CDA consulting - Developing and training your employees

Developing and training your employees

Training and development is an important part of today’s strategic agenda and a key factor in an organisation’s ability to respond to change.

Here at cda our experience spans all aspects of training and development, including defining training and development strategies and specific development programmes.

A training and development strategy provides the critical link between organisational objectives and the day-to-day investment in training and development. It allows the organisation to focus development of the areas of highest priority and plan resources over the medium term. It also provides the critical ‘business case’ for training and development which allows the impact of this investment to be properly evaluated. Without this link to a clear business case, it’s not surprising that training and development gets cancelled if things start to get tough.

Training programmes can take many forms. We develop bespoke training aimed at developing interpersonal skills such as sales, customer service or negotiating skills. Our programmes use a variety of formats to optimise the effectiveness of the training. These include:

Video clips scripted and filmed specifically for the training Audio clips – usually based on real life customer interactions (e.g. in a call centre)
Business games and simulations
Using real-life business projects to deploy and develop skills ‘Mystery Shopping’ in competitor retail outlets to experience customer service
Web-based supporting material (e.g. pre-work)

We recognise the value of e-learning and have developed a range of web or intranet based development tools and training programmes. Our experience has ranged from developing static development material to post on a client’s intranet, through to designing and developing fully-interactive e-learning packages.

Coaching and mentoring is an important part of many development programmes. We have delivered a range of training designed to develop coaching and mentoring skills, as well as advising on the best way to set up and maintain a coaching or mentoring programme.

Our training and development experience also includes management and leadership programmes which are covered under Developing leadership and management talent.

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Case studies

The Risk Assurance Division team with the Department of Work and Pensions asked us to work with them to develop a Training Strategy which would identify the training and development needed to help the RAD team meet the challenges of the future. We worked with the top team to agree a Skills and Knowledge Framework, which summarised the key areas of skill and knowledge that would make a real difference to the success of the RAD team in the medium term. We then carried out a 1:1 assessment and development planning interview with over 200 staff, and summarised the results as a Learning and Development Strategy for RAD.

We worked with the Dudley Group of Hospitals to develop an on-line Development Guide, to reflect the organisations management and leadership competencies. The Guide included a range of learning activity, including individual, 1:1 and 1:team development activity supported by links to key articles, websites, video clips and reference books.

When North Lincolnshire Housing Services received a second 'poor' assessment from the Audit Commission, their response was to develop a Recovery and Continuous Improvement Plan, which included an investment in developing the customer service skills of their people. Under the banner of ‘Going the Extra Mile’ we worked with the Housing Services Team to design a programme of customer services training. Over 300 individuals including front line tradesmen were trained in customer services skills. We also designed and delivered two management training courses, aimed at equipping managers to develop effective customer service in their teams. As a result of this training, customer service indicators have improved markedly, and the Housing Services rating from the Audit commission was reassessed as a ‘one star’ with excellent prospects for improvement.

After RSM Robson Rhodes (now part of Grant Thornton) had la unched their new competencies and improved their performance management process they asked cda to put together a supporting on-line 'Development Guide' aimed at helping both parties to consider the training and development available for each competency. The Guide pulled together a wide range of development options including on-line material, 1:1 coaching and training courses. It helped appraisees to understand that development is not just about attending training courses. The guide was made available as a printed document and as part of the organisation’s Intranet.

We worked with Toyota GB (TGB) over an extended period to deliver 'Retail Concept'; a new vision for TGB's 200+ retailers across the UK. The rollout of Retail Concept included a suite of training programmes for dealership teams designed to improve understanding of the Toyota customer experience and develop the skills and behaviours needed to deliver it. An initial two-day 'Foundation Programme' for the full dealership team introduced Retail Concept and started to build customer handling skills. This was followed by a two-day 'Masterclass' for sales teams, which further developed their ability to interact with customers and sell in the Retail Concept way. Finally, a 'Management Workshop' introduced a range of recruitment and performance management tools that could be used to embed the key ways of working. The Retail Concept programme was developed specifically for TGB and drew heavily on the customer research and the Toyota Way to provide a highly effective training programme which delivered real business results.

We worked with Toyota GB plc to assess the ability of a Field Team to support the spread and transfer of Best Practice across their retailer network. The assessment activity, consisting of an in-depth competency based interview, practical exercises and a personality questionnaire, highlighted strengths and development priorities for both individuals and the team as a whole. The key outputs of the project were detailed individual development reports for each manager as well as a set of short and longer term recommendations to address shared development areas for the team.