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Gracie's Graduate Trainee Scheme Experience

1. How did you find out about the Graduate Trainee Scheme at GuyKat?

As I was nearing the end of my MSc International Business degree, I wasn’t entirely sure about the direction that I wanted my career to go in. All I knew was that I wanted to work for a leading company that supports its employees’ development and fosters an ambitious team environment. Seeking this and foundational business experience, I applied for GuyKat’s Business Development and Administration Associate role on Indeed. Fortunately, GuyKat spotted potential and offered me their Graduate Trainee Scheme instead.  

2. Which part of the scheme appealed to you the most and why?

Since I’m highly invested in personal development, I was most attracted to gaining broad experience in different areas of the company. This scheme encourages me to learn transferable skills, adapt to new challenges and contribute to a variety of projects. It builds my in-depth knowledge of the company and an industry that I knew little about before. By taking a leap into unfamiliar territory, I’ve been able to stretch my development and career prospects in ways that I hadn’t anticipated while at university. 

3. You are about to transfer to the third stage of your scheme. Could you please give an overview of the past few months working in the eLearning side of the business?

My experience in the eLearning Projects team has been unique since I onboarded while training our Office Manager and transitioning to remote working. Regardless, my time in the team has been pivotal. Initially, I was assigned a Mentor who taught me how to use the authoring tools and creative software needed to develop professional eLearning. I was also assigned a Buddy, who I could check-in with if I needed any help. My main project involved working with my Buddy to conceptualise and develop a suite of eLearning modules for a major client. I’ve also attended client meetings, helped with quality assuring our products and contributed to improving our internal processes.

Immersing myself into this team has been seamless. By embracing digital communication, we’ve been able to continue collaborating and supporting each other remotely. This has helped me to rapidly develop my technical and design skills, despite having no foundations in either area. The only downside is that I’m moving on soon, while there’s so much left to learn. However, I’ve accomplished a lot and I look forward to embracing the new opportunities that my next rotation presents. 

4. So far, what have been the highlights of your scheme? 

It’s been exciting to experience our US expansion and welcome all of our new team members - both in the UK and the US. As the Business Development and Administration associate, a big highlight for me was moving to our new Birmingham office. I managed our assets during this move and got to experience our growth first-hand. During this rotation, I also got to establish our back-office processes, assist with recruitment and train our new Office Manager. 

In the eLearning team, it’s been rewarding learning how to use various creative software and developing my design skills. The biggest highlight has been working with my Buddy and receiving positive client feedback for our project. It’s also great having the current challenge of revamping some marketing materials. 

5. What do you enjoy about working at GuyKat?

Even as the team grows, I think that we remain tight-knit and inclusive. I’ve loved our pub lunches, Christmas parties (yes, multiple) and spontaneous social events. We have a mixture of people with varying life experience and skills, including a growing graduate community. This means that there’s always someone that I can turn to for support or a quick chat. 

6. Any advice for students or graduates looking to apply for GuyKat’s Graduate Trainee Scheme?

My advice is to remember that the most important part of your application is your cover letter - CVs without cover letters are automatically rejected. Your cover letter is your opportunity to express your personality, as well as letting us know about your relevant passions and skills. It’s very difficult to gauge your potential without context to support the qualifications and experience listed in your CV.

We invest in people who share our values and our work ethic. If you want to stand out, ensure that your application is tailored to tell us: Why GuyKat? Why this Graduate Scheme? Why you? 

Our Graduate Trainee Scheme 2020 is open for applications. To read more about it, please follow the link here.

by Rugile

What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in May

In May, Docebo released an update to enable duplication of 'pages' by admins. Jack Rixon, who's a part of GuyKat's Professional Services Team, answers questions on this much requested feature in the recent update.

1. What are pages on the Docebo platform? How are they used and what role do they play in the functionality of the platform?

On Docebo, pages allow admins to customise the look and feel of their system. A well-designed page can transform user interaction with the platform. As standard, admins have access to some templates. This is a quick way to get started.  The templates pre-populate the page with Docebo widgets, which can display various types of data such as users’ course stats or their content library. However, if you want to push the platform further then you don’t have to be constrained by these templates. If you have knowledge of CSS or HTML, you can start with a blank canvas and build your own custom page. At GuyKat, we know the CSS and HTML pieces and can work with clients who draw up their ideal of what the system would look, if they can make a simple mock-up of how they would wish the system looked (called a ‘wireframe’ in the jargon), using a tool like PowerPoint - then we can let them know how close we can get their Docebo to looking like their wireframe.  More often than not, it is very close.

