Local council outsources staff training to IT company

PolicyPoint signed up both the NSW Government’s Office of the Premier and of Special Events last year, starting a trend which will see the brand enlist another unnamed major government body later this year.

“PolicyPoint uses an organisation’s own policies and training material and provides a service which administers those policies and training process in a three-step course,” PolicyPoint director, Andrew Stein, told ITnews.

Firstly, PolicyPoint will send online policies and training material only to those staff members that need to know the material. Training material is accompanied by an explanatory email introducing the material and training deadlines.

Secondly, PolicyPoint records notifications of each staff member’s completion of the training, and thirdly, those who have not completed the training are notified to managers for action.

“We can quickly disseminate policy and compliance education material to staff, and know that the material has been received and understood,” said the Fairfield City Council manager, Alan Young.

“For instance, we need to know that employees have a sound understanding of our OHS Management System. This will enable each staff member to actively participate in continuous improvement of health and safety within our workplace.”

According to PolicyPoint, the Council’s previous training options included providing face-to-face training, or sending information via email, with the concern that the organisation had no assurance that material had been reviewed and there was no independent measure that it was understood.

PolicyPoint’s tailored, automated service ensures staff receive the information they need to know, and maintains contact with each staff member until the training has been completed, according to the company. The Fairfield Council has signed on for three-year tenure.

Accounting firm KPMG, consumer electronics manufacturer Konica Minolta, and reseller AlphaWest are all currently using PolicyPoint’s services to streamline their staff training. The company specialises in working with B2B organisations.

“To initiate the program, IT and other businesses should simply ring our sales office and discuss their needs and training agenda. Tailoring the service to a customer’s needs is a ‘point and click’ process that can be completed quickly, which means the service can be live in a matter of days,” said Stein.