Ours is a skill- and knowledge-based business so, although our design, engineering and construction teams are highly qualified, we are still investing heavily in training. However, most of our investment is dedicated to leadership and Personal Effectiveness with over 50% of our employees having now undergone our tailored leadership programme.

While leadership training and its transformational effects on all kinds of organisations is well established, it remains an unusual step for a company of our size. However, we recognise that   providing a best-in-class service to our clients requires effective collaboration and therefore we are committed to a continuous investment in this area to improve the service we provide.

The expertise and professionalism of our people and our process-driven approach provide the foundations for smooth project delivery but it is the culture and behaviours of our staff that ensure an enhanced customer experience with ‘added value’ service at its core.

We began with a personal effectiveness training programme, designed specifically for us, that included modules such as ‘effective communication’, ‘time management’, ‘team working’, ‘effective meetings’ and ‘leadership and coaching’, and soon noticed the benefits in customer relationships alongside the boost in our business efficiency.

After completing a ‘Living Leader’ course myself, I worked with a training provider to develop a new training course that built on the foundations of the Personal Effectiveness course while taking inspiration from the Living Leader programme. We have seen a direct correlation between the roll out of our training programme and the growth in repeat business.

Although our investment has already had a positive impact on our collaborative culture, we know that we have not come to the end of our journey yet. We will be rolling out another two 6-day courses again this year to another 20 delegates, whilst delivering refresher training to reinforce learning, enabling us to continue raising the bar.

Author: Steve Marsh