2. How will the duplication of pages make the platform better? How the duplication of pages will make people’s lives easier? How would that change user experience?

Not every user in every organisation needs to see the same content or the same images on a page. It just may not be relevant enough for them.  It is normal for a company to want their manufacturing staff to see different things from their sales staff, or managers to see a different view from team members, contractors to see something different from internal staff, European staff to see something different from Asian Staff etc. This is why, in almost all cases, you will need to create more than one landing page for your users. Previously, if you wanted to create more than one version of a page, you would need to manually create a new page then copy the layout from your original page. This was time-consuming. However, this latest Docebo update allows admins to “duplicate and save” pages, meaning you no longer need to re-create all of the widgets on a page. This is a great tool for admins now, as they will be able to make minor tweaks to their pages much quicker, saving a lot of time. This makes it far easier to more quickly make tailored pages, which is a real benefit for the user experience. Tailored pages lower barriers to user engagement. Everything that makes it easier or quicker to make tailored pages is a win! 

If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.

by Website Admin

Selecting the right eLearning format for your content

In this article, one of our Senior eLearning Designers talks about how they help clients decide on the format of their learning.

How important is selecting the right format of eLearning for a project?

Each client and each project is unique. So, at GuyKat we start by looking at the client’s needs, target audience and existing materials. Our aim is to create bespoke learning that delivers their key messages in an engaging and effective way. A key choice we make early on is the format that the eLearning will be delivered in. I think a lot of competitors seem to assume that whatever the brief, the answer must be a traditional eLearning module. It often isn’t. Getting the right format is critical to success.

What are the different types of eLearning formats?

eLearning can be delivered in a variety of formats, on many different platforms. A single course should include a mix of formats to create a well-rounded experience, which could comprise of:

• Traditional eLearning modules*
• Responsive eLearning
• Quizzes
• Scenario training
• Blended learning
• Video (Live action, animated, VR and interactive)
• PDF and ‘takeaway’ documents
• Webinars
• Social learning

What is the benefit of one format over another?

A traditional module isn’t better than an animated video, and a quizzing module isn’t any less effective than a scenario-based course. Which type of format to choose for eLearning depends on the content and desired outcomes.

If a client was looking to confirm a learner’s in-depth knowledge on a new accounting system, to ensure it was safe to give them access, then an interactive quiz would be an appropriate format. A bitesize animated video would best be suited to deliver one specific topic such as Video Call Etiquette in a bright, visual way. If an organisation was looking to embed a new culture into its way of working, a blended approach using a variety of formats would ensure the process is smooth, interactive and aligns all employees to the new way of working. It all really depends on what you’re trying to achieve.

How do you decide which is the best format for your content?

As part of the initial project scoping, asking a few key questions will ensure the content is matched to the right format. These can include:

• What existing material is the client able to provide?
• What key messages need to be delivered?
• Who is the main audience?
• What is the budget and what are the timelines?
• How will the module be hosted?
• What is the most effective way to present this content?

Once the scope has been outlined, the format that best suits the client's needs can be proposed. Budget constraints can usually result in more modest ambition and outcome, but if clients are nervous about trying a different type of eLearning, providing demos or case studies from previous projects can help them push their eLearning to be more innovative and successful.

*By traditional eLearning module we mean the type of content most users are familiar with if they access materials on an LMS. These are typically written by developers using tools such as Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyline and exported in SCORM format. They may be ‘click-and-read’, or may have various levels of interactivity, audio and animation. For this definition, we are referring to content that is primarily optimized for a tablet or desktop size screen.

by admin

What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in April

Having worked with multiple different Learning Management Systems in the past, one of the key differentiators with Docebo is its Coach & Share module which fosters a culture of community and continuous social learning. The feature not only empowers learners to search the content but also create and share their own learning, which is the core idea for successful Social Learning. To find out more about Docebo's Discover, Coach & Share click on the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fF-8YJJ-Ks

In April, Docebo completely revamped Channel Management making life significantly easier for any Admin to create, search, modify and upload content to Channels.

