An Evaluation of the UfI/learndirect Telephone Guidance Trial

In 2005 the government established a review of information, advice and guidance services for adults in order to help achieve the long-term objective of a universally available, high quality and well-used service offering linked information, advice and guidance for adults.

One element of the review was to conduct and evaluate a trial extension of the UfI/learndirect telephone guidance service to handle a substantially larger volume of calls and to test a three-stage call-back and action planning model.

This evaluation of the learndirect guidance trial drew on the findings from a number of research strands including a scored quality analysis of 100 calls to the service, a survey of 1,000 service users, interviews with learndirect advisors, and an analysis of management and financial information.

The report found that overall, the telephone guidance trial had shown there was demand for telephone guidance, that telephone guidance was feasible on a large scale, could be provided cost-effectively, and that service users were satisfied and experienced a range of positive outcomes.