8/3/2019 Murray Metals Case Study: Using SumTotal Systems to Build a Structured Approach to Learning and Development

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/murray-metals-case-study-using-sumtotal-systems-to-build-a-structured-approach 1/3

www.sumtotalsystems.com

 

Success Profile

“Historically, we have been a very paper-based

kind of organization, particularly with regard

o training and company-wide announce-

ments. The installation of Learning Man-

gement has helped Murray Metals Group

move to a more efficient, online real-time

ommunications approach.”

— Stuart Wardale

earning & Development Manager 

Fast Facts

Industry: Industrial Manufacturing

Countries: United Kingdom

SumTotal Product:

SumTotal Learning

Using SumTotal Systems to

Build a Structured Approach to

Learning and Development

DEVELOPING A LEARNING MANAGEMENT CAPABILITYAND KEEPING IT CONSISTENT

Murray Metals Group is one of the most successful and fastest-growingn epen ent meta us nesses w t n t e an prov es stee an spec a metasupp y an process ng serv ces to a range o mar et sectors. urray eta s rouphas around 500 staff, but these are spread across 20 geographically dispersedsites. Yet, despite the company’s reputation as a leading player in its success andhe size of its international footprint, until recently it had no dedicated learning andeve opment unct on.

here was a clear need to bring in a richly-featured but tightly structured approacho learning across the organization. Senior management understood this need but

n meetng t, t ere were two c a enges n partcu ar w c urray eta s roupnee e to tac e.

First, many employees were unfamiliar with corporate learning-based activitiesan so t e transt on to a more earn ng- ocuse env ronment wou nee to ehandled sensitively. Second, the geographical spread of the organization made itdifficult for management to continuously monitor and track the learning activities of all employees across all of the different sites, and equally to deliver a single whollycons stent program across a ocat ons.

Also, the nature of Murray Metals business means that at least 50% of itsemployees do not have access to a PC at work and so therefore cannot obtainearn ng mater a w en t ey m g t want to use t ur ng t e ay. t t e e po um ota s earn ng anagement ystem, t e company can support a moreflexible approach to learning by giving them access at home should they require it.

ACCESSIBLE RESOURCE FOR CORE LEARNINGMANAGEMENT MATERIAL

Murray Metals went fully live with Learning Management in May 2010 but before then ita a rea y run a -mont tr a per o p ot w t cences. earn ng management

was a new concept or t e company so t was mportant t at t e ey ecs on ma erswere able to achieve broad buy-in for the new solution and that employees within thecore Murray Metals organization were able to see the value that it could deliver beforea decision was taken to roll it out across the whole group.

Murray Metals Group

Scotland, UK

www.murray-international.co.uk

8/3/2019 Murray Metals Case Study: Using SumTotal Systems to Build a Structured Approach to Learning and Development

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/murray-metals-case-study-using-sumtotal-systems-to-build-a-structured-approach 2/3

www.sumtotalsystems.com

n t a y, two o ces out o n tota were c osen or t e tra – one was t eorganization’s headquarters in Manchester and one a separate site in the Midlands.Murray Metals also linked a group of senior employees who were embarking ona anagement eve opment program nto t e tr a , a owng t em to access coreearn ng management mater a t at wou e p w t t e program on w c groupmem ers were wor ng.

Currently Murray Metals has a range of knowledge documents on the LMS to assistw t ay-to- ay o ce act v t es. ese nc u e courses run usng mater a s eve opewith Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint in addition to quizzes and other knowledge-based documents specifically related to health and safety issues.

oo ng to t e uture, urray etas s p annng to use earn ng anagement todeliver instructive manuals as well as other knowledge-based documents to staff toaccompany the planned launch of a new computer system across the organization.

he idea is that relevant staff can access this material, as and when required, for 

ran ng purposes, ut a so to promote cons stent earnng exper ences y us ng t emater a s to e p n uct new sta .

t matey, t e company expects to use t e system urng t e annua appra sa peroo support reevant tra n ng course oo ngs. urng t e ntervenng t me, urray

eta s w see to e t s approac n w t t e appropr ate contro group.

DELIVERING KEY LEARNING MANAGEMENT ANDKNOWLEDGE-BASED INFORMATION COMPANY-WIDE

Using SumTotal Learning Management has enabled Murray Metals to evolvefrom an organization that operated for several years without direct learning and

eveopment support to one w ere t at unct ona ty s t g t y ntegrate nto t ew o e way n w c t e company operates. e a ty to prov e cons stentlearning management across the organization has helped to promote the benefits

of this approach company-wide.e usness as a so ene tte rom e ect vey usng t e earnng anagement

as an intranet site, enabling it to host items such as internal vacancy advertisementand company news announcements, for example, and allowing staff to gain faster access to this kind of information.

n this way, it is now much easier for decisions made in the head office to be quicklydisseminated throughout the whole business. Company notifications can be rapidlyprov e an everyone w t n t e organ zat on can e g ven access to mportantn ormat on, a at t e same t me.

