MidwestWireless.pdf

Based in Mankato, Minnesota, Midwest Wireless operates in 85 counties of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Midwest Wireless Holdings is privately owned by a group of independent telephone companies and employs over 500 employees.

The Challenge

Midwest Wireless Human Resources recognized that traditional methods of paperwork, employee communication and training were outdated and not efficient:

• Administrative human resource tasks were taking too much time
• The Human Resources staff was not focused on strategic initiatives
• The department was not cutting-edge in its delivery of services

With employees working in three states and a training department located at corporate headquarters, Midwest Wireless required a program ensuring consistent course presentation and the coordination of training and development needs for all employees at all locations.

Offer web-based technologies to enhance management efficiencies and empower employees to be accountable for themselves. The solution is tied to a Midwest Wireless Core Value - Better Ways Always!

Midwest Wireless Human Resources turned to PureSafety as a potential web-based training partner. Everyone on the team recognized that traditional methods of training, such as instructor-led, video and paper-based instruction posed a variety of problems and inefficiencies, including:

• Difficulty ensuring courseware is current
• Lengthy work stoppages and lost production time
• Instructor fees and travel costs

Everyone agreed that the benefits of web-based training were numerous – the addition of this training medium would result in added value and reduce costs associated with Midwest Wireless' training through:

• Empowering employees by allowing them fast and direct access to training courses anywhere, anytime 24/7
• An enhanced interactive web-based learning experience
• An extensive, high-quality course library
• Course customization and creation capabilities
• A full hosted, managed and supported solution
• Empowering managers to create and assign department specific training
• Responsibilities shift back to the employee and manager
• Improved management capabilities through extensive recordkeeping & tracking system
• Consistent and legally defensive performance appraisal verbiage

After extensive vendor and industry research, Midwest Wireless chose to implement the PureSafety Enterprise solution in February 2003.

Using the most innovative training media allows users to receive just-in-time training from the web. Web-based training allows Midwest Wireless to train end-users throughout all of its service areas and the world without incurring travel expenses, facilitator fees or time away from the job.

All of this makes the company’s web-based training one of the most cost-effective and convenient ways to roll out training to many users, refresh the skills of existing staff and train new employees. Furthermore, Midwest Wireless has empowered its employees by allowing them fast and direct access to training courses anywhere, anytime - always on and always available. 24/7, self-paced training teaches basic end-user skills conveniently and cost-effectively by greatly reducing scheduling challenges and workday disruptions commonly associated with training.

Whether located at headquarters or remote sites, all users get the same consistent and thorough training materials. With web-based training, the company focuses on what its employees need to know. Midwest Wireless began its use of PureSafety by offering the following compliance training in 2003/2004:

• Harassment
• Diversity
• Workplace Violence
• Ergonomics
• Disabilities

PureSafety provides both employee and management versions of many of its HR courses to clarify the different roles and responsibilities that are assigned to them. All assignments are due to be completed within 30 days. Web-based training empowers management to create and assign department specific training and the responsibility is shifted back to the employee instead of the Human Resources department. Management can also better manage their employees and can track required employee training independently. Human Resources then tracks the success of Management. This relates back to the performance of the employee and the manager for possible future merit increases.

Midwest Wireless also recognized that some off-the-shelf training does not always meet the company’s needs. PureSafety’s course customization and development services allow the Human Resources department to plan and develop its own trainings. They have learned that the trainees' acceptance of online training and knowledge retention rates are higher when the "look and feel" of the course reflects their workplace and corporate culture. That is why they chose to partner with PureSafety where all of the interactive courses are completely customizable, allowing them to promote the “Midwest Wireless Way” for a unique corporate and safety culture, while delivering a consistent, localized message to their employees.

In September 2003, Midwest Wireless launched its first customized training program – New Hire Orientation Phase I Web-based Tutorial. The goal of the web-based new hire tutorial was to create a more efficient New Hire Orientation program that welcomes the new hire over time, instead of bombarding them with paperwork and videos on the first day (which is what many of their new hire orientation evaluations report).

• The benefits of implementing the Web-based New Hire Orientation program include:
• New hire training is consistent, cost effective and easily implemented.
• Corporate awareness of harassment, violence, diversity and safety has been heightened.
• Web-based training solution answers problems, eliminates inefficiencies, and offers many benefits previously not achieved with traditional training methods

Here are some of the many positive results Midwest Wireless has seen since its launch of PureSafety:

• Training attendance is very near 100%. Prior to implementation of PureSafety, that number was closer to 40-50%.
• Government mandated reporting and compliance requirements are documented and easily accessed.
• Travel costs and time for training personnel have been reduced, if not eliminated.
• Productivity is maintained, flexibility is offered to management; satisfaction is high
• Positive comments from management and employees
• Web-based training is less expensive than hiring a trainer or outsourcing.
• The average time for an employee to complete an online training course is approximately 50% less than traditional classroom training.
• Groups of employees are no longer pulled from their jobs for training classes.
• Training time per employee was reduced from 1-2 hours (plus drive time for remote employees) to 30-45 minutes.
• Positive e-Learning experiences are driving demand for HR and other training.
• Less involvement from HR, thus HR is more focused on strategic projects.

As a result of Midwest Wireless’ innovative use of web-based technologies, the company recently received the 2003 Best Practices Award from the Southern Minnesota Area Human Resource Association (SMAHRA).

Midwest Wireless is confident that with more usage of web-based training for safety, that it will directly contribute to the realization of lower workers’ compensation experience modification ratings in the future, and also to an overall decrease in its workers’ compensation costs per employee. As a result of use of its use of web-based training, Midwest Wireless has realized additional positive outcomes including heightened safety awareness, documented compliance reporting and cost effectiveness.