Springest Weblog

Springest founder wins award for Leading Online Entrepreneur of the Year

9 September 2011 13:51

Last night, the LOEY award 2011 was presented at the Taets Art Gallery. Springest founder Ruben Timmerman was nominated for the LOEY Starters Award and............won!

The LOEY award distinguishes the best entrepreneurs of the Dutch online industry. LOEY stands for Leading online Entrepreneur of the Year.

Among the nominees for the award were none other than Peter Driessen, CEO of Spil Games, and Floris Rost van Tonningen, co-founder of Hyves. In the category Starters, Ruben was up against tough competition, i.e. Karel Kolb, CEO of Feeder, and Martijn Groot, co-founder of Peecho.

Nevertheless, the Starter award went to Ruben and was presented by one of the judges Annemarie van Gaal. Award judge Daniel Ropers, founder of Bol.com, said about the award winner Ruben: "The offer in the education sector is enormous, but has always been very fragmented. It is very impressive how he brought it all together in his passionate way. He makes good use of the relevant knowledge within his network and knows what he is doing. In 2008 he still thought it would be about a Dutch niche, today he is fully busy with his international ambitions."

Ruben himself was very clear about his ambitions: "In a few years time, I hope to stand up here for the big LOEY."

The remaining presentations of the evening focused on the subject 'Kaizen' a manner of thinking and working which is also utterly important at Springest.

The winning of the LOEY Starter award is not the end of the story. Ruben asked the award judges to sign his own iPad to auction this unique piece for a good cause.

 

Update

As the winner of the LOEY Starters Award, Ruben had the honor of opening the Amsterdam stock exchange this morning.

Watch him strike the gong!

World of Learning exhibition 2011

2 September 2011 14:28

For the 19th year, the World of Learning conference & exhibition invites Learning & Development professionals to Birmingham, providing a platform for discussing trends and exchanging best practices for the international L&D industry.

More than 100 UK and International business will show and demonstrate their products, services and solutions at the World of Learning exhibition, ranging from sectors such as e-learning, consultancy, coaching, experiential and informal learning.

During the World of Learning conference leading industry speakers from across the globe will address key issues including talent management, leadership and the influence of social media on learning.

Confirmed keynote speakers are:

• Valerie Todd, director of talent and resources for London and South-East rail initiative Crossrail and commissioner for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
• Charles Jennings, one of the UK L&D industry’s foremost commentators, and managing director at Duntroon.
• Laura Overton, managing director at Towards Maturity.

 

Springest will also be present at this year's World of Learning exhibition, represented by Ninja Lamberty, Country Manager UK. Ninja will use this opportunity to network with providers and suppliers to scout the event for important industry trends and news.

Follow the exhibitor list on Twitter to stay up-to-date with announcements and possible event changes.

Why do we trust a website?

23 June 2011 13:47

Background
One month ago Springest teamed up with Usabilla.com to investigate the trust perception of Learning & Development provider websites.

The test was dispersed through social media networks gathering 33 responses.

The motivation for this investigation was to optimise the overall perception of L&D provider websites trustworthiness in order to increase website activity and visitor satisfaction.

Participants were asked to click on the items which influence their trust perception and underpin this with comments.

The screen shots display the example websites of L&D providers we cooperated with and the heatmap indicates what participants clicked on.

The results of the test indicate that perceiving a website as trustworthy is mainly influenced by two different factors, i.e. the use of visual elements and the actual content itself.

Visual influences on trust perception
The majority of test participants expressed to find a classic and professional logo very important.

Even more important than the logo seems to be the choice of pictures.

Participants stated that pictures need to match the message and should seem real.

The website using an own picture was commented as: 

"Looks like it's a picture from campus, not just generic..it gives the idea of truthfulness and trust”.

Another website was perceived rather negatively because of the main picture chosen.

"I don't find anything to help me trust this page. Especially this model's smile doesn't help"

Trustworthy content
Aspects of the content which seem to have the biggest influence on trust perception were:

• Testimonials
• Accreditations
• Most popular courses
• Up-to-date agenda and news
• Easy to find contact details

It is self-explanatory that testimonials and accreditations positively influence trust perception if provided by respected and known external parties.

Displaying 'most popular courses' was perceived as a positive mean to communicate that there is demand for courses, reassuring participants of the popularity of the provider and thus trusting the website.

Another important aspect of a website's content is the up-to-dateness of the agenda and news, it appears to create the impression that someone is taking care of the site.

"Latest news is a great way to keep fresh new content going."
Even though all before mentioned aspects appear to be important, the most crucial aspect seems to be the contact details displayed on the website.
Participants stated that contact details need to be easy to find, especially a phone number for establishing direct contact and "speaking to a real person".
The results indicated that contact details should never be hidden or difficult to find as it most probably creates mistrust among visitors.

"..easy to find contact information, digging around for it makes me wonder why it's hidden."

