CASE STUDY – Training Services NSW Funded – Local Government Skills Strategy customer service training for Southern NSW Council.
A southern NSW Council has saved around $200,000 when training its entire, 200 strong, workforce in customer service.
Snowy Valleys Council has engaged Forysthes Training to run the customer service program using the state Government’s NSW Local Government Skills Strategy.
The first 40 staff members have been trained and Council’s Project Co-Ordinator Matthew Christensen says the feedback has been “absolutely amazing”.
More than 90% of the first group surveyed by Council rated the training delivery as very good or excellent.
Mr Christensen says Council was attracted to Forysthes Training because of its experience in working with merged councils. Snowy Valleys Council was created when Tumut and Tumbarumba councils merged in 2016.
Another reason for selecting Forysthes Training was its ability and willingness to customise the training to Council’s new vision, service strategy and standards. There was an emphasis on respect as well as both internal and external customer service in the training package. Forysthes Training also did the work to apply for Government funding which effectively meant the training was free to Council.
He says the training had an additional benefit of bringing staff from all parts of the two councils together, creating greater awareness and understanding of people’s roles and their contribution to the organisation.
Trainer, Susie Russell, comes in for high praise. Feedback from participants indicates the quality of training was even better than expected. Participants said Susie was very well prepared and had great course knowledge. The ability to engage with staff from across the board and make them feel valued – from field staff to management – was also noted.
Mr Christensen says Susie made what could be a dry topic into something that was interesting and very relevant to every participant.
“We had field staff asking when the rest of their teams could get to do the training.”
“Even the venue manager commented on the great energy that was in the training room.”
“Susie also kept the training very forward looking, acting as staff members’ reality check.”
Local councils can take advantage of the NSW Local Government Skills Strategy to develop a more capable and skilled workforce.
The Strategy provides funding for targeted vocational education and training (VET) from accredited suppliers such as Forysthes Training for NSW councils to meet current and future skills needs.
Forysthes Training is also working with several councils to deliver customised training in areas including leadership and management, training and assessment education (TAE) as well as computer and desktop application skills.
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