Our favorite functions are:

• The new search bar which means not having to continuously scroll to find any newly created channels.

• The new grid format which includes quick access to view Content that has been uploaded against any channel.

• The ability to define the details, experts, visibility for my Channel all on one page (instead of clicking “Next” to move through each step).

• The ability to directly search and add content when creating or editing a channel.

"Overall, the experience within Channels now feels more modernised, flexible and consistent with other areas of Docebo (Course Management, Menus, Pages) and I’m loving it!" - Joanne Payne, LMS Consultant and the author of this article.

If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.

by Hannah

Onboarding at the time of crisis

Since the lockdown started, GuyKat has welcomed five new joiners. All five had accepted their offers and quit their previous jobs in the weeks before coronavirus changed everything. It is always a big step for anyone to make a job move. Imagine the extra stress of joining a new company in these uncertain times. This creates an HR challenge; how do you successfully onboard people to your culture and ways-of-working in these extraordinary circumstances?

Paradoxically, the starting point in a crisis is no different than normal times. We know from experience that new starters are more likely to be successful when we do specific things. We have a checklist! The key in this crisis is that ‘remote working’ is not used as an excuse to miss anything out. The steps will be the same. However, delivering them remotely will likely mean you have to deliver them differently. That may need some creative thinking.

To give you the idea, some of GuyKat’s onboarding tasks are listed below - you can adapt this for your own company.

1. Company history

First things first. We start the induction process telling the story of our company. We want staff to understand how we ‘grew up’. There are turning points in our story that explain why we do some things in very specific ways. We want to build an emotional connection between our new starter and their new work family.  We’ve had an exciting story so far, and we want them excited about their chance to play a part in our next chapters. Usually, our CEO runs this session. Up to now, it has always been done in person. The CEO having individual sessions with everyone isn’t going to be practical if a company moves from counting employees in the tens to the hundreds or thousands, but if you can find someone who has tenure and is part of the company story, and who is passionate about it - then they can pull it off as well as the CEO. This session can still be done remotely. It doesn’t matter that you might be miles away from each other, walk through the story with interactive pdfs, images and insights of how the company reached the point where it is now. This is essential to understanding a company's culture and how things work internally.

2. Assign a buddy and a mentor

The best people start new positions wanting to feel challenged and hoping to learn continuously. Assigning a mentor and a buddy can unlock this. Our rule of thumb is the mentor should be at least one ‘level’ above the mentee in seniority, ideally higher. It works best when they are in a role that the new starter might realistically aspire to one day. The buddy should ideally be at the same ‘level’, but certainly no more than one above them. The role of the buddy is to give them someone they feel safe to ask what they think are daft questions they would be too embarrassed to ask someone they wish to impress. In reality, they are rarely daft questions, but it is part of professional growth that people feel they are. We help them through any initial imposter syndrome when the mentor/buddy system is working well. In remote working, you need to nudge your mentors and buddies to be pro-active in reaching out to offer their support. It is usually a ‘push’ model of support at first, and you will know it is working when the new starter has turned it into a ‘pull’ model.

3. Introductory meetings with key staff from different teams

First impressions are so important! Here at GuyKat, everyone is tasked with scheduling a 15-minute introduction meeting with the new starter at some point in their first month.  Even if it is likely their roles mean they will never work together directly. This gives an overview of the whole company, all the different teams, and all the various products and services and back-office support. It will demystify the organisation. Having everyone do this in the first month is only sustainable to about 50 people (it is sustainable even with that many!).  If your company is larger, you may want to have a cross-section of random connections between divisions. This can be done remotely via Zoom or similar technology. In a lockdown, this is as much benefit for the existing staff member as the joiner. Human contact and connection with colleagues beyond the business nitty-gritty and silo make for happier people.

