There are thousands of e-learning solutions online, alloffering a quick fix solution to your software problems. Whether you arelooking for health and safety e-learning courses or information technologycourses for programmes such as Word or Excel, you will find plenty of coursesonline, but which one is the right one for you?

At AccessPlanIT we have been scouring the web and testing the best tools online to give you somefeedback on what e-learning software products will work for you.

The team know thatcustomers demand products that are easy to use, incorporate the best available technology and provide the same level of support that they lookto provide in their own organisation. That why we focus on giving ourclients the tools that solve real problems and a support servicethat they can rely upon.

Our team want to ensure that you have all the informationavailable to you before you make your decision and hope that our key points tochoosing your e-learning tool will help you make the right choice.

What is your budget?

If you have limited funds your options are slightly narrowedand you may need to consider one of the desktop tools available. The most common is Word or PowerPoint which are a great base authoring tool.

If you have a bit of cash to spend it may be a good idea toscale up your authoring across your organisation or have a dedicated team of individuals doing the work. It could be worth considering a collaborative server-based authoring tool. These types of programmes tend to have more powerful capabilities and some are multi-purpose allowing for systems and non systems training.

What is your skillbase?

The idea of investing into a tool sounds like a great idea, but once you have bought it do you actually know how to use it? And how easily can you bring other staff members onto the team to use it?

If you take on desktop tools, which are of a similar standard to office applications it should have an immediate ring of familiarity to your staff.

However, server-based tools –while do share some features of windows applications – generally require a longer familiarisation period, but over a long period of time can deliver more sophisticated results. It would be a good idea to weigh up the pain vs. the gain when making your choice.

What is your ambition?

If you want to produce simple, static content with questions and quizzes then a desktop authoring tool will work just fine. However, thereare means and ways for this to stretch a little further.

The majority of marketing leading tools fully integrate audio, video and flash animation files. Having the flexibility allows to create content-rich media.

In other words, the more ambitious you are about how you present your learning, the higher the end tool you need to aim for.

Systems training andbeyond

If your main aim is to primarily or exclusively train insystems you need to consider a specialist systems training authoring tool.

If you are looking into non systems training for example,management skills or induction training, then a generalist tool will offer wider scope for content authoring, but it won’t lend itself well to systems training. Make sure you know what you are buying into and what it will do before you make your purchase.

For more information about e learning courses available visit www.AccessPlanIT.com or call 0845 543 0229.

Following the hugely positive results of our recent customer service survey, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to share some of the secrets to our success.

Customer support is essential to keeping your business going and your customers loyal.

While every company has their own way of showing it, there are always the essential rules to keeping your clients and customers super happy with the services you provide.

If you are looking to improve your customer support or looking to start a new business and need to know how to start, take a look at these helpful hints that will put you on the right path to keeping your customers happy and your company healthy.

Keep your customers informed
Whether it’s by email, post or phone call, keep your customers notified and answer any of their queries immediately. The last thing a customer wants to do is wait and making them wait could cost you their business. Even if you don’t have an answer for them straight away, notify them that you have received their query and will get back to them as soon as you can. That way they know they are not being ignored.

Be completely honest
Don’t feed your customers a pack of lies as you will get found out eventually. If your company are the ones who made the mistake admit, and deal with it. Pulling the wool over their eyes makes them angrier and they will find someone else to do it for them.

Have a little respect
You may find that sometimes your customers or clients ask a silly question and as a result you may appear rude or ignorant in your response. It might be simple for you but they are the customer asking their service provider for help and so you should give it to them. So don’t patronise them. If you have a rude or hostile customer who is giving you a hard time, don’t stoop to their level. Remain calm, help them if you can and they will eventually calm down and possibly apologise.

Don’t doubt your customer
A customer may explain a problem over the phone which you know is technically impossible but that doesn’t mean to say they don’t have a problem and have made it up. Try and work through their problem, asking them questions until you figure out a solution. They will appreciate the time you take out to do this.

Don’t leave any questions unanswered
If they ask you 20 questions, answer 20 questions. It’s that simply. It’s understandable that you may be busy but taking the time to answer a query properly in the first place will save you less aggro later down the line when the customer complains about your lack of respect and interest in their query.

Check, double check and triple check the question and your answer
If they ask you a question and you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Thinking you know what they mean doesn’t help anyone and they will only come back asking for more.

Be precise with your response
When explaining to your customer what they need to do, make sure you tell them how to do it. Don’t assume they will know what you mean and give a detailed answer so that they feel satisfied with the response.

If you make a promise, then don’t break it
If you tell a customer you will get back to them, then do it. Write it on your head, your diary, anywhere so that you remember to do it. They will wait for your response and they will be angry if you don’t contact them.

Be human
You are not a robot so don’t act like one. Speak to people politely and be friendly show them you are human and not just a support-giving machine.

At AccessPlanit  we are dedicated to providing a loyal and highly efficient customer service support so that all our customers are happy.

We have trained all of our staff to the highest level and they are on hand ready to take your call on 0845 5430229.