Business Engage Profiles Consultancy training employers to think differently about development

When it comes to innovative training and development of the workforce, Haynes Oliver is challenging the natural order.

Dave Bownes, much of the brains and brawn behind the Bedworth-based firm, is impeccably placed to advise businesses willing to shake up their approach to the learning journey of employees.

Frustrated by outdated methods in a previous professional life, Dave launched the company four-and-a-half years ago and has reinvested almost every penny of profit, as well as his highly-specialised time, ‘to prove you can do this differently’.

And by ‘this’, Dave means building software - under the banner of Titan Learning - and programmes that can ensure workers learn exactly what they need at a pace that suits them and their employer.

“A business of 50 plus employees should be doing something around their development,” he said. “The bigger the business, the more opportunity for Titan to drive benefit, because it’s all about efficiency of scale.

“We’re very commercially focused and then we bring in the learning and development solution, which is the way it should be, but isn’t the way it generally operates.

“The challenge businesses have is changing their mindset to move away from how they’ve been doing it. You’ve got to be progressive in your thinking.

“I can do the management development, training, coaching and consultancy for anybody, but Titan as a product - you’ve got to have a different mindset to really want it.”

Gone are long qualification paths and ‘confusing’ return on investment (ROI) models. Instead, Haynes Oliver ‘talks to people in a language they understand’.

“This is key performance indicators (KPIs) and business performance,” Dave added. “These are the things individuals want to know about. We’ve got to bring it to life for the employer as much as the delegate.

“Titan Learning doesn’t fix every element of that, but it addresses some of the core issues when it comes to prioritising what learning individuals should be doing.”

Dave believes his ‘broad’ L&D solutions are adaptable and can work for personnel in all sectors, no matter the stage of their career.

He added: “When you talk about people development, the principles are the same across all industries. It doesn’t make any difference.

“If I see an opportunity, even if I can’t support with it, I’ve got a team of six or seven associates who can or vice versa.”

Haynes Oliver’s clients have tended to sit within the automotive sector due to Dave’s engineering background, with Scania Trucks and Hyundai among his most high-profile clients.

But in recent years the firm has diversified its customer base. Leading construction firm Polygon has trusted the company with its senior leadership programme, while Haynes Oliver also has clients in the defence sector, food manufacturing, social care and civil engineering.

“We’re a business that does it differently and I can prove that with Titan Learning,” Dave added. “I didn’t just talk about it conceptually, I’ve gone ‘bang, here you go, there’s a solution for you!’”

For more information, visit the Haynes Oliver website at https://www.haynesoliver.com/