Gary Williams first encountered Maybo as a client in 2005. Impressed with the innovative approach to training, he jumped at the chance to join the organisation when an opportunity arose. In this article, he explains how Maybo’s approach to course development has evolved whilst he has been at the company, gives an inside perspective on how product development has been driven by a forward-thinking approach, as well as explaining what he loves most about his job. 

What does your role consist of at Maybo? 

I focus on two key areas, internal product development and the design of tailored courses to meet our clients’ unique needs. Both aspects of my role involve creating new products and training capabilities by working with a diverse team of subject experts, developers, designers and trainers. I love the fact that every day is different. One day, I can be developing our latest eLearning course, the next I can be exploring how best we can create a new exercise for in-person training, or translate it into the virtual environment.

What makes Maybo’s approach to training stand out in the marketplace?

What sets Maybo training apart is that it's very learner-centric. It considers specific organisational and learner group needs, including people's previous experiences and the challenges they face in everyday life and incorporates them into the training itself. 

We offer such a comprehensive, broad range of training and modules to suit people’s individual requirements which are not replicated elsewhere in the industry. It means that while each course contains common themes and elements, every organisation gets training that is tailored to them, which results in better outcomes.

What do you love most about working at Maybo?

Not a year has gone by where there hasn't been an innovation or improvement in the way we deliver training, which is why I am so passionate about what we do. As a result of our forward-thinking approach, we were able to easily evolve our training delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We now have an even wider range of training delivery options to meet the unique needs of our clients, whether it be in person or virtually. 

It’s worth noting that we were also one of the first organisations in our sector to provide eLearning and virtual classroom training delivery options. Another simple but effective example of how technology has enhanced our service to customers is through the use of QR code enabled learning resources. It makes accessing training resources really quick and easy to achieve across digital devices. 

What new product developments are you currently developing? 

There are lots of new and exciting developments going on at the moment. We are currently having a lot of discussions related to topics like transferring learning into practice, using technology to maximise learning outcomes and combining distance learning with the benefit of in-person training. Ensuring our courses are easily accessible and built around the unique needs of organisations is at the core of our work, and is what drives the development of new approaches, training or courseware. 

Do you have a career highlight during your time working at Maybo?

I'm proud of everything I've done, so that is a tough question! I've led complex global projects with our multinational clients where it’s been immensely rewarding to see the positive changes Maybo training and methods can have at scale across different cultures and languages. Equally, I have found our work with even the smallest organisations incredibly fulfilling and satisfying due to the impact that we have on people’s lives. 

I love to hear feedback on the new modular approach and the train-the-trainer model we've implemented and I’m proud of how we work together as a team to create change. From 2017 to 2020 I led the redesign of our entire training curriculum to convert it to a modular framework that would maintain the educational integrity of our training whilst empowering us and our clients to build tailored programmes for each and every group of learners. This was the largest upgrade to Maybo’s product line in its history and we worked hard to capture and apply all our collective learning from the past two decades to produce a market-leading offering that utilises the latest learning technologies to provide learners from all the industries we serve with highly engaging, relevant and accessible training. 

People don't always like change or having to adapt to something new. I think we have a good history of always evolving at Maybo so that the training we offer remains innovative and leads the way, whilst ensuring the transition from old to new is a productive and pain-free experience for our clients. My team and I enjoy making these advances so that our clients receive the best learning experience possible.