Murray Metals has already had positive feedback about Learning Managementrom many sta w t n t e usness. ome peop e ove t, access t a y an avegane great vaue rom t. t ers ave overcome t e r n t a sceptc sm an arenow starting to use it more.

nev ta y, t ere ave een some c ange management ssues to overcome.Historically, we have been a very paper-based kind of organization, particularly

with regard to training and company-wide announcements,” says Stuart Wardale,earn ng eve opment manager, urray eta s roup.

The installation of Learning Management has helped the group move to a moree c ent, on ne rea -tme commun cat ons approac . o ng orwar , we arep ann ng to n earnng anagement w t a new system, w c we arescheduled to implement towards the end of this year. That will be a key driver 

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

 ■ eve op a structure approac toearn ng across t e organ zat on

 ■ Build a consistent learning programacross a geograp ca ocatons

 ■ Handling change management issuesacross the business

 ■ Improve flexibility and ease of learning management

SOLUTION

 ■ Murray Metals Group choseSumTotal earn ng anagement to

act as a centra earn ng managementresource for all audiences and to helpsupport the day-to-day operation of the business

RESULTS

 ■ Successfully establishing a learningan eveopment capa ty w t n t eorgan zat on

■ s ng t e system to u an ntranet,ena ng ey company n ormat on tobe disseminated quickly and easilyacross the organization

 ■ e p ng to prov e a consstentlearning experience across a range of geographically dispersed sites

8/3/2019 Murray Metals Case Study: Using SumTotal Systems to Build a Structured Approach to Learning and Development

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/murray-metals-case-study-using-sumtotal-systems-to-build-a-structured-approach 3/3

APAC

SumTotal Systems India Pvt. Ltd.

7th Floor Maximus Towers

Building 2B, Mind Space

Raheja IT Park, Cyberabad

Hyderabad, AP- 500081, India

Phone: +91 (0) 40 6695 0000

Fax: +91 (0) 40 2311 2727

EMEA

SumTotal Systems, UK

59-60 Thames Street

Windsor, Berkshire

United Kingdom, SL4 1TX

Phone: +44 (0) 1753 211 900

Fax: +44 (0) 1753 211 901

Corporate Headquarters

SumTotal Systems, Inc.

2850 NW 43rd Street

Suite #200

Gainesville, FL 32606 USA

Phone: +1 352 264 2800

Fax: +1 352 264 2801

www.sumtotalsystems.com

© 2012 SumTotal Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. SumTotal, and the

SumTotal logo, are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal

Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other

countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

012_0113LS

n ensur ng t e ma or ty o our emp oyees eg n to use t e s te regu ar y anproactively,” continued Wardale.

e company s ea t an sa ety epartment ave a rea y ecome ntens veusers. e team oves t e opportun ty t g ves t em to stream ne t e r approacand consolidate key information for staff.

n t e past, tran ng requ rements ave typca y een carr e out on a one-to-one basis with individual employees and have needed to be fitted in around tightimescales. Using Learning Management allows the department to manage itsown operational and training activities more efficiently around their own personal

ea nes an ca en ar comm tments.

Murray Metals also believes that the system will support its likely future growth.t is envisaged that future Management Development programs, like thosea rea y runn ng, w ut ze earn ng anagement n a greater capac ty. earn ng

anagement as t e potent a to support t e prov s on o t s capa ty an ndoing so, to help tomorrow’s managers to achieve their goals.

About SumTotalSumTotal Systems, Inc. is the global leader 

strategic Human Capital Management

(HCM) solutions that provide organizations

with a new level of visibility to help make

more informed business decisions and

accelerate growth. Recognized by industry

analysts as the most complete solution,

SumTotal provides full employee lifecycle

management, including a core system of 

record, from a single provider for improved

business intelligence. The company offers

customers of all sizes and industries the

most flexibility and choice with multiple

purchase, configuration, and deployment

options. We have increased the performance

of the world’s largest organizations

including Sony Electronics (NYSE: SNE),

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN [ADR]; London:

AZN), Amway (KUL:AMWAY), Seagate

(NYSE: STX), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL), and

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG). For more

information, or to request a demo, please

call +1 (866) 768-6825 (US / Canada),

+1 (352) 264-2800 (international) or visit

www.sumtotalsystems.com

About MurrayMetals GroupThe Murray International group of met-

als companies is one of the world’s most

successful independent businesses. With

a combined turnover exceeding £208 mil-

lion ($330 million), the seven businesses

are market leaders in a number of industry

sectors. Murray International currently em-

ploys 3,500 people world-wide in the met-

als, property, technology, sports, marketing

and mining sectors.