Our values reflect how we work and think
Keeping it real, honest, transparent, demonstrating integrity at all times
Bringing innovative and creative solutions to complex challenges
We are all driven by our shared vision of a smarter New Zealand
Delivering solutions that delight our clients and truly transform organisations
Growing lasting relationships based on mutual understanding and trust
We Are Here for you
We’re your partner from the moment you start to sketch out your learning strategy, through its implementation to its measurement. We’ll bring innovation and creativity to your vision, and robust, proven development processes. We’ll also build your team’s capability along the way.
Helping shape your vision
Learning solutions are strategic tools; we’ll support you to get your strategy right. It might be around a vision for a blended experience, a Learning and Development strategy, or alignment with an organisation’s vision.
We deliver to your requirements. From a one-page thought piece to a multi year business case with full ROI analysis.
Best fit for each client
We are solution agnostic. We keep the focus on your business requirements and what a successful outcome looks like for you. When that’s clear, it gets a lot easier to develop specifications, identify best of breed, and make the decision.
Think long term, but keep it simple
Our systems implementation processes are built on our experience:
Right content, level, format
Good learning content changes behaviour. We achieve that through great design:
Assess the impact of learning
These days, building great learning experiences requires investment, and you don’t get that without proving the return. Our cloud based impact measurement tool lets you see in real terms the impact you’re having on job. Use it to improve the programme, determine its value, and get buy in for your future learning vision.
Right process, team, skills
We believe in long-term partnerships that thrive when our clients thrive. That’s why developing your capability is part and parcel of how we work, whatever the engagement. From system administrator training to instructional design to running your our learning impact measurement process, we’ll agree how we can help your team while we deliver the solution.
Totara LMS enables you to deliver learning effectively through individual learning plans which reflect your employees’ roles, training needs and objectives. Totara provides a functionally rich learning platform which can be implemented quickly and at a fraction of the cost of proprietary solutions.More…
With an unmatched understanding of the world of the learner, the most comprehensive student-success solutions, and the greatest capacity for innovation, Blackboard is education’s partner in change. We are driving the industry to new destinations. More…
The Evaluator is a cloud based evaluation tool that measures the on-job impact of your learning intervention. The Evaluator draws on proven evaluation frameworks, and yet allows you to customise your evaluation to your own organisation’s context. More…
Recent projects
Our work is often multifaceted, from engaging about a strategy or vision through to the creation of resources and training to support the implementation of this strategy.
Filter by types of work below or browse by client.
We’re one of a select group providing L&D services to MBIE. As New Zealand’s largest Ministry, MBIE’s needs are diverse and extensive. Our strength is in our ability to work with both the L&D team who hold the wider vision, and with key stakeholders for each engagement.
At a strategic level, we’re engaged to develop visions for learning journeys. We help paint the picture for how technology will be used, what the learning experience will be, and what success looks like. But we’re not just consultants. We’re engaged to build the learning resources that bring the visions to life.
We’re also delighted to be part of the wider learning community that MBIE engages with, supporting thought leadership and innovation through our Learning Technology Advisory Group.
When Z needed to test the brand concept that would take the company on from Shell, they chose Synapsys as their partner to develop the learning experience for the pilot sites.
We had eight weeks to design the learning experience that would roll together the new Z brand experience, new product offerings and new positions. The answer was a blended experience that brought together elearning, experiential workshops and on job resources.
It worked. The customer response was great, and we moved to develop the resources for the national rollout of the new Z brand experience.
Cut to today, and we’re still proud to be supporting the Z vision. Recently we’ve been developing eLearning to support staff with financial planning, and Z’s using The Evaluator to measure the impact on job of training initiatives – to improve them and report outcomes.
Measuring capability development for a changing world
The world of learning is changing – fast. New learning technologies, changing qualifications and shifting learner and employer expectations all require fresh thinking on how learning happens. Otago Polytechnic has a clear vision for where it wants to be, and key to the vision is building staff capability. But how is it going? Are staff developing and applying the skills they need for everything from designing programmes to building resources and delivering a great learning experience? Otago Polytechnic used The Evaluator to measure progress.
The starting point was to work with Otago Polytechnic to define what they wanted to measure, and how. Working with benchmark frameworks, we developed a set of indicators that, when measured, would leave Otago Polytechnic confident about where they stood.
Synapsys’ Evaluator was then used to collect, analyse and interpret a wide range of survey data from respondents across different roles and schools. Each success indicator was drilled into to understand the differences in perspectives of those involved. Key stakeholders workshopped their analysis, and from there a report on programme effectiveness was available within the organisation as part of a wider review.
