“Destiny has revolutionised the way ITEC works as a business - and has brought a clear, measurable return on investment” Stephen Brangwyn, Managing Director, ITEC
ITEC Training Solutions is one of the largest independent training providers in Wales. With a track record of success and experience gained over 25 years, the company’s focused and effective training programmes have provided new prospects for thousands of people - and helped hundreds of businesses to improve their competitiveness. Pursuing a mission to widen access to learning, ITEC’s highly proactive operation delivers leading-edge skills development to people of all backgrounds.
The business is committed to investment in quality staff and their skills through consistent use of research and development, and constantly expands and refines the content of its programmes to meet the changing needs of the economy, collaborating with partner bodies to promote real improvements.
ITEC became aware of a number of procedural, management control, compliance and environmental weaknesses which are common among training providers. These included paperwork coming in late (often with errors), and missing the cut-off date for submitting claims to the Welsh Assembly.
These problems were caused by the traditional practice of assessors driving completed forms back to HQ, having the paperwork checked by quality control staff, and in some cases having to return to learners’ sites to correct errors and omissions. The information from the forms would then be manually input to the management system. The whole process could typically take up to 23 days, and contain up to 26% data inaccuracies.
ITEC therefore set out to find a cost-effective solution that would reduce costs, improve efficiency, support and add value to staff, increase time with learners, and maximise their “right first time” ethos.
As a first step in facilitating change, ITEC introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) to help create a more effective mindset change through measurement against a set of defined expectations.
They chose Destiny digital pen technology as an ideal way to integrate with the paper processes that operate in the training industry, where substantial volumes of paperwork have to be completed accurately and in specific timescales.
ITEC also knew that any new ideas are best introduced with the co-operation, support and early buy-in of staff, and therefore established a working group to liaise closely with Destiny. They were empowered to discuss the format of the forms, plan the introduction of a revised process, and set out the implementation schedule that would ultimately involve all paperwork being produced via the Destiny system.
This working group also covered issues such as defining new behaviours and rules for management control and reporting, defining new rules for assessors and tutors for using the documentation and reporting to line managers, and facilitating the reorganisation of the supervisory and team leader roles to ensure appropriate levels of responsibility, authority and ownership. Another key element was assisting with the implementation of the change, through coaching and mentoring of managers, supervisors and team leaders.
With the aim of increasing productivity, improve performance and underpinning the compliance levels required by the business, the working group focussed on bringing about best practice in the pilot area – with timely completion of paperwork, performance monitoring, data accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
Redesigning the forms was fundamental - making it easier to adhere to the process and saving time and work for both for assessors and administrators. The two main documents were the “start” paperwork (a document that all learners and employers are required to fill in before a learner starts the programme) and “review” (completed every time an assessor visits a learner to record progress and planning).
Using the Destiny system, assessors still write out the forms as before, but using a digital pen. Then, simply by ticking a “send” box, the data from the pen (recorded as pen strokes) is transmitted via their Bluetooth mobile devices to Destiny’s secure servers, where it’s converted into text. Within seconds of the assessor sending the form, ITEC administrators back at base can go online to Destiny’s hosted manage service to see the original handwritten form side by side with the converted text version on their screens.
If necessary they can then call the assessors while they’re still with the learner to identify areas for attention, so that any issues with the paperwork can be resolved straightaway.
Once the administrators are satisfied that the data is accurate and compliant, they simply click “verify” to trigger the next fully automated stage of the process: an .xml data file which is sent to the learner database, a .csv file sent to a management reporting area, and a graphical .pdf created and sent to an e-journal indexing system.
This entire process – starting with the transmission of the assessor’s form from the field – now takes just eight minutes ... a far cry from the 23 days that it could typically have taken in the past.
A business justification calculation carried out by an external consultant shows a return of £4.50 for every £1 invested in the Destiny system. This includes a significant reduction in fuel bills, a minimum of 30% reduction in carbon emissions, and an 80% saving in time across the entire administration function.
The time taken to complete an assessment form, carry out a full compliance check and add the information to the database has reduced dramatically. Error rate has fallen from around 26% to less than 2%, with the potential to reduce this still further. And ITEC are now in the position of being able to add significantly to their workload, without adding more admin staff.
They’ve also seen a positive impact on cash flow – with the ability to make claims and draw down against the budget for contracts a lot faster.
The two primary KPIs for the programme were performance monitoring and data accuracy. Some assessors were apprehensive about the introduction of the Destiny pen, but soon realised what a benefit it was to them in completing reviews. They’re now working more effectively, their time management has improved, and they’re spending more assessment time with learners.
“Destiny is a great asset to the company” says Jennifer Phipps, an assessor with ITEC. “It alleviates a lot of stress when working out in the field, as it ensures the prompt submission of paperwork which increases productivity. It’s easy to use, even for me! The old review pads were bulky but the Destiny system reduces the amount of paperwork we have to carry.”
The performance managers were aware of the benefits almost straightaway.They’re also more effective as they’re receiving information on a daily basis on where their team of assessors are, and what they’re doing.
“From a supervisory point of view”, says Matthew Williams, “I find the Destiny process a great performance management tool. I now have a daily tracker of the work that has been carried out by my team - making it much easier to highlight good work and identify any poor or unacceptable levels of performance. With the forms coming through instantly I can afford for my team to come into the office far less frequently, which frees up more of their time to spend with the candidates. Also the quality of work can be sampled at any time so it’s easier to identify any training needs the assessors may face”.
“There are substantial differences to the business at all levels”, says Stephen Brangwyn, ITEC’s Managing Director. “We’re benefiting through cost efficiencies via reduced mileage costs, more time spent with learners, increased compliance levels, and staff having more value added to their roles. Reports are generated on a daily basis with up-to-date, accurate information. It all contributes towards an enriched and more effective work environment.”
ITEC’s most recent innovation using Destiny technology is to transform the way that information held about learners is stored and accessed. “E-journals” contain all reviews, exits and changes of circumstance for each individual learner, with access for employers, staff and learners. Employer documents such as vetting and monitors are stored and accessed separately.
With the introduction of more and more documents to this project, all paperwork will be available electronically, including learners’ certificates. Files are read-only so no unauthorised amendments can be made, and printing is kept to a minimum in line with ITEC’s Green Dragon environmental awareness policies.
Site Map:
Digital Pens