BTSR guidebook ~ Training & skills self-evaluation
ITV – National Skills Day – Colleagues United
| Date: | May 2008 |
|---|---|
| Contact: | Sara Hanson |
| Telephone: | 0113 222 7061 |
In 2006 corporate values were introduced to ITV plc with the purpose of generating a common culture and promoting collaboration across a company that had grown by acquisition.
A training solution was required of a magnitude that would improve collaboration communication and understanding of the business on a company-wide scale, bringing the corporate values to life.
The training programme focused on:
- BOLD: doing something differently/ seeing how others do things
- INCLUSIVE: understanding what others do and everyone acting as one company
- CUSTOMER CENTRED: working with others to provide better core services for our viewers and advertising clients.
“Colleagues United” was an initiative that offered opportunities for all our staff across the country to get out and learn more about other parts of the business. A highly visible “show and tell” campaign offered flexibility through job shadowing, masterclasses and dining with Board Members. Managers led by example, creating opportunities before we asked the business to do the same. We generated a catalogue of over 500 learning opportunities each year; over 1,500 in total, equating to 9,000 hours of learning, available via the Learning & Development intranet site.
The aim was to implement a cost efficient, large-scale programme, visibly sponsored by Senior Management and through gaining momentum year on year, become completely demand-led. It would change attitudes and behaviour and tackle major culture barriers around learning.
We Hoped this Initiative Would:
- Provide an opportunity to gain new knowledge, learn new skills and identify new opportunities
- Increase appreciation of the scale and scope of what ITV does
- Help employees to identify how and when to engage with other parts of the company
- Demonstrate that learning is not just about courses and that individuals can easily try something new and take control of their development
- Improve our sense of being one company and thus improve motivation and retention of staff.
How Successful were We?
Adult Learners’ Week marked the campaign launch, using posters and communication forums to raise awareness. Senior endorsement cascaded through teams by their own participation and encouragement.
Staff were signposted to the intranet to apply on a first-come, first-served basis. A Co-ordinator was available to sort queries, matches and support staff with limited ICT skills or accessibility for disabled staff.
A teaser campaign generated interest, making the programme instantly demand-led (over 200 email enquiries in the first hour) and the programme’s webpage received 26,000 visits during 2007 and 2008’s campaign. There were 1,350 bookings, resulting in 1,040 staff completing the learning during the official period (6,240 hours of learning). Informal “reciprocal” shadowing identified through evaluation can be estimated at a further 520 opportunities (3,120 hours of learning). Those not successful, or whose expectations were not met, were offered bespoke opportunities outside the official period or signposted to alternative learning and support.
- People spoke highly of the experience. They said:
“I would love to do it again next year! It’s a wonderful idea offering enriching opportunities for new starters like myself.”
“It made me feel part of working for ITV.”
“I learnt so much about an area I had never considered before; it made me think about my future plans!”
“I am now aware of how my decisions impact on other parts of the business! I gained an insight into important parts of the business I would never normally have seen.”
- Feedback from our Employment Opinion Survey shows that advocacy of ITV - both as an employer and service and programme provider significantly improved. Colleagues United was cited as the reason for this by a member of staff at a follow-up focus group. Our annual survey shows improvement in collaboration and awareness of learning opportunities since the introduction of Colleagues United (CU). Those not aware dropped from 59% in 2006 to 30% in 2008. This can be directly attributed to CU.
This initiative offers a low cost – high impact solution, which involves Managers and teams and offers development opportunities to all staff regardless of status or location. Using a web-based solution, our only financial costs were marketing materials and in some cases travel costs. The value of this initiative is recognised by Senior Managers and staff alike, and due to demand will be further developed and repeated.
Further Development:
Since the launch of Colleagues United in 2006 we can now say with confidence that it has become embedded as one of our core annual activities, with the initiative taking place in both summer 2007 and 2008. Each year, through feedback and evaluation, the scheme has been evolved to continue to deliver against the initial objectives and the company’s business plan.
Key Changes Include:
- How opportunities are presented and administered. The site hosting all opportunities is now housed within our Learning & Development offerings to make it more accessible and to signpost people to other development solutions that are available to them. Opportunities are also structured by business areas for better search and viewing purposes
- A new type of shadowing opportunity has been introduced to the portfolio that has proven extremely popular. We offer a “dining” experience with a Senior Manager that enables six members of staff to have a Q&A session over lunch with a member of our Senior Team
- We have also widened our opportunities beyond the UK, enabling a member of the UK Team to shadow our operations in Germany and a member of our Overseas Team to visit our UK operation
- We have improved our evaluation process to demonstrate a clearer return on investment around the scheme, and clarify how objectives have been met.