4. Join Sales Calls

We have new starters listen in on some initial calls with new business leads (i.e. sales calls!).  We do this even if the starter is never, ever going to be in either a sales role, or a direct client-facing role.  It’s a great way of letting people hear how we talk about the company and how we position our services. It’s also a great way of letting our new starters understand the issues that our clients are reaching out for us to solve.  The only difference in the current situation is that they likely have to join the teleconference as a distinct attendee which is more visible to the lead than if they were sitting in the office listening in. We find that all leads are completely cool when we explain why they are present.  If someone wasn’t, we likely wouldn’t want to work with them!

4. Keep on the communication

Let’s not stop once onboarding is finished. Communicating between employees is essential. Bring on the pets, family and kids onto the zoom calls. Quizzes, happy hours and general catch-ups are essential. Every Monday morning make a list of the people in the company you’d like to have a chat with this week and schedule it. Embrace online life and keep yourself and others in the loop!

Onboarding at the time of crisis is harder than usual.  However, it is as important as always. Keep your employees engaged and you will see how they will flourish once everything is back to normal. 

by Rugile

What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in March

Docebo routinely releases platform improvements. This month sees the introduction of the ‘My Profile’ widget into the mobile app. This allows the mobile experience to be closer to the desktop experience. Users are now able to view and update their profile, as well as change their password, all within the mobile app. This allows flexibility and freedom for users to update their profile on the go rather than having to wait until they reach a desktop. To add this new widget, make sure you go to the desired page and click the plus icon at the bottom.

This will display the widget selection menu, widgets available on both mobile and desktop will display the appropriate icon, depending on their availability.

After selecting the ‘My Profile’ widget and clicking next, you will be presented with a list of options and additional fields that can help you decide what the widget will display.

Finally, click add widget, which will then add it to your custom page. Any pages that have previously been made may need updating to include the ‘My Profile’ widget if they haven’t done so automatically. An example of how this widget display on mobile can be seen below!

If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.

by admin

What’s New: Best-liked Docebo Update in February

Docebo routinely releases platform improvements. The latest update introduces 'User Impersonation'. This was one of the most requested features on the ‘Docebo Ideas Portal’ (a customer feedback site available to enterprise customers). It got GuyKat’s vote! Docebo responded to these customer requests and developed the feature!

What is User Impersonation?

If you have worked on a Learning Management System as an administrator then it's likely you needed to support a specific user.  The problem has been that an Administrator’s view of the platform is different from what the end-user sees. GuyKat offers admin support to Docebo clients worldwide and often need to see exactly what the end-user sees to better understand their issue.  This means you often have to schedule a webinar/screen share or have them email screenshots which is an inefficient use of time for everyone.

This new feature allows the Superadmin (Docebo's top-level admin) to access the platform and actually login with a learner's credentials (by the click of a button). 

A notification is automatically sent to the user to let them know that the Superadmin has logged in. They can now sit back, relax and await the diagnosis and resolution of the query. Time saved, stress relieved!

This is a very powerful feature tucked away in one of the February weekly updates and GuyKat wanted to call it out to centre-stage. We will certainly be using it to aid our customers and hope Docebo admins will benefit from it globally. 

If you are interested in partnering with GuyKat for services on your Docebo platform, please get in touch. Click on the contact button below to request a discovery call and describe your requirements.

by Hannah

Building a Custom Docebo Landing Page Enhances Your UX

A landing page is the first page a visitor sees. It is core to the user journey through a website and arguably the most important page. In an LMS environment, it determines how easy it is for learners to engage with your learning content. Landing pages should set the standard for the website ‘look and feel’ and be targeted to the audience with information and content specific to them.  Done well, it can establish a unique individual user experience.

Up until two or three years ago, it was difficult to customise landing pages on Docebo. The platform had a ‘dashboard’ feature, but there were significant limitations on what could be included. The launch of the ‘pages’ feature in Docebo 7.0 was the game-changer. This opened up new levels of customisation constrained only by the imagination and skill of the developer rather than technical limitations. A killer feature is that you can have different tailored landing pages for different groups of users. 

Ideally, a landing page should aim to be simple. The use of images that link to other parts of the site is effective. A good landing page allows users to easily find an area of the site they need; this is especially important in an LMS. A landing page should also make effective use of your branding in its overall design and layout and can be a powerful tool for conveying a particular message to the user.

