2021 was an auspicious year for EssentialSkillz. In our mission to deliver more value to our customers, we released multiple updates to the WorkWize compliance platform, alongside a raft of new courses and improvements. In this blog, we put the spotlight on some of the highlights that were accomplished by the efforts of our fantastic team over the last year.
1) Launched new features and improvements on our WorkWize compliance platform
Our team has worked hard to roll out new features and improvements to enhance the user experience on WorkWize. Some of these improvements include:
- Improved branding and colour themes – With a more modern design, our platform looks better than ever, all whilst remaining fully accessible in line with WCAG compliance
- Upgraded the performance of our servers – Meaning that WorkWize now responds even faster for our customers and their users
- Upgraded accounts to Automatic User Management – Our support team has now made automatic User Management standard, meaning that all of our customers can measure their levels of compliance more effectively
- FTPS is now supported – We are pleased to offer greater flexibility in how users are imported, with the option to send user data over FTPS
- Enabled External IDs and Usernames for Authentication – You now have the flexibility to use different information to identify your users. Users can be identified using their email address or their username when using Single sign on
- Launched Mobile Friendly updates – Our mobile friendly updates make the platform more responsive on mobile devices and give your staff the ability to easily carry out their compliance training from anywhere
- Added new Help, Support Guides and Videos – Thanks to our Help, Support Guides and Videos, users can resolve queries and get answers to questions quicker and more easily than ever
2) New Courses and Course Updates Released
At EssentialSkillz, we ensure that our courses provide the best learning experience and are up to date with the latest compliance regulations and best practices. In 2021, we were pleased to expand our extensive library of courses with the release of an additional 5 new courses and 15 course updates.
New courses from 2021 are:
- Unconscious Bias
- Gender and Sexuality Awareness
- Emergency First Aid Awareness
- Respect in the Workplace
- Bullying in the Workplace
2021 course updates included:
- Slips, Trips and Falls
- COSHH (Hazardous Substances)
- Return to Work
- Return to Work for Managers
- Disciplinary & Grievance
- Pandemic Awareness
- Phishing Awareness
- Drugs and Alcohol at Work
- Asbestos Awareness
- Internet, Email & Social Media
- Data Protection
- Cyber Security
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Coronavirus
- Legionella
We also have a mobile friendly upgrade available. Now you can choose to upgrade your courses to get a better user experience when using mobile devices for learning.
3) New microlearning features
Our development team have been working behind the scenes on new microlearning features that are soon to be released for our customers. Clients who use Author will soon be able to create Compliance Memos or Learning Nuggets to distribute short pieces of content to their users from within the WorkWize platform. Learning Nuggets also give users the ability to access short, mobile-friendly from anywhere.
4) Won BSIF Award for Customer Service Excellence second year running
Winning this award for the second time is a great tribute to the efforts of the outstanding Customer Support team at EssentialSkillz. Over the past two years, they have delivered an outstanding service, providing our clients with technical expertise, reliability and empathy at a time when businesses really needed it.
5) Completed our yearly Information Security test and Certifications
At EssentialSkillz, we value the importance of cyber security and are committed to providing our customers with the best possible protection. Here is a list of some of the yearly certifications and tests that were carried out in 2021:
- In May, we obtained the Cyber Essentials Plus certification. Cyber Essentials is a verified certification that endorses that the cyber defences we have in place at EssentialSkillz will protect against the majority of common cyberattacks. Cyber Essentials Plus provides an additional level of assurance as an external auditor technically assesses the effectiveness of Cyber Essentials controls that we have implemented
- In July, we became certified for IASME Governance. In line with IASME standards, our cybersecurity policies and procedures are safe and fully GDPR compliant.
- In Q3 we successfully completed our annual PEN Test, when cyber security auditors checked for potential vulnerabilities in the Workwize platform
6) Acquisition by Marlowe
Towards the beginning of Q4, EssentialSkillz was acquired by Marlowe plc, the UK leader in business-critical services and software which assure safety and regulatory compliance. EssentialSkillz will act as a platform for Marlowe’s compliance software businesses as a key part of its governance, risk and compliance division. More information on Marlowe plc can be found at: www.marloweplc.com/about.
7) Ethics and Sustainability
At EssentialSkillz, we have a strong commitment towards sustainability and good ethical practises. In 2021, our efforts were recognised by the EcoVadis program, which gave us a silver award and placed us within the top 25% of companies that participated. We are very proud of this achievement and look to improve our score in the future as we do our part to mitigate our impact on the environment.
