Filtered Launches Full Business Suite to Maximize Impact of Business Training

LONDON, November 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Unique approach to personalized training results in 26% increase in impact and reduces training time, wastage and cost

Filtered, the online education platform that maximises the impact of business training by carefully selecting the content most valuable to each user, has today launched 12 new courses in essential business disciplines to complement its existing portfolio of Microsoft Office training solutions. Six new courses go live today, including Project Management and Financial Business Analysis, with the remaining six set to roll out over the coming weeks - all of which are powered by a new adaptive algorithm, currently patent-pending.  This course roll out from Filtered comes as research^[1] finds that nine out of ten Learning and Development leaders are hungry to modernise their learning provision, but are failing to get to grips with learning technologies.

Filtered transforms professionals' learning experience by personalizing learning material from the outset, closing the gap between users' current skills and knowledge and where they need to be to make the greatest impact professionally. By asking self-assessment, aspiration and competency-based questions about the extent of current knowledge and the way users expect to use the training at work, the platform's algorithm filters out anything a user already knows is or unlikely to use. This creates a bespoke syllabus so that users are presented with just what they need to learn. A recent study^[2] has demonstrated that even a simple filtering of topic syllabus according to each trainee's need to learn results in a 26% increase in the impact of training. The adaptive algorithm self-improves, using data and feedback from each learner's course experience to enhance syllabus selection.

Key benefits of the Filtered approach include:

• Increased Adoption, Engagement and Impact (AEI) - Filtered's reduced, more manageable chunks of learning increase adoption, while relevant, well-written materials and trigger emails enhance engagement. Prioritised performance-enhancing material and testing and scoring processes measure and maximise impact.
• Reduced training time, wastage and cost - Filtered achieves cost and time efficiencies and minimises resource drain by removing known or unneeded subject matter, so that courses can be completed in approximately half the time of regular, unfiltered courses. Furthermore, Filtered's prices are especially competitive.
• Measurement and calibration - Filtered's IQ-style tests and scores enable users and employers to assess skills in areas that have previously lacked any form of calibration. Businesses can accurately benchmark current staff ability, track progress and measure improvement via the Filtered management dashboard. Meanwhile, Filtered scores provide individual users with extra motivation to learn and achieve, thereby increasing AEI.
• Independently accredited and certified - Filtered has been accredited by the Learning & Performance Institute (LPI), the de facto standard in the learning and development industry, as well as the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service. Users can therefore be confident that its courses are of a high standard.

Complementing Filtered's existing Microsoft Excel, Advanced Excel, Word and PowerPoint training solutions, the addition of 12 new courses brings the portfolio to 16:

1. Microsoft Excel
2. Microsoft Advanced Excel
3. Microsoft Word
4. Microsoft PowerPoint
5. Microsoft SharePoint
6. Effective Outlook
7. Financial business analysis
8. Project management
9. Communication, influence and teams
10. Business writing
11. Leadership and management*
12. Business maths*
13. Strategy and business models*
14. Critical thinking and problem solving*
15. Practical productivity*
16. Finance for non-finance professionals*

*Marked courses to go live in coming weeks

In its first 18 months the filtered.com platform has helped over 10,000 workers master new skills across a range of sectors including accounting and finance, consultancy, retail, transport and logistics, engineering, manufacturing, education, farming, charity and healthcare. Users range from individuals looking to develop personally and professionally to graduates seeking to bridge the gap between academia and work, and small, medium and large businesses looking for effective and scalable training solutions for their workforce. Corporate clients include New Look, Regus, Grant Thornton, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

"Since adopting Filtered in January 2014, over 750 ICAEW Excel Community members and students have spent more than 450 hours learning on the platform," commented Richard Anning, Head of IT Faculty at ICAEW. "While mainstream online education is often adapted to the individual, there has historically been little such innovation in corporate training. We found the ability to filter out unnecessary modules and concentrate limited time on the most important topics to be an excellent online learning experience."

"60% of the workforce^[3] is based in an office, spending a significant proportion of their time on common activities such as spreadsheeting, word processing, creating presentations, managing projects, and carrying out admin and research, to name just a few," said Marc Zao-Sanders, Filtered Managing Director and co-founder. "So online learning will have its greatest impact in business by improving these core skills for this massive segment of the workforce. And because of the opportunity cost of training time, employers need to be smart about training provision and personalization is a big part of that. Filtered's approach and technology is all about personalized learning at scale."

For a demonstration of how Filtered.com works - watch this video.

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1. Source: http://www.towardsmaturity.org/article/2014/11/05/modernising-learning-delivering-results-2014/  
2. Source: An analysis of 3000 real-word Microsoft Excel training users, conducted in August 2014. The study compared student performance in tests before and after training, and found users training using selected material improved their test performance by 26% more than users training using unselected material.
3. Source: http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/5758WorkAuditWEB.pdf

About Filtered

Filtered is an online education platform which customises learning material for each user. By asking users questions at the outset, the platform's algorithm filters out anything a user doesn't need or already knows. The platform offers courses in essential business disciplines from leadership and management to strategy, spreadsheeting and project management. The adaptive technology uses data from each learner's use of the site to improve the syllabus-selecting algorithm. Users are professionals including: office workers, retailers, freelancers, manufacturers, work-at-home parents, farmers, charity and hospital workers and many more. Clients include New Look, Regus, Grant Thornton, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Filtered is both the provider of course content and the web-based technology platform through which it is delivered. Filtered courses are independently certified by the CPD Certification Service and the LPI. For more information, visit http://www.filtered.com.

Media contacts: 

Laura Scott and Sabrina Johnson
Liberty Communications for Filtered.com
[email protected]
+44(0)207-751-4444

SOURCE Filtered