The purpose statement and strategic aims outline 4 services:
- advice
- dispute resolution
- training
- influencing
The success of these services is measured through the services' key performance indicators.
Advice
The web channel's strategic aim is to:
Deliver advice, so we enable employers and workers to take the best next step to prevent, manage and resolve conflict at work.
Content will focus on helping users:
- solve their problem – as informally as possible
- discover ways to prevent problems
Advice content will provide information and change behaviour.
We will answer the questions most users have. We'll avoid overloading them. We'll give them actions to take.
Users mostly come to us once a problem has happened. We will help them manage it and avoid it escalating. We will encourage them to prevent it happening again. And we will help them to prevent related issues.
Our advice will help users who think they need dispute resolution services. We will encourage early, informal resolution. And we'll explain the formal procedures that should be followed before notification.
Dispute resolution
The web channel's strategic aim is to:
Provide a route to dispute resolution for those that need it so they can notify Acas about making a claim to an employment tribunal and access early conciliation; so trade unions, representatives and employers can access collective dispute resolution.
Content will focus on helping users:
- understand that Acas can help informally, before problems become formal disputes
- avoid notification and industrial action where appropriate
- have realistic expectations
- get in touch with collective conciliation early
- notify Acas about making a claim to an employment tribunal
- take part in early conciliation
We will improve the notification form to be quicker, easier to use, and collect more useful data.
We'll try to better redirect inappropriate cases and promote informal resolution.
We will better integrate dispute resolution content with advice. This will help guide users through the whole prevent, manage, resolve journey.
We will improve our content on collective conciliation and other dispute resolution services – including explaining the processes. We will encourage earlier contact to improve chances of early resolution.
Training
The web channel's strategic aim is to:
Give access to and deliver training, so customers can book courses and take part in webinars and e-learning.
Delivering training and allowing customers to take part is run solely by Advice & Business Solutions. That's not covered by this content strategy. We will focus on web content up until that point.
Content will focus on helping users:
- find and book training – including free and paid courses and events
- access tailored support
- get in touch with the customer services team – when needed
We will sell training. We'll replace Acas's old booking website with a new website. We'll make it easier for new and returning customers to find the training they want. And we'll make it easier to book training – without needing to contact anyone, if possible.
We will improve the customer journey between different types of training. And encourage employers to have a conversation with their local senior business adviser.
Influencing
The web channel's strategic aim is to:
Influence stakeholders and policymakers, so they use Acas’s insight to shape policy practice and system reforms.
Some major stakeholders include the social partner organisations represented on Acas's council. Others include:
- government departments
- lawyers
- major employers
- trade unions
- sectoral and professional bodies
- special interest groups and think tanks
- academics
Content will focus on helping users:
- get insight into employment relations – through Acas's data, research and commentary
- read Acas's responses to consultations
- take part in Acas's own consultations
- understand why Acas should be trusted and involved in policy discussions
We will improve how users find and access our insights. We will persuade users to engage with our recommendations. We will present Acas as a trusted expert – giving Acas's position, backed by evidence.