Here at accessplanit, 2016 has been one of the most memorable 366 days we’ve ever had since we were founded 15 years ago (well, almost – the year’s not quite over yet). We’ve had some stunning successes this year, and I’d personally like to take this time to thank everyone – staff and customers – for helping us help others. We simply couldn’t do it without all of you.
How has your year been? Has it had its ups and its downs and its somewhere-in-the-middles?
Here’s how our year panned out…
Learn Tech 2016
We kick-started the year by attending Learn Tech 2016 – Europe’s top event for those in the learning, training and technology world. It’s always a pleasure to meet others in the profession, and Learn Tech attendees are some of the highest calibre professionals we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to share ideas with others, see how the industry continues to develop and grow (much like learners themselves), and, of course showcase how our excellent training management system can offer real support to training professionals.
Now we’re gearing up for Learn Tech 2017, and we can’t wait!
Customer Service Awards Finalists
We’re intensely proud of our customer service – it’s the foundation that accessplanit is built on – so we were delighted that our outstanding support was recognised by the Red Rose Awards. Finalists for the Customer Service Awards are those who can comprehensively show that customers are placed at the heart of our business.
Even better, news that we’d made the finals came fresh off the back of making 2016’s Institute of Customer Service Awards shortlist. We constantly strive to out-perform every other training software house when it comes to helping customers thanks to our approachable Customer Success Managers and knowledgeable helpdesk support staff.
It may be a cliché, but we genuinely would be nothing without our customers; your success is our success.
Training Industry Survey Insights
We’re not in the business of selling, but in serving our customers. And the only way we can effectively do that is by taking the time out to ask questions, listen to and understand those we support. So our training industry survey certainly gave us some fantastic insights into how professionals choose TMS systems and how they benefit from automating aspects of their business. Some of the most interesting finds were…
- Just 10% of training companies make full use of online marketing tools like social media and SEO.
- 70% still rely on paper feedback forms to evaluate their courses.
- Around 60% don’t offer online course booking.
What we learnt was clear: With technology swiftly advancing, now’s the time for training companies to refine their online services to help expand their businesses.
Winners of the HSBC Customer Service Award
At the E3 Business Awards, competition was tough. But that didn’t stop us from winning the coveted HSBC Customer Service Award – once again all the hard work we dedicate to supporting our clients was recognised and awarded. This didn’t just take into account customer-facing roles, but all the work we undertake as a team. We were assessed on our commitment to company-wide customer service, our policy on customer service, and solid examples of providing service that goes well above and way beyond.
According to Mubarak Chati, whose company hosts the E3 Awards: ‘Given the number and the high standard of entries, we certainly gave the Nominations Panel a difficult job. They have risen to the challenge, though, and their final selections represent the very best of the whole North West region. For accessplanit to have been named as a finalist for 2016 is an achievement of which it should be very proud.’
Frankly, though, ‘proud’ is an understatement.
Awarded ISO 9001:2015 Accreditation
A mark of prestige if ever there was one: The ISO 9001:2015 certification is awarded to those businesses who are at the pinnacle of quality management. It’s not simple though.
As a constantly evolving business in a fast-paced sector, the changes we’ve made to achieve ISO 9001:2015 accreditation have made many huge benefits to our business, which in turn benefits our customers.
Upgraded to 5 Compliance Plus in Customer Service Excellence
Did I mention how proud we are of our customer service? This year also saw us upgrade our existing Compliance Plus from three key areas to five key areas. The Customer Service Excellence Standard is awarded to businesses who offer their customers a first-class service, as well as providing tools to help benefit customers even further (now that’s something we can really get behind). And according to our Customer Service Excellence report: ‘The organisation goes to extraordinary lengths to agree with customers what they can expect and they continue to adapt service delivery so that outcomes are positive for them, resulting in a Compliance Plus rating.’
The five Compliance Plus areas in which we are currently rated are:
- An in-depth understanding of current and potential customer characteristics
- In possession of insights into our customer groups to grasp their needs and preferences
- Delivering on the service we promise and clients expects – always
- A commitment to customer service from the MD down
- Capably demonstrating how staff insights and experience can positively impact internal processes
Our new system is unveiled
This is the big one – a brand new training and learning management system designed to really make life easier for training professionals. Remember when I said that we always listen to our customers, and understand their concerns? Well, that’s fully evident in our training success platform: a full 50% of new features are based on customer feedback. That makes it one of the smartest, most intuitive and most powerful TMS systems out there.
Our incredibly skilled development team has been working solidly on software that brings true innovation to training management systems; innovations that will greatly benefit users. If you haven’t seen it in action yet, contact us for a free live demo. The initial system launch was an absolute success, and we’re looking forward to introducing the training success platform to an even wider audience at Learn Tech 2017.
Achieved ISO 27001 Accreditation
And, to top off a fantastic year, we received notification that we received ISO 27001 information security accreditation. The standard is a framework which helps organisations manage and protect their (and their customers') information assets so that they remain safe and secure, while putting processes in place in order to continually review and refine the way this is handled. It is a huge achievement to be compliant with this globally recognised standard.
I’m not just immensely proud of everything the accessplanit team has achieved in 2016, I’m absolutely honoured to work alongside such a dedicated bunch – and I’m excited about the opportunities 2017 will bring. And a big thank-you to our customers, too: You make it all worthwhile.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and we can’t wait to see you in the New Year.
Learn more about us and our training management software by downloading our brochure.
