Training: E-learning gains ground in the pub trade

A new learning tool, the el-box, is revolutionising on-site training for pub staff.

E-learning is finally gaining a foothold in the pub industry. As well as the launch of the first computerised National Certificate for Licensees (NCL) course at Pub & Bar last month, several pubcos have been successfully trialling staff training on a new piece of hardware - the el-box.

Like the NCL package, the el-box has been developed by Creative Learning Media (CLM). It would be recognised by techies as a tablet PC, but staff at one company have already dubbed it "the Etch-a-Sketch".

It's a sign that e-learning is gaining acceptance - thanks, perhaps, to finding the right format. According to the survey carried out by CLM in the wake of the el-box pilot scheme, 86 per cent of the 9,500 pub staff who took part now prefer it to any other learning method.

Funded by the Learning & Skills Council, CLM and Brooklands College launched the pilot last July. Since then 15,000 Level One food safety and health and safety courses have been delivered to staff across 23 hospitality groups including pub operators Noble House, Inventive Leisure, Hall & Woodhouse, Whitbread, Young's, Hydes, Mill House Inns and George Gale.

According to CLM's Richard Taylor, rather than being a block to training, the el-box has made it more easily accessible to wider numbers of people. The box uses sound, video and cartoon characters to get the message across. Trainees simply use a pen to answer questions and move through the programme.

"Workers in the hospitality sector typically have a lower than average experience of computers and the el-box pen input is a far more comfortable and familiar experience for them," he says.

"The el-box also increases the flexibility and speed of training delivery. Staff turnover is high, so when new employees join they can be handed an el-box to ensure they are immediately trained in basic health and safety.

"Workers using el-boxes can train wherever it suits them most, whether it's front-of-house, the staff room or the bar. This improves the quality of the training experience and makes the trainee more receptive."

Trainees were not left on their own with the box, however. A coach was appointed at each site and trained by CLM to organise the training and give help to people with learning difficulties.

CLM's tutors also interacted directly with the learners through the el-box and were geared up to deal with no fewer than 100,000 support messages passing through the system during the six to eight months of the trial.

Richard believes that e-learning in this form can become a central part of pub industry training, bringing cost benefits to employers as well as education for staff.

"Training in the hospitality industry is crucial in a whole range of areas, from ensuring high standards of customer service to maintaining standards of health and hygiene in food preparation," he says.

"But managing training is extremely costly. With staff turnover high right across the industry and most employees on variable shift patterns, organising group training sessions with an external trainer is logistically very difficult and time consuming."

The advantage of e-learning here is that employees can take their training independently as and when they need it - as long as they can get onto a computer.

In most pubs, even if they have a PC, it's in the back office - which is where the portable el-box comes into its own.

With the success of the pilot behind it, CLM now proposes a three-year development plan that will extend el-box learning to more than 200,000 people in the hospitality industry, each taking a range of courses from basic skills to Level Two National Vocational Qualifications and Modern Apprenticeships.

Learning method preferred by pub staff​

• E-learning:​ 86 per cent
• classroom:​ 7 per cent
• Workbook:​ 4 per cent
• One-to-one:​ 3 per cent

That figures...​

Surveys following the el-box pilot showed:

• 100 per cent of employers would recommend the system
• 97 per cent of learners would apply what they had learned
• 94 per cent of learners would recommend to others
• 86 per cent of learners reported e-learning is their preferred method.

Case study: Whitbread​

Following trials at 70 of its pub-restaurants, Whitbread is rolling out the el-box to all 410 Brewers Fayre and Brewsters outlets.

"It was the first time we had tried anything like that and it has gone really well," says project manager Julia Hill. "We now have houses where 100 per cent of our staff have been put through health and safety and food hygiene training on the system.

"It is much more flexible. Instead of travelling 50 miles to a workshop people can find a quiet half-hour during their day and do their training in bite-sized chunks.

"Younger employees find it a less stuffy way of learning. It's the way they want to learn and that's an attraction for them - it even looks cool."

Not even the older employees have been intimidated by the technology. "Although it's a tablet PC, you don't need any computer literacy," explains Julia. "We don't even talk about it as e-learning. All you have to do is point a pen at it - people have been calling it the Etch-a-Sketch."

Once it has an el-box on every site, Whitbread aims to integrate refresher training into the working day.

Regular food hygiene audits, for instance, frequently highlight areas where extra training is needed and managers will be able to point staff towards specific modules without having to put them on a course.

"It has made it possible for us to introduce continual learning at the pubs," says Julia.

She believes that the el-box has already had a positive impact on standards. "Training is more consistent - you can't always guarantee whoever is doing the training is 100 per cent perfect - and I think we are now doing food hygiene for the sake of food hygiene rather than for the sake of an audit. It has made the way we work better."

Whitbread will also be adding its own tailor-made modules to the el-box so that new staff can be trained in, for example, the histories of the Brewers Fayre and Brewsters brands.

"It's a really exciting time," says Julia.