A new approach to health training #OneYearOn

22nd March 2021 - 3:34 PM

Haxby Group Training was hit hard by the lockdown and had to take a new approach to health training.
Virtual training has taken off and training courses now reach across the region, thanks to the development of new online training courses.
 
Here Haxby Group Training manager Vicky Scorah reflects on the past year and explains how they adapted.

 
The first wave of the pandemic caused an upheaval in the training team. We responded to the challenge and are now reaping the rewards.
 
The 23 March lockdown meant all face-to-face training was cancelled so we had to rapidly think about how we were going to work remotely. The whole team pulled together and formulated a plan to ensure all of our work streams were covered. The team was outstanding in embracing the change with a ‘can do’; ‘will do’ attitude.
 
Equipment was organised, risk assessments completed and daily zoom calls set up. Keeping communication open was essential and daily calls kept us up to date and resolved any issues.
 
To sustain the bond within the team, an additional virtual “coffee break” was added on a regular basis to boost wellbeing, enabling conversations to take place that would naturally flow in the office during a normal day. These always included an invite to Lisa, who was on maternity leave, to have a non-work related ‘keep in touch’ with everyone. Those links helped keep up motivation and momentum which has positively changed the way we work.
 
As lockdown eased, we developed bubbles to ensure social distancing and reduce numbers in the office.  A rota was put in place and the bubbles continue to work well.
 
We are actually delivering more training virtually, than face to face. For example, both Leadership and Management courses have moved to a virtual delivery. This has opened up more opportunity for the new geographical areas of Humber, Coast and Vale to take part. It has benefits for participants, as well as those delivering the training – travel costs, travel time, time in location and increased flexibility so it is a delivery option that will stay.
 
The huge shift since the start of the pandemic has been phenomenal. The team have really pulled together, despite being further apart physically. They have achieved what seemed impossible and implausible a year ago when everything was cancelled.
 
Training delivery has changed to accommodate distance and technology permanently with more opportunity to expand delivery. We are looking forward to the day very soon when we can all be back together to take forward a new way of working and develop our training further in a digital world.