Customer Testimonials: Whitakers Chocolates

Whitakers Chocolates Limited is a family run firm making over 10 million chocolates a week. Being able to undertake training that fits in with the demands of a busy working schedule was essential. Estelle Willis discusses why our courses were the right fit for them.

Please introduce yourself and your organisation.
Estelle Willis, Assistant Quality Assurance Manager at Whitakers Chocolates Limited. Whitakers Chocolates Limited is a family run firm that has been around for over 135 years making over 10 million chocolates a week. Based in the market town of Skipton and famous for the After Dinner Mints, the business has now expanded to make products such as Dark Chocolate covered Ginger, Personalised Neapolitans, Flavoured Fondant creams and much much more.

Why did you choose our e-learning courses?
I chose the High Speed Training e-learning courses to fit in with the demands of our working practices. They are easy to book and allocate to personnel to complete at their convenience. The portal is user-friendly and keeps track of training records. The courses are easy to navigate, full of information, and can be completed in sections if required.

What specific need or problem were you trying to address by taking our training?
To ensure I fully understand working processes and fulfil the requirements of customers and audits, I have completed training courses with High Speed Training. The courses are informative, easy to access, and meet the required standards. Certificates are awarded on the portal and received in the post to add to training records.

How did our training stand out from other options you considered?
Being able to complete training courses when it fits into a busy working schedule is very important. The format is always the same and accessible to all. Being able to listen to the training or read it has extra benefits if you need to go over the material in depth. Offering these types of training courses to other personnel is beneficial, especially for those who may not feel confident attending an external agency for training. The cost of the training courses is a huge benefit to companies, meaning we can offer more training to staff.

How was the learning process for you and your staff?
High Speed Training courses are informative, and convenient for our needs. All personnel have been confident in accessing the courses and have taken several each. The portal is easy to navigate, allocate courses, and print certificates, which is useful during internal and external audits where we need to access information quickly. High Speed Training is available for any inquiries regarding the portal, which we have used when setting up.

How straightforward was it to get started?
The courses are easy to allocate to personnel; a quick demo of how to get started and then the trainees are off. Each section is completed before moving on to the next, and there’s usually a test at the end. All personnel have managed to navigate and get started on the courses straight away.

How did you find distributing the training and tracking the progress of your staff?
The portal is easy to navigate and allocate courses to staff. Staff all have their own login and allocated courses, which are then sorted into working departments. You can quickly find a staff member and look at their training records. You can also see what courses we have purchased ready to allocate, and these do not expire. It has been helpful previously to be able to bulk buy courses.

What issues did you face whilst using our training and/or systems and how were they resolved?
I have previously ended up allocating courses to the same person under two different usernames. I contacted High Speed Training, who helped me move all the courses onto the same username for that person, and now I know how to do this. I have managed to navigate the portal well; it is user-friendly, and if any updates are made, High Speed Training gets in touch with information and advice.

What specific outcomes have you achieved as a result of using our training?
Booking and allocating courses on the portal is convenient and quick. Training has been completed in quicker timescales using High Speed Training because personnel can complete training on site at a time convenient for all of us. Training certificates and records are easily kept. Staff have access to more courses, and the cost is competitive. Staff who are not as confident as others have completed High Speed Training courses and feel a sense of achievement afterwards. We have met all our customer and audit targets by being able to access these courses.

Can you give an example of any awards, metrics or data to support your results?
We are BRCGS accredited and these training courses have been helpful in achieving this standard. All areas of the site are audited covering all aspects of training, training requirements and training completed. Different types of training which is required to keep the business running to achieve product safety, legality and quality is available and easy to access, and has been completed.

What feedback have you received from your employees or other stakeholders?
Employees are happy to complete training on site. Less confident members of staff are pleased that they have the opportunity to complete training and feel a sense of achievement afterwards. Staff are encouraged to ask for training if they feel a need for specific training that we have not offered.

How effective and engaging have they found the training?
The training videos and text are well received by personnel. Sometimes, the multiple-choice questions are confusing and feel like trick questions. This can confuse some personnel whose first language is not English.

Are there any specific features or aspects of the training that they particularly liked?
The videos in the training are well received. The fact that our staff know they have passed immediately and can receive a certificate is a great feature.

Overall, would you recommend High Speed Training to others?
I would recommend High Speed Training to others as a reliable company that offers a great range of easy-to-access courses for good value. The courses are easy to complete, and help is available if needed.