BCS Customer Learning Portal

Before Covid 19, we used to offer in-person training to our customers, free of charge, covering all Microsoft applications. When the pandemic hit, we were unable to continue our in-person service to our customers, but we still wanted to be able to provide the same level of service to our customers that they were used to pre COVID. That’s why we decided to partner with MiCrow.  We ultimately thought this was more beneficial and consistent for our customers, and after positive feedback we decided to continue to use it after the pandemic.

Introducing the MiCrow learning platform to their customers. For our customers we offer a free learning portal whereby they have access to Microsoft Learning content.

MiCrow makes learning new skills simple & less taxing, with a ‘less is more’ approach when it comes to training your staff. It’s a platform which keeps skills current & provides short, insightful videos that get right to the point for Microsoft applications, covering all experience levels and skillsets: there’s always something to be learned. MiCrow is quick and convenient and can be accessed anywhere, instantly, world-wide, at any time!

These short videos can be used to hold your staff members accountable for business responsibility at end-point level, which is a rapidly emerging practice amongst many leading businesses.

The MiCrow courses include Microsoft 365, Microsoft teams, cyber security tips, customer care skills & much more. Keeping these skills current means your business is efficient and a great place to work for your employees, and a great place to work with for your customers. MiCrow is always reviewing and updating its content to keep the videos fresh and relevant, and more importantly, keep the skills of your staff consistently current.

• Step-by-step videos
• Training for hard and soft skills
• Easy and cost-effective way to upgrade knowledge
• Content that directly matches your business needs

Within business, there is often change which can be daunting for staff. MiCrow can be used as part of an onboarding process for all staff members, allowing staff to gain some confidence in Microsoft applications that they will eventually be using daily.

With unlimited access to basic user guides for applications employees have potentially never used before, the general wealth of Microsoft application knowledge across your organisation will increase drastically, raising your position and expertise and allowing you to unlock more advanced levels of technological literacy for greatly improved efficiency.

For example, Microsoft Teams is a large part of many businesses today, with the increased rate of remote working, but some new staff members may have never used it before which can impact their individual productivity and confidence when adjusting to a new workplace. MiCrow is on hand to take them through the teething-pains of learning a new software, with the excellent step-by-step guides that gradually introduce the array of functions and programs as they appear, so that you are never left feeling overwhelmed.

Some studies around popular social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, suggest that the platforms’ endless streams of ‘bite-size’ videos, which deliver entertaining content in as little as 15 seconds, could actually be changing our attention spans. When we watch short-form entertaining videos, our brains release dopamine – a powerful neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and reward. This was investigated at length by Jui Zaveri for the Oxford Blue, who found that when this is at our fingertips, without restriction, we can fry our dopamine receptors and subsequently reduce our short-term attention spans to just a few seconds.

However, although this is generally reversible, it can be useful to keep in mind when creating any form of video content for social platforms. This is something that MiCrow has taken full advantage of, putting a positive spin on this recent behavioural change by keeping users engaged with its short-form and neatly segmented content, which can seriously contribute to the amount of information that is retained by viewers.

Now, we’re not saying to binge all of the MiCrow videos in one sitting, but instead think of a few specific topics that you’d like some clarity on for use in the near future. Rewatching them would mean you’re that much more confident with Microsoft in under 10 minutes, and you can always return for a quick reminder if you need to in the future.

From smartphones to tablets, mobile devices are not only our constant companions but also potential targets for cyber threats. MobileCorp have observed a stark increase of 350% in mobile cyberattacks in 2023, largely due to the ongoing workforce shift towards remote and hybrid working. The need to bolster our mobile defences has never been more urgent with camera spying, malware attacks and unsecured Wi-Fi risks making up just some of the methods criminals can exploit to get hold of not only your sensitive work data, bus also your highly personal information.

To tackle these emerging cyber threats head-on, proactive measures for mobile security are essential. Regular updates and reliable antivirus software serve as a crucial first line of defence against malware intrusions, while hardware protections are equally vital. Features like encrypted storage, fingerprint/face-scam authentication, and remote wipe capabilities add an extra layer of security against potential breaches. Once again, and arguably most important and accessible of all, is the education of users on safe browsing habits and the risks associated with connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks to actively safeguard their digital assets at home or on-the-go.

We are fully aware that staff do not necessarily have the time in their day to spend hours upon hours on learning, and luckily so are MiCrow. The platform and programs are brilliantly categorised and ordered in escalating levels of complexity. Their short-form nature allows you to get extremely granular with your training, saving time through selective and reactive education on-the-job, instead of taking days, weeks or months to complete generic courses. This means that staff members won’t have to schedule large parts of their working hours to for learning, and can instead access the content as and when it is needed.

MiCrow is something we have used at BCS for a while now and it has been excellent for all of our new staff on-boarding training and not only improving customer efficiency, but also that of our remote support helpdesk.

As much as we love talking to you and helping you with issues, many of the day-to-day issues that we receive as tickets can often be avoided or resolved through a quick dig in MiCrow. This way, we are able to allocate more time to more complex issues, while you and your colleagues are able to improve your efficiency and productivity independently.

MiCrow offers a multitude of bitesize but comprehensive Microsoft and soft-skill training videos that are guaranteed to elevate your IT and Cybersecurity proficiency, to not only improve your individual productivity and safety online, but also that of your business as a whole. We offer free MiCrow training to all of our customers and continue to use it ourselves as part of our internal training programs.

If you’re already receiving our award-winning support, but haven’t taken advantage of this excellent service, please click here to go to the BCS Learning Portal where you can login or setup your MiCrow account and get learning!