Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Letters of the week: force needs to compare notes

by Personnel Today 17 Oct 2000
by Personnel Today 17 Oct 2000

I am looking to make contact with organisations who can help me in the challenging task of conducting a Best Value review of training and development in the police force.

We are a complex organisation of 2,000 police officers, 400 specials and 700 support staff. We undertake a wide range of training, with about 50 staff dedicated to this task.

As part of the government-driven Best Value process I need to “compare” ourselves to others in public and private sectors.


  • I am interested in comparing notes with organisations who have any, or indeed all, of the following characteristics:

  • Have devolved significant training responsibility to operating units and line managers.

  • Operate an internal market with devolved training budgets.

  • Have local training units with specialist staff.

  • Use open and flexible learning as a replacement for courses.

  • Outsource a high proportion of direct training to external providers.

  • Outsource other training services – for example, design, evaluation and admin.

I would like to talk to such organisations on an informal and confidential basis to get behind the headlines which often appear in magazines such as Personnel Today, and learn about the pros and cons of policies.


Malcolm Pattman MCIPD, Head of Training & Development, Derbyshire Constabulary, Tel: 01773 572084

E-mail: [email protected]


 


Call centres are not sweat shops


I read with amazement your news brief on call centres in UK being among the worst (News, 3 October).

First, I’d like to point out that call centres are not sweat shops. Not all call centres are number driven and some do have good staff retention rates.

It is vital to concentrate on the quality of service a call centre provides to both customers and clients, not the size of the call centre.

Second, gone are the days where call centre staff work like robots. There is more training and interaction between staff, clients and the consumer.

The developing skills of call centre operators and their knowledge of the products they deal with makes them important to client and customer.

More and more call centres allow staff to test and become familiar with the product – allowing them to vary their roles.

Being a call centre operator may not be perceived as a “dream job” but with the skills one learns, future career prospects are promising.


Paul Jackson, General manager, MBO


 


Employ training professionals first


Computer-based training and e-learning has long been an area I feel may provide some solutions to targeted individual learning needs.

As our company enters the final stage of a cultural change programme, these needs are becoming more pressing. Yet, with all the products evaluated so far (admittedly only at the entry-level end of the market), something seems to be amiss.

Robin Hoyle’s presentation at the WOLCE conference last week hit the nail on the head – many such products seem to have lost sight of basic learning theory and practice.

As can often be the danger with any software solution, exact requirements are clouded by the desire for what are, in effect, glossy over-engineered programming demonstrations.

I should therefore like to make a plea to some of the companies currently developing such products: employ the training professionals first, then developers to make it happen – and not vice versa.


Julian Burch, Training & Recruitment Manager, Expotel Hotel Reservations

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
How targets for HR will affect funding of trusts
next post
Technology for the busy HR professional

You may also like

Barrister wins gender critical belief discrimination claim

27 Jul 2022

‘Patchy’ mental health services failing ethnic minority communities

11 Jul 2022

Global study highlights hypertension treatment failings

8 Jul 2022

NICE sets out new guideline on managing depression

8 Jul 2022

Half of employees struggle to switch off on...

8 Jul 2022

Five steps for organisations across the globe to...

8 Jun 2022

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022

OH will be key to navigating ‘second pandemic’...

14 Apr 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+