More and more local authorities rely on cloud-based software systems to automate and simplify business processes and to provide instant access to data and insights which inform strategy and drive service improvements. But for many, the efficiency savings and return on investment promised never fully materialise because the training their workforce receives during implementation doesn’t fully prepare them for the live environment.
At Manchester City Council an unacceptable level of inaccuracies in financial requests on the SAP system led to a rethink on how to equip a large-scale workforce with the knowledge required to optimise the use of the system. The traditional training methods deployed during the implementation phase had covered many of the basic key functionalities in the SAP system but as time went by data entry errors were growing leading to time and resources being diverted to find and correct them.
Before this issue became a major problem, the council turned to their digital learning partner, Me Learning for help. Together it was decided to create a technology-driven training solution which would accelerate the competency and confidence of their existing teams on SAP, in the shortest possible time, as well as allow them to train new staff on an ongoing basis as soon as training was required.
The solution
Me Learning developed a suite of online, modular training content to help users fully understand specific processes on the SAP system. Each user accessed a mix of modules, tailored to their role and reflecting their own use of the SAP system. This reduced overall learning time, as individuals were only required to complete learning which was most relevant to them.
The training used cutting-edge techniques, so the pace and style of learning responded to the needs of individual learners, helping to improve memory retention. The training was based on Manchester’s very own version of the SAP system, so that learners were able to quickly relate their learning and apply it in the live environment.
The benefits
As a result of the training, the council experienced a reduction in data accuracy errors and a subsequent reduction in the resources needing to be diverted to correcting them. This in turn led to significant efficiencies within the requisitioning and approver process and greater accuracy in the use of the system which is helping the council achieve better efficiency overall.
Employees also benefit from the ability to access modules at any time in order to use them as a refresher to top up their knowledge or learn new processes as their jobs evolve. Training new starters is now done solely using the digital suite and is done as part of an induction, meaning there is no need to wait for a training slot to become available.
Click here to download the case study.
To find out more about this solution contact Anne Egede, Marketing and Communications Manager at 01273 091 301 or anne.egede@melearning.co.uk.