Respondents consistently rated highly across Programme Design, Course Design, Framework integration, Planning development, Course Building and Preparedness to Deliver. Academic team members typically rated themselves lower than other groups but trends were consistent across groups.
Clear targets were identified for improving processes, particularly around streamlining programme and course design processes. The evaluation report was folded into a wider review of activity and helped inform thinking on the next steps for the institution. Ongoing evaluations now form a key plank of the continuous improvement process.
“Measuring capability development in an educational context is not easy. The process of working with Synapsys to become clear about what we were measuring, and how we would define success was really helpful. It gave us confidence that when it came time to survey, we had a robust process. Using The Evaluator was an interesting and rewarding experience. Analysing the results meant we got a clear view on where our capability development model was working, and where we needed to focus our efforts for the future.
Capability development is a critical component of the change we are moving through and the evaluation has provided useful information that is informing our thinking about the future.”
Robyn Hill, Learning and Teaching Facilitator, Otago Polytechnic, February 2017
HealthCare NZ is the parent company of a number of specialist organisations, which deliver services designed to meet the specific needs of the people they support, in their homes and communities.
As their learning partner of four years, we’ve supported a vision for 6000+ learners across the Group that has seen
For us, our working relationship is genuinely one of partnership. We thrive on being engaged on a number of fronts, from discussing the vision, through implementation, to measuring impact.
We’re Kiwibank’s Totara partner. For us, that means making sure their LMS is lean, easy to use, and designed around the learning and business goals of the organisation.
While we advise and support its use, the most effective LMSs always have internal champions that know the business best and drive it’s use. So supporting capability development is also central to our role.
Because we’re deeply involved in the business, it also means we’re perfectly positioned to develop elearning and blended learning content that meshes with the LMS. Collectively they provide a compelling suite of experiences that honour the brand and offer a coherent experience across the organisation.
The Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) has a clear vision for sustainable productivity improvements in the sheep and beef sector to deliver higher on-farm profitability.
It’s a collaboration between the Red Meat Sector and Government through the Primary Growth Partnership programme. With six strategic objectives spanning people, research, extension, marketing and beyond, effective sector training is critical to the initiative’s success.
As the learning partner to RMPP, we’re making the learning vision a reality by designing, developing and supporting delivery of a range of learning programmes that leverage rich, interactive media, but are still practical, down to earth, and appeal to farmers and industry people that are focused on getting things done.
We’re also running an evaluation process that is measuring the practical impact of training interventions and the contribution they are making to the strategic objectives they’ve designed to support.
Having weathered the GFC and sector reforms, the Building and Construction ITO was ready to crystalise a strategy that redefined how the sector saw learning and digital engagement. Over 18 months we worked with all levels of the organisation to articulate the vision, and put together the business case that ultimately saw Board approval of a multiyear initiative to make the vision a reality. While a focus on eLearning in a blended distance learning and workplace environment lies at the heart of the strategy, BCITO is vitally interested in how broader digital engagement with the workplaces and people around our learners can enhance and deepen the quality of the learning experience as well as upskill the industry.
As BCITO’s learning partner, we’re now supporting implementation, both in terms of getting the technology mix right, and shaping and creating the learning experience.
We have been Tourism New Zealand’s technical support partner since late 2015. As support partner we are driven to provide a simplified technical solution, sustainable practices to reduce administrative overhead and provide thought leadership on trends and appropriateness of authoring tools.
Tourism New Zealand is the organisation responsible for marketing New Zealand to the world as a tourist destination. The main tool we use to do this is the 100% Pure New Zealand marketing campaign which has evolved over the past 18 years to make New Zealand one of the world’s most well-respected tourism brands.
Tourism New Zealand needed a global platform to host the digital component of its 100% Pure New Zealand Specialist Programme—used to train travel sellers across 26 countries in eight different languages on how to better sell New Zealand as a holiday destination.
It needed to include a function that allowed Tourism New Zealand’s trade team to track the real-time progress and performance of travel sellers enrolled in the programme across the different markets. It also needed to be simple enough for everyone to use, and to track their own progress through the blended learning programme.
To read about the solution on the Totara LMS click here
Our partnership with Toyota began in 2013 with a consulting engagement to build a vision for national sales training that kept the best of the existing face to face model but leveraged elearning and support models. The goal was to improve access, engagement and ultimately, sales. We were selected as the development partner and from there have gone to support the development of range of learning programmes (print, elearning and blended) as well as LMS selection, implementation and support. We also lend our design skills to internal communications as they connect with the strategy for learning at Toyota New Zealand.
