Blended Learning

Blended Learning Consultancy

Marshall’s are delighted to announce the launch of their Blended Learning Consultancy service, led by former Chair to the SDF, Nick Gallagher-Hughes. Nick, and his team of highly experienced consultants will offer an end-to-end facility, helping clients to develop a fully blended learning solution to their development needs.

To discuss how Marshall Learning Consultancy may be able to assist you, please contact Nick on
nghughes@marshallacm.co.uk or find out more below.

Why Blended Learning?

When faced with the challenge of selecting the appropriate learning intervention for your budget and learner demographics, L&D professionals are often faced with the choice between either e-learning or classroom facilitation.

Both offer clear benefits depending upon the subject matter and preferred learning styles of your staff members.
However sometimes to maximise learner engagement, a learning intervention requires more than just a standalone e-learning course or workshop.  That’s where blended learning comes in.

E-Learning versus Classroom training

E-Learning

• Most economical cost per learner for large scale rollouts
• Ideal for specific, concise topics
• Learners can access learning anyplace, anytime
• Learners can complete training at their own pace
• Completion rates and scores are tracked
• Completion takes 40-60% less time than classroom training
• E-learning is media rich using many different types of interactivity to engage learners (e.g. video, quizzes, case studies, narrations)

Classroom

• Better for collaboration and group activities
• Learners can ask the trainer questions and get immediate feedback
• Skilled trainers can adapt their delivery style to suit learners
• Better for highly complex or sensitive topics
• Suits older learners or learners that have difficulties with technology
• Can be more accessible for those with disabilities
• Can go more in-depth into topics
• Best ROI is blended solution

Blended Learning Solutions

As one of the UK’s leading training consultancies, Marshall’s will work with you to develop a full end-to-end blended learning solution. With this approach we can harness the benefits of face-to-face classroom training (for example, group exercises, activities, question and answer sessions, reflection points) with a bespoke e-learning package that embeds the learning points given in the classroom session.

As well as building upon the topics discussed in the classroom session, HR departments can reap the benefits of completion tracking and scoring that tests learner knowledge acquisition and understanding of the subject matter.

Our blended solution package offers the following benefits:

• Delegates can receive the e-learning before, during or after the event
• Frees up the facilitator from being simply a source of information delivery and enables the participants to delve further into the subject matter through more in-depth discussion
• Two-hour bite-size, half-day or full day interventions available
• Classroom, virtual classroom or webinar delivery options
• Workbooks and podcasts supplement training as required
• Our Learner Management System allows you manage on-line registrations to ensure staff have completed the e-learning prior to attending

All the classroom sessions will be delivered by Nick Gallagher-Hughes, former Chair to the Staff Development Forum, or one of his experienced team of subject experts.

The range of blended learning topics available include (but not limited to):

Leadership

Leadership development – for those new to a supervisory, leadership or management role the change in responsibilities, interaction with colleagues and the new skills required to cope with the new role can seem daunting.  This programme will help to develop the skills needed to succeed within the role.

Inclusive leadership – the ENEI (Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion) define inclusive leadership as “leaders who are aware of their own biases and preferences, actively seek out and consider different views and perspectives to inform better decision-making. They see diverse talent as a source of competitive advantage and inspire diverse people to drive organisational and individual performance towards a shared vision.” This workshop will help develop the skills needed to enhance your inclusive leadership style, address your biases and review your social and professional interactions.

Leading the team you inherit – most leaders don’t get to choose the team members they have, but rather they inherit a team that has its own strengths and weaknesses – and they have to make it work. This programme will give you a process plan to help make your new team a success.

Performance management – to effectively manage performance, a leader needs to ensure that individuals and teams know what they should be doing and how they should be doing it – and that they take responsibility for what they achieve.  This programme will look at the skills needed to manage performance effectively, covering topics such as Strategies and tactics; Having ‘difficult conversations;’ How to remain productive and positive; How to manage under performance within the team; Facilitating effective coaching conversations and Setting realistic, stretching and achievable objectives.

Coaching conversations – this workshop will help leaders understand how regular, effective and focussed coaching conversations with team members are crucial for their career development.  Not only do they help to maintain a productive working environment but ensure that the leader/manager approaches these situations in the right way to make the difference between a demotivated team and one that is truly energised.

Recruitment & selection – employees are the life-blood of any employer and so it is vital to have a process that will help to ensure the right person for the role is employed whilst at the same time ensuring that the process was without bias or discrimination. This workshop will address issues such as Recruiting within the law, Bias & unconscious bias in recruitment, Inclusive recruitment practices and Equality & diversity in recruitment.  

