Who we are Fluent Technology: Formed in April 2001 Small company, 10 staff: Specialists in the management Information Systems and Local Information Systems Core competences: Streamlining/transforming complex information management processes Problem solving Our ethos - Companies dont build solutions, people do Microsoft Partner, ISO9001 certified, Investor in People

Why We Invest in Training & Development Addresses a genuine need within our business: Our most valuable asset is our staff: o Need for greater delegation of responsibility to our staff if our business is to continue growing o Need for our staff to maintain the currency of their skills o Strong staff cvs aid sales. Needed to plan and adapt for the future: o A clear business strategy with a strong emphasis on improving our skills in key areas (e.g. need to keep pace with ever changing technologies and build for the future) o Need to develop and grow our future business managers

DEL Support and its benefits MAP helped address a genuine need within our business: Programme support: o Structured workshops challenging our people processes o Assistance with developing a structured learning and development plan that echoed and linked to our business plan o Constructive feedback and challenge from our MAP advisor o Support towards Investor in People Benefits - o Increased productivity, turnover and profitability o Staff stepping up and taking on greater responsibility o Gained the Investor in People standard o All of our developers passed their PRINCE foundation exam

Lessons Learnt Keep training focused on where it adds the most value plus remember: o We operate in an era of transparency with everything we do visible to others; therefore we need to keep enhancing our skills o Important to lead from the front o Training does not need to be excessive (a little goes a long way) o On the job training is more important than off the job o Staff need to be involved in training design External support really helps: o Open, constructive feedback can challenge your thinking o Always ensure you think about the benefits vs. the cost o Gather feedback from staff & keep moving forward o Make a mistake – move on