There are many benefits of e-learning. It can be completed at a time, place and pace that suits each individual learner, and is cost effective when compared with traditional face-to-face training. All managers want the assurance that their staff are receiving the highest standard of training. The rest of this post will aim to answer the key questions you should be asking, and how we at Embrace-learning aim to fulfill them.

What is the quality of the learning within the package?

Poor quality courses will not meet the needs of the learner, or of the organisation. Embrace-learning’s courses are developed by a collaborative team of educationalists, designers and software developers to ensure that the content is of the highest accuracy and quality.

Many organisations are determined to save on costs and find the lowest price available to ‘tick the box’ on their staff training but the real risk here is that the quality will suffer greatly, and staff won’t be fully competent.

Our course content engages the learner with constant questions and examples throughout. You cannot proceed to the next page before answering questions and not only do they teach learners what they need to know, but how to implement the key learning concepts in real life.

How do they keep their courses up-to-date with legislation and current ways of working in the subject area?

With the ever-changing legislation and government guidelines, you want to make sure the courses you purchase aren’t going to become obsolete over the year that you are using them.

Both CQC guidance and Skills for Care advice highlight the responsibility of the service provider and registered manager to continue to improve care standards through a well-trained workforce.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the health and social care regulator for England. Their aim is to ensure better care for everyone in hospital, in a care home and at home. Training is a key component in ensuring standards of service are met and increasingly providers are required to provide evidence that health and social care training is not only being provided but that learners are achieving specific outcomes. Legislative requirements must be adhered to.

Embrace-learning guarantee that by using our courses your staff training will:

• Meet CQC standards of compliance for continuing professional development
• Be available on demand 24/7 365 days a year
• Provide certificates of achievement on successful completion
• Provide reports demonstrating CQC compliance

Regardless of industry or sector, most employees are now required to undertake some form of CPD. As we work predominantly in knowledge and service economies, the updating of skills and knowledge is critical in keeping abreast of industry changes, maintaining professional competence and ensuring that qualifications do not become obsolete.

What is their process of development?

Embrace-learning add, change and develop courses to keep in line with current legislation. The quality of our courses remains consistent throughout these changes and all updates are made quickly, ensuring that your staff don’t have to wait for updates before they can complete a course.

Any developments take effect immediately, learners can log in as usual and the course will have been updated accordingly.

What platform are they using, how simple is it, how secure is it and what is the downtime?

Since staff have a range of levels of computer literacy, a complicated platform will confuse learners before they even get to the training course, discouraging them from using the provider in the future.

Embrace-learning’s platform is simple to navigate. Learners simply log in with their unique username and password, and can instantly see the list of courses they need to complete, and how far along in each course they are already.

We always plan to have downtime during weekends or late nights to ensure minimal disruption, unless there is essential action to be taken at another time. We can assure you that all the proper security measures are in place to protect both your staff details and their learning records.

How do they communicate with you?

You should always be aware of what your provider is developing and planning over the year.

At Embrace-learning we send out e-newsletters containing relevant information to keep our clients updated. In addition to this, we have 2 networking groups on LinkedIn and are active on all of our social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), as well as regular blogs which are shared across our social media channels.

What reporting mechanisms do you have? Is it real-time?

Managers need access to information and reports on their staff, to know what courses have been completed, how long it took and whether or not they have passed. This information can then be used to check staff queries, support learners in appraisals, and contribute to compliance reports, and gives managers the confidence that the staff are well trained and able to perform their job competently.

Embrace-learning offer a Learner Management System (LMS). This is completely free of charge when you license a training course from us. Some features of the LMS:

• Fully hosted by us or secured on your own intranet / extranet
• Fully managed 24/7
• Automated correspondence, evaluation and notifications
• In-built management reporting and data exports
• Administrator training and technical support
• Secure data back-up
• Scalable from 10 to 100,000 learners
• Flash content delivery

As an organisation, you can:

• Track large numbers of learners
• Monitor uptake and completion of training courses
• Get results from online assessments
• Batch upload an unlimited number of learner details
• Batch enrol your learners onto their courses
• Add your own bespoke content to our courses

What implementation and helpdesk support can you provide?

If you are new to e-learning or are switching to a different provider, you may need support and guidance in getting to know the new system.

Embrace-learning offer helpdesk support Monday-Friday 9am-5pm on the phone. If you have a query outside of office hours you can send an email and it will be answered the next working day. We also offer a live chat service Monday-Friday 9am-5pm on our website for anyone with questions whilst browsing the site.

Administrators can benefit from training in how to navigate the LMS and direct their learners when asked simple questions like forgotten passwords.

If learners have a query, in the first instance they should contact their administrator. If the issue cannot be resolved the team at Embrace are on hand to give support during office hours.

How do they keep up with learning and technology trends?

Technology is constantly changing and improving and organisations need to keep up with learning and technology trends if they want an edge over the competition.

Embrace-learning has recently launched a new website which has been thoroughly tested for any bugs and has excellent security measures in place. Our training courses are compatible with any web browser and are currently accessible on desktop PCs and laptops as well as some android tablets.

No course is updated without first conducting thorough research in to the trend and understanding how it impacts on the learning experience, and whether or not it benefits the learner.

Have they worked with organisations with the same needs as yours?

A good training provider needs to be able to support your needs. The best way of showing they can do this is with examples of similar organisations who have used their e-learning.

Embrace-learning’s current clients include Local Authorities, CCGs, NHS Trusts, GP Practices, Care Homes and Mental Health Trusts across the UK. With our particular focus on Health and Social Care, we have a depth of experience in providing these organisations with tailored e-learning packages to suit their individual needs. Our website contains a list of just some of our clients should you wish to compare your company’s needs.

Can you speak to other customers?

The best way to find out how good a provider really is, is to know about the experience other customers have had with them.

Embrace-learning welcomes feedback from all of our clients and you can find a page containing ‘success stories’ from a number of them on our website.

If you wish to speak directly to an existing client to discuss the training offered by Embrace-learning, we can arrange this for you.