FieldStar to Offer Free Training to All Field Staff in UK & Ireland

May 4, 2011 - PRLog -- FieldStar, the professional membership body for field marketing, mystery shopping and promotional staff in the UK & Ireland, have announced they are to offer over 3 hours of free training to all field staff working within the field marketing and experiential sector. Here Steve Radford, Chief Executive of the membership organisation answers some questions about how it will work and why FieldStar are doing it.

What will the training cover? We’ll be providing free access to our online Industry Induction Course. This e-learning course is made up of 8 interactive modules covering the fundamental principles that all field staff need to know. There’s more information about the course on our website [www.fieldstar.org/industry-induction] however if we were to pick the main objectives of the course they would be:

- To ensure field staff can recognise the different types of activity field and experiential marketing activity and in each case understand how their actions deliver a return on investment for the client.
- To teach staff about the common places or environments where face-to-face marketing activities take place, and ensure they know the basics of how to work effectively in each type of location.
- To ensure field staff know how to protect the health and safety of themselves and others when they’re working and how to meet their obligations when handling data and personal information.
- For staff to understand the process of a campaign as it relates to them, from finding and accepting work right through to delivering and reporting results. The course puts specific emphasis on the standards expected throughout, how to get it right and potential consequences of getting it wrong.

Will it really be free? Yes, access to the training will be completely free. We’ll even let the member of staff keep access to the course for a year in case they want to come back and review their training at any point.

What’s the benefit of the training? The training is designed to make field staff better at what they do. Staff that pass the end of course exam receive an accreditation that enables them to demonstrate their level of knowledge and understanding. For agencies this enables them to prove their field staff meet a recognised industry standard, and that their focus is on delivering a return on investment for the client, rather than just completing a list of tasks. It can also help agencies meet their legal requirement to provide all of their staff with health & safety and data protection training.

Is the training just for tactical staff? It’s true that tactical staff will get a lot out of this course. However we believe that field staff at all levels will find the course enjoyable, rewarding and worthwhile.

Is the training any good? We think it’s excellent. However the course has also been recognised and endorsed by the DMA’s Field Marketing & Brand Experience Council, and it meets their recommended standards for field staff induction training. But agencies can make their own mind up. If they register for a free FieldStar account they can view the training in full without any commitment to taking up our offer.

Is this all the training field staff need? No, but our Industry Induction Course does provide a good foundation onto which further training can build. Our plan is to develop additional training courses over time, but we will never replace the campaign or client specific training that agencies can provide.

Is this offer open to anyone? Our Industry Induction Course is included with FieldStar premium membership, which is available to anyone for £25 per year. But for a limited time staff nominated by their agency will be able to join and access the training for free. Agencies will be able to nominate as many staff as they wish, including staff on their waiting list who they feel might benefit from receiving training to improve their chances of being selected for work.

How do agencies take up the offer? The first thing agencies need to do is to register for a free FieldStar account [Agencies can register at www.fieldstar.org/register]. From their account they can then view the training in full and evaluate it for themselves without any commitment. On the 1st of June we will then send all registered agencies instructions of how they can give their field staff access to the training for free.

Does this open an agency’s staff database to their competitors? No. Our member database is not open for agencies to search proactively, but agencies can check a members training record if the member works for them or has registered with them for work.

Why are FieldStar doing this? Quite simply because it’s something I think the industry needs, agencies are asking for it and we’re in a position where we can provide it.

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FieldStar is the UK's professional membership body for field marketing, mystery shopping and promotional field staff. We empower our members to take control of their career by providing training, recruitment, news, information and networking.