For those business and people professionals chained to their desks or locked in meeting rooms while battling with current uncertainty or losses, the idea right now of taking a day or two out for a costly training seminar on employment law might be impractical and impolitic.
So the imaginative launch of a new product by an up and coming law firm deserves some attention. For a one off cost of £395 plus VAT, buyers gain access through a user name and passcode to the D&W website and an audio visual package in four modules: pragmatic restructuring (that also considers alternatives to redundancy); smart remuneration structures; protecting business assets (your key people); and internal dispute resolution.
The one-off fee covers multiple users within one organisation. The cost is equivalent to just one or two hours of a partner's time.
Although the target audience is not explicitly stated, the package is aimed at those with some working knowledge of the law - HR Managers and directors in the services sector, plus those business chiefs in SMEs who may not have a fully fledged HR function but need to be up to speed and don't necessarily always want to be consulting solicitors. For more junior HR people, there might need to be some guidance from supervisors as part of any ongoing development.
The content is up to date and in the fourth module makes reference to the new ACAS code, so the package should have a shelf life of at least nine months. After that, there is a risk that new case law may change advice. Short video presentations by partner Graham Paul and colleagues are supplemented by talks with slides, and, as importantly, a range of standard documents that are freely downloadable. There are some innovative ideas to consider and appropriate wording for handbooks.
Technically, using the package requires no specialist computer knowledge. You will need to have a reasonably robust broadband connection, especially if you want to dip into the modules from home one evening. During my review session at D&W, the process stalled and I needed to call the helpline, but the problem was quickly resolved.
How does it compare with other sources of learning? Well, Institute of Directors and/or CIPD members have regular journals and email updates, plus access - albeit limited - to free legal help lines, and large and well established institutions may have effective relationships with one or two law firms who should be providing this information anyway. So there is no shortage of ways for business practitioners to keep up to date.
However, the D&W web based product provides a degree of flexibility in learning when you want it, and the training techniques used to help knowledge retention mean that you have a real chance of actually remembering the advice and implementing the necessary action. Moreover, if as an HR executive, you are failing to persuade a CEO of a necessary change, then referring him or her to part of the package, accessed in their own time, could prove conclusive.
Contact Robert Davies, 020 7759 5790 (Robert.Davies@dundas-wilson.com)
or Helen.joseph@dundas-wilson.com