Engaging Employers The CoVE perspective

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Engaging EmployersThe CoVE perspective

• Louise Doyle
• Director of Business Solutions,
• City of Sunderland College

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Key Themes

• Perceptions of an outsider
• Employer engagement?!?!?!
• Service as a differentiating factor
• Practical ideas
• Sharing experiences, sharing issues, identifying
  solutions

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Perceptions of an outsider

• Can deliver qualifications where others cant
  (internal trainers, private training providers).
• Intelligent and knowledgeable in their field.
• Give kudos to training plans when accredited.
• More positive perception of Universities than FE
  Colleges.

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Perceptions of an outsider

• Poor relative mindset particularly FEs
• Colleges/ Universities not dynamic, forward
  thinking. Stuffy academics
• Professionalism of approach - inward looking
• Speaking in terms of qualifications rather than
  business improvement - jargon overload
• Too many players overcomplicated
• Perceived lack of planning
• Employers have little or no awareness of funding
• Product-led approach to dealing with employers

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Employer Engagement?!?!?!
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Employer Engagement?!?!??
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What we can control
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Service -Key Differentiating Factor

• Look outside in instead of inside out.
• Recognise employers as customers.
• Define the end to end customer experience leave
  nothing to chance.
• Focus on the emotional as well as the physical
  expectations of customers.
• Planning is the key to success allow ourselves
  the time to aim for excellence- the 80/20 rule.
• USP product? service?

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Practical Ideas

• Play to your strengths focus on FdAs where you
  have some sector knowledge/ network already in
  place.
• Employ someone who understands the sector and has
  worked in it recently if you dont have ready
  access to sector knowledge.
• Discussions should be based on the value you can
  add to improving business performance - not
  leading with the product.
• Understand and then take into account competency
  frameworks and performance management structures
  within the sector/ business education in
  isolation will give you short term gain.
• Keep it simple.
• Do not leave the service you will offer to chance
  this is business to business interactionensure
  it is professional.
• Be open to changing internal processes and
  policies that dont meet customer needs.
• Make sure you are speaking to the right people
  within organisations training managers are
  rarely the decision maker.

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Your experiences, issues, ideas?
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• Thank you

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Employees -Key Differentiating Factor

• Involve them in the creation of the strategy/
  product.
• Ensure that individual objectives are set and
  linked directly to the strategy.
• Involve them in creating and implementing the end
  to end customer experience ideal.
• Reinforce a customer-focussed message on an
  ongoing basis.