The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is an arm’s length public sector body. Established in the aftermath of Brexit, it looks into how British companies may be impacted by import practices abroad, and recommends plans to the UK government to level out the playing field.

The challenge

Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) considers SharePoint integral to its operation and offered training to all employees when it first began to use the collaboration platform. However, staff turnover and lack of legacy training documentation meant many people did not have much more than a basic knowledge of the platform. TRA was confident that SharePoint was the right choice for them – the challenge was ensuring everyone knew how to make the most of it.

TRA reached out to us for guidance to help get everyone up to speed with how to use SharePoint as a proper solution, going beyond the basics. The team also needed a way to ensure future new hires could access the training as part of the onboarding process.

Our approach

In March 2023 we worked with TRA to identify three levels of knowledge among staff: those who needed to learn the basics of SharePoint, those who understood some aspects but not all, and those who they called “SharePoint Champions.”

We developed a series of fundamental sessions to cover the basics and several deep dive sessions that reviewed specific aspects of SharePoint. This meant staff didn’t have to give up entire afternoons to sit through long training sessions about things they already knew – instead, they could choose the half-hour sessions that were most relevant. For the SharePoint Champions, we held separate sessions that allowed us to go in-depth into topics specifically relevant to them.

TRA also asked for feedback after every training session, allowing us to adjust the way we worked with the team on an ongoing basis.

The results

Offering a combination of fundamental sessions and deep dives into specific topics meant people were more engaged with the training: they were self-selecting into the sessions they really wanted to cover. As a result, the level of understanding around how to get the most out of SharePoint has increased significantly throughout the organisation. Employees have begun using SharePoint more for things they used to do manually, saving time and increasing overall efficiency.

For new hires, TRA went from offering no SharePoint guidance during onboarding to creating bespoke training for each person. The training sessions were all recorded onto a SharePoint page along with notes and other documentation that new hires could review based on their level of knowledge. Doing so has allowed new hires to quickly get up to speed on the specifics of how TRA uses SharePoint.

Overall, the training programme has reduced onboarding time for new starters and given existing staff increased levels of confidence and competence.