Posted on 17/08/11, filed under LWS Training | No Comments
In the news this week is the warning by the UK’s leading employers’ body, the CBI, that the Government’s planned regulatory approach to training would not only be costly by counter-productive.
Plans for the wholesale extension of training levies would see employers in certain sectors being charged a specified proportion of their wage bill, which is then pooled and used to fund training grants within those sectors. The plans also include the extension of ‘licences to practice’, requiring employees to be trained to a certain level before they obtain a professional licence to operate in sectors such as care, security, construction and heating and gas.
Minsters are looking to employers to take greater responsibility for skills development by potentially extending regulatory measures. But, says the CBI, such schemes would hinder employer investment in staff training and do nothing to increase productive skills levels.
According to a new CBI report on training investment, employers believe a voluntary approach would be the best way to build on the strong business commitment to training and boost skills levels.
“Employers already invest heavily in training for their staff and they recognise their crucial role in supporting sustainable growth by improving the skills of future generations,” said Susan Anderson, CBI Director for Education & Skills. “But employers are clear that a regulatory approach, including the extension of levies and license to practice schemes, would actually hinder investment in training.”
We’d love to hear your views on the Regulatory versus Voluntary training debate. Do you agree with the CBI or do you think the Government’s plans could work? Let us know by making your comment below.
Posted on 15/08/11, filed under LWS Training | No Comments
When LWS recently coined the phrase ‘Tuesday is Training Day’ it was due to the fact that from now on our team of experts will be delivering training in some way, shape or form every Tuesday. For one of our directors though it recently meant training for literally an entire Tuesday.
It is generally recognised, both within the walls of the LWS offices and outside of them, that Paul Froome, our business development director, knows a thing or two about digital marketing. And so it was that one recent Tuesday he found himself first presenting a potted workshop on Google Analytics, followed the same afternoon by a similarly potted session on email marketing. Although two separate subjects, the one bears relation to the other. Both can provide a wealth of information that you can exploit to make improvements to your customer/clients’ experience of your products, services and communications.
Google Analytics is a free tool allowing you to analyse visitors to your website – how they found you, what they looked at, what they clicked on, how long they spent on your site and so forth. In turn, these statistics can be used to highlight poor performing pages and other factors that may need your attention to ensure a better visitor experience and, importantly, to produce leads.
One of the keys to conducting an email marketing campaign is analysis. Many mail providers willallow you to analystics data into your mail solution. If yours does not, ask them to do so or move to one that does. Once linked, you can analyse open and click-through rates – that is the number of recipients who open your email and the number who click-through it to your website or other content.
Paul’s advice – always know your open and click-through percentages, and, if you are an E-commerce site, your return on investment (openings and click-throughs that ultimately lead to sales). Once you know these rates, adapt and improve your campaign accordingly – change the subject line, alter the content – to drive up those percentages and make your email work harder for you. The beauty of this is that every time you send out a campaign, and every time you analyse your results, the more honed your strategy will become.
If you want to broaden your knowledge of either of these crucial marketing tools, Paul will be training again in September – but not on the same day this time! Google Analytics will be on Tuesday 13th September 11am-12pm, with Email Marketing on Tuesday 20th September (9.30am-12pm)
Click here for more details
Posted on 21/07/11, filed under General | No Comments
LWS Creative’s resident golf fanatic, Paul Froome, recently joined forces with Peter Raynsford from 5 Rings Telecomm and Charlie Eve from Carpenter Box to triumph at the Annual Golf Challenge in aid of Guild Care, a charity supporting carers in Sussex.
The Carpenter Box team battled against 15 other teams, torrential rain and strong winds to take the top prize at the charity’s 20th Golf Challenge in June at Worthing Golf Club. The team were later awarded their trophy at a gala dinner and charity auction, which ultimately helped to raise £6,400 for the charity.
Suzanne Millard, Guild Care’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have had such fantastic support from the local business community and we owe them a big thank you for taking part in such soggy weather.”
The funds raised are to go to the charity’s Ashdown Club, which helps children and young people with special needs.
Carpenter Box team - Paul Froome, Peter Raynsford & Charlie Eve with Guild Care's Suzanne Millard
