Libertie wows Lanes director Andy with You Tube talk

Lanes Utilities Director Andy Brierley is convinced of the power of video to train his 1,200 staff – after a presentation given by 12-year-old Libertie Hansford.

Libertie offered to come in to Lanes Utilities’ Customer Solutions Centre in Slough, Berkshire, to explain how You Tube could be used for online training courses.

Andy was so impressed with her presentation, that he is now pressing ahead with the idea.

He said: “Libertie gave a brilliant talk. I was bowled over by how well she showed how we could use You Tube to make training videos and presentations available to our teams.

“We’re now looking at how we can introduce online training via You Tube. It makes total sense to do it this way, because we can reach targeted teams or individuals using the platform.

“I’m very grateful to Libertie for coming in with such a well-prepared presentation about You Tube and how to use it. Her pitch was very self-assured and very impressive.”

Libertie is the daughter of Lanes Utilities Head of Logistics and Asset Optimisation Dean Hansford. He had been brainstorming with Andy ways to boost training for staff working on the Thames Water wastewater network maintenance contract.

Dean said: “We want to continuously refresh and update our operatives’ knowledge and skills, especially relating to health and safety. We got talking about how we could use You Tube, and realised we were not experts in the field.

“However, my daughter is a keen photographer and uses You Tube to publish her images. It made sense to ask her if she would like to pass on her knowledge and insights, which she was very happy to do.

“I’ve done a lot of presenting, and watched hundreds of presentations given by other people, so I know how nerve-wracking they can be. But Libertie took it all in her stride. I was very proud of her achievement.”

Libertie said: “Papa mentioned he was working on a project about You Tube, and said he didn’t know much about it, and I said ‘I do, I can help.’ I put the PowerPoint presentation together showing how a user sets up and manages an account.

“I was very nervous when I first met Andy, but he was very interested in what I was saying, and asked lots of questions. I’m glad it went well, and he was pleased.”

Lanes Utilities is now considering how best to create a suite of training videos and presentations that can be curated on its own You Tube Channel.

The aim will be to have a system to track access to the videos, and assess the knowledge and understanding of staff after watching them.