Glad Solutions

A successful solution

The business world can sometimes feel overwhelming for someone with a new idea. You might spot an opportunity but not be able to “see the woods for the trees”. Where to start? How to get a foot on the ladder? Luckily Ryan O’Connell had an innovative business E-Learning idea and wasn’t daunted by the challenge. In fact, he seized his opportunity with both hands and created a hugely successful company. The E-Learning market is full of choice and variety. To stand out and become successful, Ryan had to do things differently from his competitors. There are lots of great, off-the-shelf products available to businesses, but most aren't tailored to an individual client’s needs. Often, they are filled with generic content and examples that don't really provide any relevant training. So in 2010, Ryan founded GLAD Solutions to provide engaging, relevant and user-focused E-Learning courses, completely bespoke to a client’s requirements.

Secret weapon

With GLAD Solutions up and running, Ryan worked from home in the early days and, armed with his secret weapon, he successfully managed to attract some large clients. What is his secret weapon? Put simply, GLAD Solutions listen to their clients, adapt to their needs, and always deliver on time and on target. Developing E-Learning can be complex, but they have created through processes that allow them to deliver E-Learning courses using rapid development techniques. They’ve also started making E-Learning much more accessible for smaller businesses. Purchasing bespoke E-Learning courses and hosting on a Learning Management System used to be prohibitively expensive for a lot of small companies, but GLAD Solutions found ways to supply the same brilliant service they’ve offered to large enterprises to smaller clients. Even if a company has only 10 staff and wants to offer them excellent E-Learning courses (therefore saving money on training costs), GLAD Solutions have a product for them.

Growing pains and sleepless nights

The successful growth of the business combined with the pressure of meeting client expectations saw Ryan looking to move into a new office, expand his team and take on new employees. This period of rapid growth saw the team at GLAD Solutions expand quicker than they were able to update their policies and procedures. With a growing workforce, Ryan knew the ability to deal with workplace issues or queries was of paramount importance. Reminiscing about the impact this period was having on his personal life, Ryan said, "I would lie awake worrying about staff or playing certain scenarios in my head trying to figure out the best approach." Luckily, a business contact of Ryan’s suggested the solution for his sleepless nights. Ryan was referred to Peninsula.

Fans of Peninsula

Peninsula has enabled GLAD Solutions to concentrate on creating brilliant bespoke E-Learning courses for their clients, safe in the knowledge that their employees are being looked after with fair and consistent policies. They also took advantage of the Employee Assistance Programme provided by Health Assured, a Peninsula Group company. The EAP allows members of staff to have free confidential advice when any of life’s stresses are becoming a struggle. So, from sleepless nights to peace of mind. When asked what impact Peninsula’s support had on Ryan personally, he said "Of the many things that can play on a business owner’s mind, I’m glad that the HR side of our business is no longer something I worry about. If ever I think of a worry about staff, I’m straight on the phone to Peninsula. And yes I have called at 3am before and been reassured by the advice I’ve received" If you’re looking for a bespoke, tailored E-Learning product for your business, whatever its size why not check out GLAD Solutions or contact them directly on enquiries@gladsolutions.co.uk Don’t forget to email us with your own success stories here peterdone@peninsula-uk.com and we’ll profile them in our Bottom Line Newsletter which is distributed to more than 100,000 readers.