My e-Learning Journey - An Interview with Liam Goodall

Liam Goodall joined RWA on a two-month contract to assist in some important project work. As part of this process, we were keen to help Liam broaden his understanding of the world of work and provided him with access to My Development Zone.

All RWA staff are encouraged to use our flagship My Development Zone online learning system for on-demand learning as a tool to plan and evaluate performance and Liam was no exception. He has kindly agreed to tell us more about his experience so far.

Liam, tell us about your role here at RWA?

I’m a data entry clerk and I’ve been conducting some research into the Financial Services sector and reporting back through database entry and reports. I’ve had a few office-based roles where training was given early on but the culture here at RWA and the My Development Zone system has helped me to settle in really quickly and feel like a valued member of the team.

Did My Development Zone help you to achieve your work objectives?

Yes definitely, it was refreshing to receive on-going training that I could fit in around my work. When I felt that there was an area of work that I was less confident about, I could dip into My Development Zone and it would help me to understand what I should do.

You’ve completed over 100 courses in a short time on My Development Zone. What was the impact of that?

Just huge. I’d always felt as though I needed to improve my communication skills in certain areas but wasn’t really sure how or in what way. My Development Zone helped me to understand my weaknesses so that I could focus on them.

It’s also helped my confidence no end. I achieved so much more than I anticipated and it really showed me that with hard work and perseverance I can achieve anything. Starting a new role is a big step and to receive training from day one in health and wellbeing topics, in particular, was brilliant. It showed me that RWA cared about my development as well as providing me with some invaluable knowledge.

What did you particularly enjoy / not enjoy about My Development Zone

I really enjoyed the Research Methods training, probably as it’s really relevant to the work I was undertaking here at RWA and ties in nicely with my own interests, too. Also the wellbeing courses and the business planning and communication modules. In terms of usability, the system is so easy to use; I was shown how to access the support tools and FAQ’s, but the platform is so easy to use that I didn’t need to look there.

I always felt that my time was well spent when logged in, too. The courses are really relevant and as I could largely choose what to study (apart from a few courses that my line manager allocated to me) everything I undertook was really interesting. In addition, as I have a short-term contract, demonstrating my skills and abilities to other employers will be really important and I can take my access details with me allowing me to easily show my new employers what I’m capable of.

What would you say to anyone thinking about giving My Development Zone a try?

Just do it. I’d used some pretty boring e-Learning platforms before but my experience was nothing like using My Development Zone. Everything is highly relevant to today’s workplace and is so easy to use. The tools that are built in help you to communicate your ability to the wider organisation without having to ‘blow your own trumpet’ and it was great knowing that my manager could see how determined and able I was across a wide range of topics.