Data-Wise: Transforming Data Capabilities at HMCTS
HM Courts and Tribunals Service is responsible for administering criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales, as well as non-devolved tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. As an organisation operating in a complex and highly sensitive operational environment, HMCTS recognised the need to enhance its data capability and empower employees with vital data literacy skills.
To achieve this, HMCTS partnered with Corndel, a leading provider of corporate development solutions, to create a bespoke e-learning solution tailored to the unique challenges faced by HMCTS.
"We contacted EY, who put us in touch with Corndel's Commercial Training team. We talked to several suppliers, but it didn't align with how we wanted to work. Corndel delivered the missing piece we couldn't do."
HMCTS' three challenges
Time sensitivity
HMCTS must balance the demands of their essential work with purposeful learning and development.
“Some processes and practices have to be followed, and they have to be followed at the right time because of the nature of our work. It’s difficult for an organisation like ours to stop doing essential work that is so time sensitive and focus on learning and development.” Jacqueline Jobson, Head of Learning and Development at HMCTS.
Tailoring learning to meet operational demands.
Jobson emphasised the importance of a purpose-built learning package seamlessly integrated with operational demands; “we knew that whatever we did had to be very purpose-built around those operational constraints and make sure that this learning package is something that we could make work in an operationally demanding role.”
HMCTS operates within a highly regulated and operational environment, making it crucial for any learning programme to accommodate these constraints. Balancing essential work with learning and development initiatives presented a considerable challenge. Corndel listened intently, leveraging HMCTS’s subject matter expertise to create a solution that aligned with the organisation’s processes, practices, and operational realities.
Expertise and resources
HMCTS’ data team supported the design of the programme by providing examples of HMCTS data skills needs, allowing Corndel to apply broader data subject matter expertise.
“The chemistry calls with Corndel were about understanding our needs. We could provide Corndel with all subject matter expertise regarding what it’s like to work at HMCTS and the data skills we need. We needed more expert data knowledge. Corndel’s external expertise made all the difference.” Jacqueline Jobson.
Driving real relevance.
Aamna Talib, Project Lead at HMCTS states, “we needed a group of people who would listen to us as the experts about our business so that we could help shape the learning.” Understanding the reality of HMCTS’s data challenges was crucial in shaping the learning experience. Corndel and HMCTS collaborated closely to ground data skills in the organisation’s context. Real-world examples and scenarios were developed, allowing employees to connect their learning directly to their roles at HMCTS.
Relevance and customisation
HMCTS wanted to ground their data skills training in the reality of their organisation.
“From the offset, it was always about grounding these data skills in the reality of HMCTS and building real relevant examples of what it’s like to work with data at HMCTS and the kind of data we expect people to understand. This was one of the most successful things regarding our relationship with the Corndel team. They were open and keen to consume everything we said about the organisation.” Jacqueline Jobson.
Harnessing stakeholder insights.
Alice McGeever, Director, Design and Development, explains how stakeholder feedback was harnessed to inform the eLearning product. “We conducted two focus groups with 20 stakeholders. The first focus group was around understanding how they use data in their teams and the data challenges they face because our stakeholders represented many different roles across the organisation. The second focus group was gathering case studies from various stakeholders about how they use data, giving them some scenarios, and asking about when it’s gone wrong and when it’s gone well. We used these insights to create eLearning.”
The programme’s design was driven by the experiences and requirements of HMCTS’s diverse workforce, guaranteeing maximum relevance and impact.
"With HMCTS's ambitious goal to scale data literacy skills organisation-wide, the programme had to cater to all levels of expertise. The self-assessment component enables individuals to gauge their confidence levels, ensuring personalised learning journeys.
Talib expressed the organisation's anticipation, stating, "There is something for everyone, leaders, managers and junior employees, including data quality and data-driven decision-making. The self-service capability of Data-Wise was something our focus groups' feedback on, so we have included data skills for all levels."
The collaboration between HMCTS and Corndel has been marked by incredible dedication, challenge, and support. Jobson lauds the partnership, highlighting the right level of expertise that guided them to their transformative milestone. As HMCTS prepares to roll out the Data-Wise package to all employees, the organisation is poised to embrace a new era of data and digital capability. The impact of this programme will be carefully evaluated, with HMCTS committed to sharing the results with Corndel.
“Data and digital capability are a priority for HMCTS. We plan to work up a schedule for the whole package and get people doing the eLearning, and then we will evaluate the impact and share this with Corndel. The work to get to where we have has been incredible, absolutely incredible. There was the right level of challenge, the right level of support and the right level of expertise to make sure this happened.”
Since our collaboration, we are excited to announce that Alice McGeever, was the recipient of the Rising Star Award after attended an EY networking event for the Civil Service Government Framework for Learning and Development, of which we are part of a supplier community in collaboration with 50+ organisations.
“The rising star award is for a learning professional from the supplier community that has made a significant impact to our clients. She has built a reputation for always being on hand to direct and support towards achieving client needs. She is flexible, knowledgeable, and really wants to ensure the client is happy with the final product.”
Congratulations to Alice for her recognition working in collaboration with HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to create a bespoke data eLearning module requiring significant stakeholder management, influence, and genuine hard work. EY, HMCTS, and our team at Corndel are incredibly proud of Alice’s effort and ability to deliver a fantastic piece of work.
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