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Our work with Citycare began by scoping out a strategic plan for learning and development. A successful strategy for national expansion and a pivotal role in the rebuild of post-earthquake Christchurch saw City Care rapidly expanding its capacity, necessitating new business systems and expanded training requirements.
Starting with a stocktake of current training need across all functions of the organisation and a mix of data collation and interviews with functions we produced a curriculum matrix that mapped training need across all functions and prioritised it by value to the organisation.
That was in 2012. Since then we’ve rolled out Moodle as Citycare’s LMS and recently upgraded to Totara. Their system now supports a complete programme of blended and elearning resources we’ve developed across Induction, Health and Safety and various bespoke software systems.
The move to Totara has positioned Citycare to shift the vision from delivering learning to one of targeted capability development that will support Citycare’s growth into the future.
Our role was to support the development of an eLearning strategy, and to develop eLearning in Environmental Awareness. Our approach?
The result? An engaging, instructive orientation that helped ensure everyone travelling to the ice knew how to minimise their impact.
The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is the main healthcare planner, funder and provider for New Zealand’s Canterbury region. They are also a lead partner for the wider South Island Alliance (SIAPO) that is supporting integrated health care provision across the Island.
We’ve been CDHB’s learning technology partner since 2005. In the early days it was all about getting Moodle running to support elearning development. How things have changed.
CDHB’s HealthLearn LMS (Totara based) delivers a mix of clinical, induction and IT/support learning experiences across it’s own staff, and a mix of other health workers. Vital statistics include:
Healthlearn is also the cornerstone of a vision for learning for all health sector organisations across the South Island that sees the learner as the centre of a lifelong learning experience that transcends boundaries such as the employer or the role they happen to have.
As CDHB and SIAPO’s learning partner, we’re proud to be deeply involved in framing the vision and putting the systems and tools in place.
Christchurch International Airport (CIAL) knew they needed an LMS that could manage all forms of learning across multiple organisations and stakeholders, and report in meaningful, compelling terms. They also wanted a local partner they could trust to guide them through the process and support them to develop their own capability.
Totara has raised the profile of training for them, and allows staff, managers and the leadership team to have visibility about the current and future training needs of the team. They are primarily using Totara to track staff compliance training – this is of primary importance to the team. Managers need to know who has what training in key areas of the business, e.g., for working safely in confined spaces and at height, so that they can roster and deploy the appropriate staff across the business. It also allows them to have visibility about future training needs and plan for upcoming training where staff will need to be off-site.
The Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand is the professional voice of pharmacy. As such they support professionals throughout their careers. PSNZ provides training and support to a wide range of roles at various stages of development. So when it came to implementing a Learning Management System, it needed an overarching system that could deliver different experiences to different groups, but still enable global management of all stakeholders. Synapsys was selected as the partner to roll out Totara.
NZQA’s Targeted Review of Qualifications (TROQ) has provided Industry Training Organisations such as Careerforce with the opportunity to take a fresh new approach to learning in the workplace. For Careerforce, that means an expansive strategy of supporting their providers and sector stakeholders with quality resources aligned to the new vision for the qualifications.
Synapsys is proud to be a key development partner for Careerforce, supporting resource development across a range of media and learning contexts.
The client
Z Energy is the New Zealand company that distributes fuel from one end of the country to the other. Z supplies fuel to retail customers and large commercial customers like airlines, trucking companies, mines, shipping companies and vehicle fleet operators, and also provides bitumen to roading contractors.
The challenge
The way Z staff engage and wow their customers is an intrinsic part of the brand’s success – and the effective training of their site staff is therefore a key element. With over 200 outlets around New Zealand, Z take their training expertise to each station owner, who pick up responsibility for delivering this to their own staff in the form of workshops.
The challenge for Z was finding out whether this training approach was really helping staff to deliver a great customer experience around the country.
The solution
Successfully evaluating training effectiveness involves much more than just setting learner assessments or even utilising smart evaluation tools.
Z were fully aware of why they wanted to evaluate their training. Leveraging Synapsys’ expertise, they were also able to gain a crystal clear picture of exactly what they wished to measure and how to elicit this information from the various roles involved in training workshops.
Z and Synapsys identified three high-level dimension measures:
Synapsys’ Evaluator was then used to collect, analyse and interpret a wide range of survey data from respondents across different roles and sites via their cloud based analytics tool. Each success indicator was drilled into to understand the differences in perspectives of those involved. Key stakeholders workshopped their analysis, and from there a report on programme effectiveness was available within the organisation.
