AA

Large-scale training programme to support the desktop applications migration to Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003.

The challenge

The AA was in the process of moving all of its 4,500 staff members to the Microsoft Windows XP operating system and Microsoft Office 2003; with the support of teams from the management and personal development team at QA – and IBM, the changeover is going remarkably smoothly, without adversely affecting the day-to-day workflow – a contract which was awarded via Advanced Resource Managers Limited.

The solution

Following a series of facilitated workshops with managers from all of the different business units, QA developed a training strategy for the project. Input from the workshops formed the basis of a strategy which was designed to meet the specific requirements of each area of the business – whose requirements from the system (and constraints on staff time) varied considerably.

The roll-out commenced with a pilot for 20-30 staff. Feedback was then incorporated into the planning of the final workshops and the development of customised training for the different business units. The key elements of the strategy were: a half-day course, covering AA-specific guidelines; an overview of Outlook and the core elements of Office 2003; floor-walkers in each department for pre- and post-migration support; full documentation published on the AA intranet. The training was designed to appeal to a variety of learning styles, within the restraints of the budget.

QA had to build flexibility into the solution. For example, at AA Road’s contact centres and AA Insurance staff work shifts, QA included evening sessions in the schedule, so that all staff could access the training easily. In fact, QA’s time at AA Road coincided with some of the worst weather of the early spring. QA had to work very flexibly because, as record levels of snow for the time of year fell, calls from stranded motorists multiplied. QA quickly rescheduled training for call-handling staff, to allow the business to continue unhindered.

“From the initial meeting to the training sessions beginning was only two months. The team has been incredibly flexible and reactive in helping us to make this upgrade happen on time and within budget. Its planning and project management have been meticulous. The quality of the trainers and floor-walkers has been excellent - and very positively received by staff. They have been extremely proactive and have adapted their focus and material extremely well to meet the differing requirements of our businesses,“ explained Hilary Brand, project manager at the AA.

“Ultimately, our objective was to ensure that each member of staff could carry on business as usual, by being trained and supported on the core functionality of the new software, with a minimum of disruption. This was fully achieved with the help of the team.”