The activepassport is an easy, affordable way to manage staff training without the annoying paperwork. That's the word from Activity Sheffield's Development Manager Richard Sutcliffe, who manages training for the organisation's 120 staff.
Activity Sheffield deliver a variety of sport, play and activity sessions across the city, with the goal of leading the city to a more active, healthy and sporting future.
Richard says, traditionally, Activity Sheffield recorded staff training on paper. Details were entered into a spreadsheet programme and manually updated once a year as part of an individual's performance appraisal.
"We wanted a more modern way of recording and maintaining personal training records," he says.
Richard organised a demonstration of the activepassport through SkillsActive. The activepassportTM is an online tool that provides a verified record of an individual's training, qualifications and personal and professional achievements. It reduces administration by recording achievements, identifying skills gaps and setting reminders for training renewals and refreshers. It also quickly identifies individual and organisational training needs.
Easy access to training records
Richard says the electronic system appealed because it could hold all staff qualifications in one place and be easily updated. He bought 120 activepassportTM for Activity Sheffield's permanent staff who have now entered their training, qualifications, personal and professional details into the system. They will also soon upload their certificates.
"We've got coaches, development officers, operational managers, and office staff all using the system," Richard says. "The feedback is it's easy to use and navigate their way around, even for those who are less computer literate."
Alerts keep qualifications current
Activity Sheffield has used the system to produce reports identifying skills gaps.
"I like the fact that it flags up when staff qualifications expire so you don't have a situation where, for instance, a person's first aid certificate has run out and they're no longer qualified in that area," Richard says.
"The report also identifies if there are several people requiring training in a key area so we can then set up a course for them. And if a staff member leading a coaching session calls in sick, we can search through activepassportTM and see who else is qualified to take the session."
Saves time and creates staff incentive
The activepassport reduces the paperwork and time taken to record staff training, Richard says. It also shows staff that Activity Sheffield takes workforce development seriously.
"Staff are able to upload their training goals onto the system, so we can see these and help them to progress. They know that by putting this system in place, Activity Sheffield genuinely cares about them and investing in their professional development."
In the future, Activity Sheffield plans to extend the activepassportTM to its 80 casual and part time staff. It also wants to use the tool as an incentive for volunteers.
"The activepassport is an excellent way to capture staff training electronically. It's easy to use, it saves time and it's given us a proper hold on staff training. I'm not aware of anything else like it."
