Case Study: Raising Standards at Leyton Orient Football Club
3 min read
The Challenge
- How to implement organisation wide training plans to ensure compliance with the English Football League (EFL) Safety certificate with remote working, multiple sites and busy schedules
- Achieve club-wide compliance to a strict deadline. Failure to meet compliance would have serious ramifications for the club
The Objectives
- Create a training schedule to get staff members complaint on a range of topics
- Enact a culture shift to promote positive views towards training, personal development and education
The Solution
- A program of online training that could be implemented club-wide, allowing learners to achieve compliance at their own pace and from any location
- A management system and dashboard that allows for reporting to governing bodies to demonstrate standards have been met
A Background on Leyton Orient Football Club
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professional level, having been founded in 1881.
We caught up with Neil Robinson, Head of Safety and Facilities at Leyton Orient, to find out more about how the club have used High Speed Training’s courses to upskill and empower their staff.
How Important is Staff Training and Safety at a Football Club Such As Leyton Orient?
It’s vital. As a member of the EFL, we are assessed and granted a Safety Certificate which grants us the authority to house games here at the stadium. If we weren’t able to achieve that certificate, we wouldn’t be able to have anybody in the stadium.
The biggest revenue for clubs like this is getting fans into the stadium, that’s how clubs operate. If we didn’t have that, that’s when clubs could go into administration.
We have to be proactively training, ensuring everyone at the club is singing from the same hymn sheet and upholding the same policies and procedures.
Football clubs are very complex organisations, with a very diverse range of staff, teams and responsibilities, including maintenance, matchday and hospitality, commercial services, coaches and medical staff. With such a wide scope of business, identifying areas that need development and training can be challenging.
What Areas Did You Identify That Needed Training?
We identified key areas around health and safety and compliance, but with so many staff over various sites, there was lots to consider.
One example, we have lots of ground maintenance staff who require training in areas such as COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) and manual handling.
The EFL provides clubs with a health and safety assessment every two years, and, having worked in other clubs previously, I’m familiar with what they entail. So, looking at that, it was clear that there were areas that we needed to improve and that training was the biggest issue.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the process of developing professional skills and knowledge through interactive, participation-based or independent learning. As many organisations are placing more of a focus on employee retention and building the careers of their staff, CPD is becoming more and more essential for employers.
How Important is Personal Development and Supporting Staff at Leyton Orient?
Training and personal development is very important here, we’ve got an opportunity to develop and keep pushing that side of the club.
We’re trying to change our culture and shift towards a place where we can really show and demonstrate to our colleagues why we’re training and developing.
It’s definitely moving towards a positive state, but there’s always room for improvement.
For organisations such as Leyton Orient, who have a large number of staff across multiple sites, including at training grounds, academy premises and at the club’s home stadium of Brisbane Road, organising in-person training across multiple teams can pose a real challenge.
What Were the Advantages of Using High Speed Training to Leyton Orient?
Ease of access was one of the primary reasons, with the club still working on a hybrid work-from-home model, it would have been difficult to get department heads and staff together.
We also had a tight deadline to complete the courses, and we felt online training was the best solution as people could do it in their own time and were able to do it from home.
Another big plus was High Speed Traning’s management system, I had to show proof of all the training to the EFL, so the reporting dashboard was very useful, and allowed me to see and contact the staff who needed to complete their training.
Take a look at our extensive library of courses or call a member of our friendly support team on 0333 006 7000 to see how we can help your organisation grow.
What to Read Next:
- How to Upskill Yourself
- What is CPD? A Guide to Continuing Professional Development
- Online Training Courses
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