training database.
All training requests will be addressed in order of priority as specified on the training request form.
Training for Internal and External Partners and Stakeholders
Customer Services work in partnership with internal and external stakeholders in the delivery of services and in particular the Council Tax and Benefits Service. The Training Service will continue to provide training and support to these stakeholders.
The Training Team commitment
- Provide induction training for all new starters on the first day of employment.
- Report monthly to managers on training activities.
- To maintain the intranet site with information and activities of the training service.
- Ensure training is delivered professionally in both content and presentation
- Regularly evaluate training delivery to ensure it meets the requirements of staff and the business of Customer Services.
- Regularly consult with Team Leaders/Managers and staff to help ensure that training delivery is meeting the expectations.
- Maintain the Staff Guidance manuals with latest staff notes and guidance.
- Encourage all staff to learn and develop.
- Seek and trial new and improved methods of learning.
- Continue to improve knowledge and skills to the advantage of personal development and the development of staff.
- Strive to deliver training of the highest standard to ensure that staff are competent and confident to carry out the duties required of their role.
- To assist and support all staff in learning and development activities to encourage career advancement.
- Sustain Customer Services commitment to equal opportunities for training and development for all staff within the organisation
- Remain flexible in the approach to training delivery and respond positively to changes in priorities set by Management, to meet the changes and expansion of the businesses within Customer Services.
- Acknowledge and record all requests for training and consider in order of the priority allocated to the request by the Team Manager.
- To work closely with mentors, to maintain close working relationships between the training service and the tea
Jackie Saville 30 April 2006