We have a system!

I would like to tell you a story….

Before COVID, there was a lot of focus on the introduction and implementation of the new WHS legislation, and we had been asked to provide a consult on a company’s workforce compliance records management system.

I attended a meeting with the GM of a medium-sized busy company and introduce him to Industry OneCARD?.

After my presentation, he said what a great idea, we already have a system, but let me introduce you to our HR manager as she is across this issue and this is her responsibility. 

The GM organised a meeting with the HR manager and we had a great meeting which at the end she said to me, “Kareena what a great idea and the industry can benefit from your platform and service but we currently have a system!”

I am familiar with the system they were using, so I asked two questions?

“How do you rate the quality of the data in the system, and do you trust the data?”

Her answer did not surprise me …

“Umm the data is not good (not the actual word used to describe the data but you will get the drift) and there is a lot of rubbish in the system. We have been meaning to spend some time to clean it up, but we have been so busy!

 But the good thing is we have a system! The team on site seem to be managing ok, but I will introduce you to the Safety Advisor on-site to see if we can improve?’

This reminded me of one of my favourite sayings

“Torture the data and it will confess to anything”

When I met the Safety Advisor on-site his reply was, “Yep we have a system but is so hard to use and the data is never right, so we manage the employee matrix for the client on an excel spreadsheet!”

This reply again did not surprise me, you may ask why?

1.     The disconnect from what management thinks is happening, to what is actually occurring is real.

2.     All training management systems work, some are harder to use than others, some have tried to be all things to everyone which makes the system hard to navigate and some are just downright nasty.

3.     The management of employee training and licence records and the employee skills matrix is an expensive and hidden cost to most companies

Training Management Systems(TMS) integrity will break down due to:

a.     complicated and non-user-friendly system

b.     the inability to lock down key areas that corrupt data

c.      weak procedures for data entry during onboarding and ongoing maintenance of the data.

d.     no clear lines of ownership of data between different divisions in a company especially during ongoing maintenance

e.     the quality of the data integrity at entry

f.       lack of understanding of the complexities of the Australian training framework and the extensive in-house training which needs to be recorded

g.     doing a data dump from one system to the next

 What can you do?

The challenges with trying to clean a Training Management System (TMS) while a company is operating and busy is you must find a way to clean the data and fix the system without breaking it, and this can be a complicated task and you might need professional support.

Majority of companies get to a point and decided to purchase another system and then do a data dump which on the surface looks like a solution but in a very short time the same cracks appear.

If your company is experiencing a temporary downturn during COVID-19 this could be a perfect time to do a data cleanse and / or get some professional help to work out solutions so your data is ready for post COVID opportunities.

COVID-19 has not removed or delayed the new WHS legislation and even though the focus for some businesses is on surviving, we need to look for opportunities to thrive and having visibly and accessible of a compliant workforce will put your company ahead of others in a competitive environment.

If you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance!

Kareena Waters

Managing Director

Industry OneCARD?  But we have a system