At GuyKat we know Docebo inside and out. Clients regularly contact us to help enhance their Docebo UI. Our expertise with the pages functionality is a great enabler in transforming end-use perception of the platform. We tailor our landing pages on a client by client basis. Usually, the landing page’s content and structure are dictated by the way their Docebo instance is configured. Before making live changes we send over wireframes for review by the client, the look and feel of the page is then mocked up internally and then built following final sign-off by the client.

Typical features landing pages are:

• A navigation bar
• A carousel of linked images to advertise courses etc
• Footer links to social media/other external pages
• Images linking top essential parts of the site
• A cohesive design that keeps the user engaged

If you engage with GuyKat we have a well-defined process to take you from an initial discovery call where we find the key objectives for your platform and review your current set-up. Then there is a phase of wire-frame designs and review. Following approval, we implement the design using our custom coding.  To date, GuyKat has supported clients in building hundreds of landing pages for Docebo customers all over the world.

If custom page design and implementation is something you're interested in please use the contact button to arrange a call with one of our experts.

by Hannah

Megan's Digital Media Internship at GuyKat

Birmingham has some of the best universities in the UK.  They're full of bright people with ambition to join innovative organisations.  One of those bright people is Megan, our current intern in the eLearning team. Today she is sharing her experience of her three month long internship. For her, it's a part-time paid job while juggling university work!

1. How did you find out about the internship at GuyKat?

I’m on the Impact Internship. This internship is available exclusively to final year students and recent University of Birmingham graduates. Impact Internships are partnered with start-ups and small or medium-sized enterprises; giving their successful applicants the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a growing, innovative business. Since I am a UoB student, I found this job when it popped up in my academic emails.

2. What attracted you to the role at GuyKat?

I am currently studying for a BSc Computer Science degree. My favourite aspects of the course are those that include UX and front end development. My enjoyment in using creative technology, such as Adobe programs and markup languages, has made me want to explore a creative career. Needless to say, when I saw the job title “Digital Media Designer/eLearning Developer” I knew that this role would give me the creative satisfaction I was looking for.

When I first saw the job advert, I didn’t fully understand what was meant by the term “eLearning” but I already had developed an interest in learning technologies. A few years ago I made a Japanese character learning aid in Java and was planning to make a system for teaching HTML/CSS as my dissertation topic. I also enjoyed teaching children how to code at CodeCamp. I was attracted to this role because it perfectly balances everything I am interested in: learning, technology, creativity and design!

3. What were the main tasks you were given?

Initially, I had to become efficient in using Storyline since it is one of the most important tools utilised by the eLearning team. I then recreated some of the existing features and special effects and took on a client project - I found this extremely fun, it was rewarding being able to reach the company standards of branding. Since then, I have had great opportunities to work on several projects by making pdfs, website designs, illustrations and more.

4. What were your highlights during the internship?

One of my highlights so far is learning how to use Adobe Illustrator since I’ve always wanted to teach myself how to use it. When I was told I would need to learn how to use this software, I asked if I could have access to the software over Christmas so that I could get a head start. I am now beginning to understand how powerful this tool is, especially since it has unique capabilities that can be used to make graphics.

A further highlight would have to be visiting one of our clients in their London office. This was a kick-off meeting with a medical device company’s L&D managers to outline a few months of work worth delivery on various projects. This was a highly valuable experience and I loved getting to know our clients in person.

5. What do you enjoy about working with GuyKat?

The thing I enjoy most about working at GuyKat (other than getting to be creative every day, obviously) is the atmosphere in the office. Everyone at GuyKat is super lovely and they all make the office an incredibly pleasant place to be! We also have a hotdesking system, this is brilliant because I sit next to someone different every day. This system helps to keep my mind fresh and increases my productivity. I always look forward to coming in to work and I feel incredibly lucky to have found an occupation that I love!

6. Any advice or tips for students or graduates looking for a career in Digital Media?

I would have to say, make sure that when you write your applications you sound as enthusiastic as you feel about the job you’re applying for. My cover letter for GuyKat was the first cover letter that I was eager to write! I was so thrilled about the prospect of the job, and the opportunities that it would bring, that it was no problem expressing my excitement when applying.

If you think you'd be a good addition to our team whether being an apprentice, intern or a full-time employee, give us a shout at info@guykat.com. 

by Rugile