Recommendations

Summing up the comments, reactions and click responses of the test participants, the following recommendations can be formulated for improving the trustworthiness of Learning & Development provider websites:

1. Give good thought to your logo and how it will be perceived by your targeted visitors.
2. Use real pictures, representing your business and matching the message of your website.
3. Display partner and customer testimonials to demonstrate how satisfied others are with your business.
4. Show by which organisations you have been accredited. It assures visitors of your quality standards.
5. Provide a top 3 of the most popular courses.
6. Keep your agenda and news up-to-date.
7. Do not hide your contact details, it creates mistrust. Be transparent and make them easily accessible to visitors.

These recommendations might seem simple and the necessity of their implementation self-evident. Nevertheless the test results demonstrate, the devil is in the details and all of these recommendations are important for creating a trustworthy website.

Your Learning & Development: free professional advice and articles

26 May 2011 12:25

Have a question? We get the answer!
Does this sound familiar to you:

Post, anonymously if preferred, questions related to your personal and professional development on Springest.

We forward all questions to the Learning & Development professionals on Springest to source answers for you.

What makes the L&D world turn?

Read what L&D professionals have to say about various personal and professional development topics.

The articles range from writing an own book and
the magic of moodboards, to time management andbecoming more assertive.

Contact us to publish an article yourself!

Social network advice 3.0
Use our new social network integration and ask peers for advice to make the right choice.

Direct peers exactly to the page you are looking at and get personal advice.

Springest is on Facebook
We now have a Facebook page, bringing you together with other learners and keeping you up-to-date with new features and promotions.

Post questions for the Q&A, discuss learning experiences and suggest new course subjects.

We welcome new providers

Royal Wedding Contest, win a free course!

28 April 2011 10:21

This Friday 29 of April 2011, Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton will be joined in holy matrimony at Westminster Abbey in London.

This wedding will surely be extravagant and truly royal from the flower arrangement and wedding cake to the decoration and music.

Not hard to believe that it takes a lot of expertise, planning and time to set up such a big event.

Ever dreamed of composing a masterpiece of an event such as a wedding yourself?

Now is your chance:

Like us on Facebook or share this on Twitter to win a free course in event planning, wedding planning or time management!*

This is the countdown to the Royal Wedding and your chance to win!

We from Springest UK wish the couple a happy marriage and hope that their life together will be rich in joy and love.

*The winner can choose a free distance learning course in either event or wedding planning, or time management. The winner will be announced on Friday 29 April at 6pm.

Leading Dutch portal for Learning & Development launches in the UK

27 April 2011 08:59

Springest.co.uk wants to disrupt the Learning & Development sector

Only 6 weeks after its launch in the United Kingdom, over 7,000 courses and education programmes can be compared at Springest.co.uk. The market leading Dutch company compares itself to the likes of Booking.com and PriceRunner, but focuses on the educational sector.

“We’re on schedule to reach 20,000 courses and over 1,000 reviews before the end of this year”, says the founding Dutch entrepreneur Ruben Timmerman. “Our launches in Germany and the UK already show that we can repeat our success of The Netherlands”.

Springest sheds new light on the course jungle by adding easy-to-use filtering to compare training courses, read peer reviews and get in direct contact with Learning & Development professionals to find the perfect match.
The website provides an overview in 19 different categories, ranging from Personal Development to Logistics and HR. Next to the course listings it offers a holistic Learning & Development platform with articles and Q&A sessions with L&D professionals and the opportunity to connect with us, peers and providers via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

The roots of Springest lie in the Netherlands where Timmerman founded Eduhub.nl in 2008 envisioning an independent, transparent and user-friendly Learning & Development platform. Only two years later Eduhub was awarded with the 2010 Dutch Start-up Award by leading tech weblog TheNextWeb.com. Today the Dutch website provides an overview of more than 22,000 courses by 2.250 L&D providers, with over 7,500 reviews from actual course participants.

“We strive to help people grow both in their work and personal life. To encourage new beginnings, to get the best out of yourself and to look fresh and open-minded into the world. That is what Springest stands for. I’m very excited to be part of this sector and help education providers market their offerings. I’m convinced that with our no-cure-no-pay model we’ll manage to gain a leading position in the UK.“ says Ninja Lamberty, Country Manager UK for Springest.

Your experience counts, so give your opinion!

19 April 2011 10:29

Thank you for participating,

Your Springest UK Team

What happened here?

18 April 2011 12:34

Have you noticed anything different on our website? We sure hope you did. Now you might ask: why a new name and a new style? And what does this mean for me?

Why Springest?

As you might know our roots lie in The Netherlands, where Eduhub was founded 3 years ago and grew its success. Since we started expanding to other countries such as the United Kingdom, we felt the need to transform our identity as well.

To simply be a hub for education (as Eduhub implies) is not enough anymore. Many different things can be associated with our new name, but let us use a metaphor to tell you our side of the story.

So, what changes can I expect?

Eduhub Update: February

22 February 2011 08:53

Eduhub Update: February

The year 2011 is still quite young, but we have been busy already.

In this update we tell you about:

• The side-effects of posting reviews
• Live out your lyrical talent on Eduhub
• Eduhub on the road: London, UK and Karlsruhe, Germany
• Did you know?

Read more

Eduhub Update: December

16 December 2010 15:49

Eduhub Update: December

• Peek behind the scenes of Eduhub
• Growth since launch
• The Eduhub Admin
• Worth knowing

Read more

Older posts