‘Best in class’ account management

Written by Sarah Booth - Head of Account Management at Remit Training

The arrival of the apprenticeship levy turned apprenticeships into a very competitive market.?Training providers wanting to manage programmes on behalf of large employers have to be on top of every aspect of their game.?This not only has to be evident when they pitch for the business but also throughout the servicing of the contract because retention is far from guaranteed when the contract is reviewed.

Prospective employers will obviously check the provider’s Ofsted overall and apprenticeship grades and they will want to know about success rates.?The reputation of the provider’s account management is also important in attracting new clients and at Remit Training we invest heavily in ensuring this is ‘best in class' for employers of all sizes.

For apprenticeships, excellent account management can be broken down into several elements as follows:

Transparency in reporting apprentices’ progress

Remit’s employer customers can access 24/7 live reporting online of an apprentice’s progress.?We find that this is highly valued.

Managing off-the-job training

Meeting the 20% off-the-job training requirement can be more challenging in some sectors than others.?For example, we have leading hospitality and supermarket brands among our clients and they and their apprentices need to be supported through peak periods while everyone keeps to the rules.?Remit advises the employers how this can best be achieved and for the Christmas period, conversations will begin at least three months in advance.

We have found though that a revised rule this year which stipulates that off-the-job training must on average comprise six hours a week of learning has been more easily understood than previous versions.

Our support is designed to make the experience both smooth and active.?Refreshed collateral and suggested off-the-job activities are proposed to employers but we take on board ideas from the employers themselves.?It is very much a two-way street and an example is apprentices being encouraged to take photographs of work tasks and then talk about them.

Ongoing communication

Our account managers are in constant communication with all of our employers but it is important to have some formal meetings in the diary to keep programme delivery under review.

For levy-paying employers, this can mean monthly and quarterly meetings and an overall annual review meeting which our chief executive will normally attend.?There is no escaping the fact that the buy-in to the programme tends to be larger from the levy payers because they regard the funding as their money.

The importance of these meetings is underlined by the fact that some employers have told us that communications could have been better with their previous provider.

Recruitment and retention of apprentices

With the economy experiencing a record number of job vacancies, employers face a further challenge in recruiting apprentices and keeping them.?Staff retention overall is proving to be another major test and retail, leisure and hospitality are sectors that have been particularly affected by EU workers returning home.

It is therefore vital that our support in ‘onboarding’ new apprentices is of the highest standard to help them feel happy with their new employer.?Employers will testify that a well-managed apprenticeship programme helps them attract and keep new recruits.

Sharing best practice

At Remit, we don’t believe that it is enough to maintain communication just between the individual employer client and ourselves.?We make an effort to bring our employers together where we can all share best practices, hear about developments in the marketplace and learn about changes in government policy as part of our thought leadership initiatives.?We work closely with industry bodies to ensure that the apprenticeship offer is always relevant and we invite them to come and speak to our clients.

Obviously, the pandemic put such events on hold but in 2022 we were able to start hosting them again.?The first saw employers from various sectors gather, which was a great success, and we are busy planning sector-specific events over the coming months.?Our website is also regularly updated to keep our employers informed about market developments.

Ultimately we want as many as possible of the apprentices whom we train and support to successfully complete their programmes.?By forging close partnerships with our employers, we know that the resulting good outcomes will result in increased productivity and higher levels of staff retention.?The quality of the training and assessment is crucial to this endeavour but at Remit, we believe that strong account management skills should never be underestimated.

Find out how we can help you today by visiting https://remit.co.uk/employers/