2025 Best Practice Guide
Raising Standards

Learning Academy On-Demand Modules

Over 100 modules of learning form the backbone of our academy, allowing you to focus on what is most relevant and important. Join the courses as online modules for just £65pp and pace yourself, to build a development plan for the year that is bespoke to your needs. If you have interest in a specific category click on the link below any module to see more in that topic.

Advanced Vol & Flex Balancing Strategies

Advanced Vol & Flex Balancing Strategies

Develop your flexibility offering with deeper analysis of your supply and demand, driving a workforce strategy.
 - Understand the scale of volatility
 - Engage your stakeholders with advanced analysis
 - Use this to drive decisions and develop a workforce strategy

Intro to Advanced Vol & Flex Balancing Mathematics

Intro to Advanced Vol & Flex Balancing Mathematics

Understand the benefits of taking a more in-depth view into the volatility of your supply and demand, and flexibility requirements.
 - Understand the value of further analysis.
 - Learn analysis techniques to measure variance
 - Translate this into a practical output for flexibility

Forecastable Metrics

Forecastable Metrics

In many organisations forecasting is limited to volumes of contacts or work, but we can do so much more. Whether we are forecasters or analysts, applying these techniques to our other metrics can open up a wealth of opportunities for improvement.
 - Learn how using forecasting techniques can open up new opportunities in your organisation.
 - Hear how innovation awards finalists are putting this into practice.

Using RAG Models to Take Action

Using RAG Models to Take Action

Understanding how to create effective thresholds to really drive improvement through easy to understanding Red, Amber and Green status.  This module will explore classic mistakes and top tips to improve how you communicate numbers:
 - The purpose of Red, Amber and Green status
 - Mistakes to avoid
 - Top tips, new techniques and tried and tested examples

Measures of Success: Balanced Scorecards

Measures of Success: Balanced Scorecards

Understand how to create the right measures to track and develop your real time effectiveness. Learn how to create the right process, aligned to your strategy and how to take a holistic view when setting measures of success.  Learning outcomes include:
 - What does good look like? Explore the key characteristics of an ideal real time function and key considerations to develop understanding and learning
 - Define your purpose. Understand how real-time planning can support your business strategy and impact it can have on customers and colleagues
 - Creating the right measures. Understand different perspectives and develop a holistic framework of success measures

Measures of Success for MI and Insight

Measures of Success for MI and Insight

Understand how to create the right measures to track and develop your MI and Insight efforts. Learn how to create the right process, aligned to your strategy and how to take a holistic view when setting measures of success. Learning outcomes include:
 - What does good look like?  Explore the key characteristics of an ideal real time function and key considerations to develop understanding and learning.
 - Define your purpose. Understand how real-time planning can support your business strategy and impact it can have on customers and colleagues.
 - Creating the right measures. Understand different perspectives and develop a holistic framework of success measures.

How to drive engagement though shift review

How to drive engagement though shift review

Shift reviews deliver many benefits to many areas of the business
 - Performance - Improved customer experience
 - Attrition, Absence - Reduced stress of busy peaks and boredom of quiet times
 - Employee Engagement - Flexibility to meet lifestyles of your teams

Understand the key principles which will drive engagement across your organisation, face the fear of shift patterns and bring a united, collaborative approach to making change possible

Measures of Success for Real Time

Measures of Success for Real Time

Understand how to create the right measures to track and develop your real time effectiveness. Learn how to create the right process, aligned to your strategy and how to take a holistic view when setting measures of success.  Learning outcomes include:
 - What does good look like? Explore the key characteristics of an ideal real time function and key considerations to develop understanding and learning.
 - Define your purpose. Understand how real-time planning can support your business strategy and impact it can have on customers and colleagues.
 - Creating the right measures. Understand different perspectives and develop a holistic framework of success measures

Introduction to Scheduling (with lessons from the best in class)

Introduction to Scheduling (with lessons from the best in class)

This module provides an introductory understanding of:
 - the fundamental inputs and outputs of the scheduling processes.
 - the role of scheduling within the planning cycle 
 - the characteristics of best in class scheduling teams as evidenced through The Forum's standards benchmarking programme

Introduction to Capacity Planning

Introduction to Capacity Planning

Learn how Capacity planning is a fundamental part of the Planning Cycle, how modelling Capacity influences budget decisions and supports the implementation of strategy by linking commercial plans to resourcing. Learning outcomes include:                    
 - Types of Capacity. Further your understanding in the types of capacity and how they can used as powerful tools in managing expectations and driving decision.
 - Assumptions. Explore the assumptions you should be including in your capacity plan, understand how to calculate variables and use them to improve utilisation of existing capacity and improve effectiveness. 
 - Process. Understand the key principles of Governance and Operating Rhythm.

Measures of Success for Scheduling

Measures of Success for Scheduling

Scheduling is much more than creating shifts and therefore the success criteria for shift design is much more than schedule fit. This module will explore the key responsibilities of a scheduler and how a holistic view is required to set measures of success. Learning outcomes include:
 - What does good look like? Understand the importance of scheduling and the key responsibilities, including key characteristics of good and bad schedules.
 - Define your purpose. Understand how schedules support your business strategy and its importance to customer and employee satisfaction
 - Schedule fit & other measures. Introduction to different ways of measuring scheduling fit and how these can be incorporated into a more holistic framework of success measures.

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