How the Development Zone Client Engagement Team Helps Learners Succeed
For insurance professionals choosing an e-learning provider, the quality of support can matter as much as the platform itself. Paul Hayle, Head of E-Learning Client Support, and Nicola Mathias, Training and Competence Consultant, explain how the Development Zone team helps firms resolve queries quickly, tailor learning to their needs and turn training into real progress.
What experience do you bring to client support?
PAUL: I joined the team in August 2010, supporting a small but loyal user base on OBELISK, our original e-learning platform. I now handle system queries, onboard new clients and support reporting. I’ve enjoyed building relationships with firms’ key contacts and being as responsive and helpful as possible.
NICOLA: I joined the team in 2015 and have since achieved a Learning and Development Practitioner qualification. Combined with more than a decade in financial services and almost six years in recruitment, it helps me understand talent development, workforce needs and employee engagement.
What I enjoy most is seeing people build confidence, develop skills and realise their potential. Helping clients turn learning into lasting progress is particularly rewarding.
How have clients’ learning and development needs changed?
NICOLA: Learning and development is now much more focused on flexibility, personalisation and practical outcomes. Clients want learning that fits around their roles and can be applied in real situations – not a ‘tick box’ exercise. That means understanding each firm and tailoring support to make learning relevant, engaging and useful.
What challenges do clients most often bring to you?
NICOLA: Clients often need help using the system, building meaningful learning plans and applying knowledge in their roles. Regular reviews with managers allow us to assess progress, address challenges and identify development needs.
My approach is practical and collaborative. Helping managers build confidence enables them to support learners consistently and maintain competence and compliance.
What can a client expect when they contact the team?
PAUL: I respond as I would want someone to respond to me. Wherever possible, I resolve a query at the first response. If I can’t, the client should know it has been heard, is being dealt with and what to expect next.
What feedback best reflects the service clients receive?
PAUL: The most common feedback is about the speed of our resolutions. One client commented that “the team are so responsive that they seem to have an ability to answer questions before the questions have even been asked!”
What distinguishes the Development Zone’s client support?
PAUL: As part of the wider UKGI Group, we can draw on extensive insurance, broking and compliance expertise when needed. Speed matters too. Year to date, our average resolution time is just over an hour, so we do not become a bottleneck in clients’ learning and development.
How have you tailored support for a brokerage?
NICOLA: One client needed employees to complete training relevant to their roles. By understanding the firm’s structure, responsibilities and business needs, I helped them use the system more effectively.
Together, we created role-specific learning plans, added custom content and used team management to assign the right learning, replacing a one-size-fits-all approach with more relevant training.
The firm gained clearer oversight of who needed to complete each activity and could manage learning more effectively, supporting competence and compliance across the business.
Which features help brokerages gain the most value from the platform?
NICOLA: Clients gain most value when they use Development Zone to support their business needs, not just using it as a tool to serve up mandatory learning. The CPD recorder brings together learning completed within and outside the platform, giving individuals a fuller, portable record.
Reporting gives managers a clear view of engagement, completion and knowledge gaps, so they can target training and support where it is needed.
Regular reviews bring these features together, giving learners ownership of their CPD while helping firms monitor progress, competence and compliance.
What advice would you give a brokerage that wants stronger engagement and oversight?
PAUL: Make learning role-specific rather than assigning the same generic modules to everyone. Administrator and team leader reports quickly show target dates, CPD progress and where someone may need extra support.
Looking ahead, where will firms need the most support?
PAUL: A major challenge is distinguishing completion from competence. The Development Zone is becoming more role-focused, using scenario-based assessments instead of short-term recall or box-ticking. Combined with live learning, this helps learners demonstrate that they can perform their roles effectively and competently.