Personal Development

Coaching & mentoring – both processes are valuable tools to assist in personal and professional development, and both require suitable ‘skills sets’ from the individuals receiving and giving support.  We offer a range of workshops, one-to-one consultancy and on-line support to guide clients through the process.

Employability & on-boarding – whilst your education and experience may make you suitable for a job, many employers are looking for candidates with skills that go beyond that. To be successful in the role – be it an internal job change, promotion or new employer/career – you need to exhibit a good mix of employability skills.  These are the ‘soft skills,’ such as decision making, problem solving and communication that can be transferred between different jobs and different employment sectors. Our employability & on-boarding programme will help develop those ‘soft skills’ often demanded by employers.

Voice & presentation skills – surveys show that 75% of all people HATE having to make a public speech, some even saying they feared it more than death! Now we can’t promise to overcome that 2nd fear, but we can give you the skills to become a powerful public speaker. Our Introduction or Masterclass sessions will help you develop your planning, research and presentation skills to make any speech a success, be it to 1 or a 1,000 people.

Team dynamics & dysfunctions – all teams run the risk of becoming dysfunctional for a variety of reasons – be they internally or externally driven. We work with you to ensure your teams thrive and develop by addressing the risk factors, such as lack of commitment, lack of personal or collective responsibility, lack of trust and poor attention to detail. This programme (spread over 4 sessions) will help the team – and the team leader – to create a fully functioning, cohesive and effective workforce.

Personality & psychometric analysis – using a variety of on-line tools, we can support your recruitment & selection and organisational development programmes by providing impartial assessment and analysis of individuals and teams. From 90-minute ‘taster sessions’ to 4-day assessment programmes, we can tailor a package to suit your exact business needs.

Belbin team & individual assessments – Belbin is a powerful assessment tool that will enable an employer, its managers and staff to develop a greater understanding of individual and team strengths, which in turn will help to increase engagement and improve performance. It does this by:

• Helping managers lead transformation
• Giving managers insight and understanding of their team members
• Enabling leaders to connect with their staff
• Supporting the decision-making process in recruitment & selection
• Assisting individuals to develop their future career path
• Helping resolve team conflict
• Fostering a culture that promotes personal & team strengths
• Aiding personal development and coaching conversations
• Helping to identify development needs as part of a training needs analysis

Wellbeing

Mental health awareness – Modern society is rife with misgivings and misconceptions about mental health, especially among young people. While many larger employers have specialist services to lend a helping hand, staff and managers are likely to need assistance in dealing with at-risk colleagues sensitively, which is where we come in. Our course addresses misconceptions about mental health and equips the learner with a range of abilities to best aid at-risk colleagues and avoid common errors that could make things worse. They will learn how to spot signs of at-risk behaviour, nurture the confidence of vulnerable colleagues, and identify sources of support suited to individuals. More in-depth programmes are also available for those who may wish to undertake a Mental Health First Aid at Work route.

Unconscious bias – we all need to be aware of our biases, the power of prejudice and how we can commit to equality, diversity and inclusion. The factors influencing our biases grow, as we grow older. While we do not have to necessarily feel guilty about our unconscious biases, it is important we address them, especially when they can negatively affect our views about others. Our programme will look at What is Bias and where it comes from; The Impact of Bias that looks at the types of bias that are most common and how damaging these biases could be; Addressing Bias to acknowledge and address the biases that have been instilled in us.

Safeguarding vulnerable children and adults – safeguarding is a broad term encompassing child protection, adult protection and prevention. It sees agencies working with children, young people and their families, or vulnerable adults to minimise the risk of harm and offers guidance on how to take appropriate action to tackle any concerns about the welfare of children or vulnerable adults.  Our course is specifically designed to equip staff with the confidence to deal with safeguarding issues, recognise signs of neglect and abuse, to know the steps necessary to report these issues, and empower staff with the knowledge and tools they need to get support or take action.

Radicalisation awareness – this programme will help attendees to recognise early signs of potential radicalisation and extremism and to gain an understanding of how a vulnerable person could be drawn into extremist thought or terrorist-related action. Attendees will be offered guidance as to correct and appropriate course of action to take to raise their concerns.

Equality & diversity – our comprehensive course covers all aspects of the Equality Act 2010, including stereotyping, bullying & harassment, unconscious bias, prejudice and discrimination.  It will seek to empower attendees to challenge unacceptable behaviour and is supported by an on-line module to further embed the learning.

GDPR & Information Security – our series of short workshops will help attendees understand the implications of current GDPR and Information Security legislation on their work environment and the implications of breaching it. They will be provided with up to date advice on ‘best practice’ and support to develop their own processes to ensure compliance.

Contact us about our blended learning solutions

If you have any other areas of blended learning or training and development that you think we may be able to assist with, please do not hesitate to contact us to arrange a no-obligation discussion.