The outcome
Z got the evidence they were looking for on the effectiveness of their programme. It gave them confidence that their training programme really was resulting in an even better customer experience. They also confirmed that their training resources were fit for purpose across a diverse network of retail outlets. This information underpinned their decisions around the ongoing delivery of the programme and how to maintain it.
Z also learnt a lot about how to evaluate the impact of learning on job; what matters for them, the questions to ask, and how to interpret rich datasets.
“Using The Evaluator was a great experience. We got the confidence we needed that our programme was effective in the workplace. More than that, the process of working with Synapsys to get really clear on what success looked like for us was really helpful. By the time we went live with the survey process we were confident we were measuring the right things. At the end of the process we had real confidence in the quality of our programme and that the training was directly impacting the standard of delivery to our customers on site.”
Julie Fitzgerald, Z Factor Champion, Wellington New Zealand, 2016
The client
The Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) is a collaboration between the Red Meat Sector and the New Zealand Government through the Primary Growth Partnership programme. Their objective is to drive sustainable productivity improvements in the sheep and beef sector to deliver higher on-farm productivity.
The need
Effective training is critical to RMPP. Sector productivity gains will come from smarter systems, smarter people. With a significant training investment strategy, measuring the impact of training is also critical. RMPP needed to measure the impact of learning both to improve the initiatives that are running, and to demonstrate return on the investment.
The solution
This project measured the impact of genetics-focused workshops on farmer confidence in making stock selection decisions. It also tested a learning impact measurement process that had the potential to be rolled out across all related learning initiatives, providing a global view of learning impact.
How did we go about it? We worked with RMPP to create a unique rubric that spoke directly to what RMPP wanted to measure. Together we identified three high-level dimensions:
We measured over three time periods; prior to training, immediately after the first workshop, and then after the second workshop. Cross referencing different roles, we were able to provide a rich environment for results analysis that meant RMPP could see the shift in farmer confidence, and also get useful perspectives on programme improvement.
The outcome
RMPP had confidence the programme achieved its goals, knew how to improve it, and have an evaluation model to move forward with across all activity.
The client
Ako Aotearoa assists educators and organisations to enable the best possible educational outcomes for all learners through a focus on enhancing the effectiveness of tertiary teaching and learning practices.
They work across the whole tertiary sector, involving adult and community education, institutes of technology and polytechnics, private tertiary education providers, universities, wànanga and workplace learning organisations.
The project
Ako Aotearoa approached Synapsys to lead a project investigating the use of technology in learning across Tertiary Education Organisations in New Zealand. The aims of the project were to allow organisations to better understand their current learning technology capability, identify opportunities for development within learning technology, and to benchmark their capability against the wider sector.
We surveyed a number of Tertiary Education Organisations, Industry Training Organisations and Private Training Establishments about their programme and course design, content creation, delivery, and capability. We entered the survey results into the Evaluator, which enabled us to better analyse the survey feedback.
We used these results as a guide during individual workshops with each participating organisation to identify opportunities for growing capability. Data from all responding organisations was also aggregated to provide a sector-wide view. All the participating organisations then attended a sector workshop with Synapsys to share challenges and develop strategies for responding to them.
Following the project, at least 70% of participating organisations indicated that they had built internal engagement and understanding as a result of participating, had identified opportunities for development, now had a better understanding of sector-wide capability, and of where they were benchmarked against the rest of the sector. All the organisations supported the ongoing wider development of capability after the project ended.
Who we are
We are a national team with offices located in Christchurch and Wellington. We appoint the right people to any given project, large or small, to ensure that the design and delivery are led by experts. We have deliberately shaped our company using a flexible resourcing model to ensure we have the capability and capacity necessary to support our clients.
PHIL GARING
Managing Director
DAVID GLOVER
Director
KATH NORTON
General Manager
KIM RUSSO
Operations Manager
NIGEL YOUNG
Senior Consultant
NICKI ALORI
Lead Project Manager
KAREN GILLIE
LMS Lead
DALE DUNNETT
LMS Specialist
KIRSTY CULLEN
Lead Creative Consultant
LYNNE WARRING
Senior Instructional Designer
ALISTAR WICKENS
Instructional Designer, Animator
ANTHEA WHITLOCK
Senior Instructional Designer
HEATHER MOONEY
Lead Video Producer/Director
RACHAEL HEMINGWAY
Project Coordinator
KAY FENTON
Instructional Designer
CHARLES HENDTLASS
Editor/Technical Writer
PIP FOWLER
Instructional Designer
