16 minute read
Education & Training
The Leadership Coaches Shortlisted for Start Up Business of the Year Award
Here at The Leadership Coaches, we are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for Start Up Business of the Year in the Asian Chamber Business Awards.
Following our launch in January 2020, we have built a credible team of leadership coaches, all of whom provide leadership coaching, management development, bespoke consultancy services, and leaderships and management development courses to our clients.
During the pandemic we were awarded the Heroes award by HRH the Duchess of Sussex for our voluntary coaching support for the NHS, RCC and local support our coaches provided to their communities. We have also recently been awarded Exceeding Expectations at a supplier performance review by one of our clients, and we continue to deliver exceptional customer service.
In addition to the above, we have now facilitated 15 exclusive invite-only workshops for clients and prospects on: • Compassionate Leadership • Building Trust in Hybrid Teams • Leading virtually • How to create a coaching culture
We are soon to host our next workshop in November, which we are sure will be a huge success. Sharing her thoughts on being shortlisted for Start Up Business of the Year, Director of Coaching Zoe Lewis said “To be shortlisted as Start Up Business of the Year means a lot to us all at The Leadership Coaches. From a small idea and creating a team of proven, credible leadership coaches to where we are now; building a strong brand, providing exceptional service & becoming known as a reliable and reputable service provider is more than we’d anticipated given the additional challenges provided by the pandemic.”
Empower your Team for Success
We are living in unprecedented times, with Covid-19 and Brexit putting pressure on businesses that most of us have never seen in our lifetime. Revenue is down, the market is hard, and you may have been put in the difficult position of having to say goodbye to valuable members of staff. Employees have had to take on extra work and the pressure is on to be more efficient and achieve more with less resources than ever before.
The current circumstances look different for everyone. Your staff work remotely now. Your teams may not have met face to face in months, if at all, and you may not even have met any new hires you have made. It is hard to engage staff from a distance and build meaningful relationships. Or you have just returned to the office for the first time since March 2020. The new staff you have hired during the pandemic are struggling to adjust and be fully accepted into the team. Your staff do not want to return to the office. Your processes have had to change to accommodate Brexit and it has been tricky. The only thing that can be said for certain is that every business faces its own unique situation and challenges.
So, what is the answer to bringing your team together and making them stronger than ever before? We believe there are three key facets that will mobilise your team and set them up to succeed in this new world.
1. Hire the Right People
Take proactive steps to ensure that you’re hiring people who don’t just fit the job description, but also fit your team and company culture. Hire people who will complement the staff in your existing team and fill the gaps that you have got. It is tempting to hire people who have the same skills and ways of doing things as you do, but this is more likely to lead long term to unbalanced teams and a continued skills shortage and job dissatisfaction. Look for innovative ways to find out who they really are. We put all our new hires through our escape rooms providing us with a fascinating way to expose their true characters.
2. Build a Strong Team
Be available to invest in building strong relationships within your teams. Highlight the strengths of each staff member and encourage them in these. Discover their weaknesses and spur them on to turn them into strengths. Help your teams develop soft skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork and time management. Encourage them to develop good working relationships with each other. With the challenges we all face today, we must work “Smarter, not harder”, and to get the job done the most efficient and effective way, we need people operating in their sweet spot. To do this you need to know each other and have a balanced team. We would encourage every business to invest time in team building and developing staff both individually and as a collective. Doing so in an interactive way helps staff engage with it and get involved and we have found they are more likely to walk away with some new skills and a fresh perspective.
3. Empower your managers to
Lead and Engage
One of the biggest causes of poor performance is disengagement and Gallup research has shown that 70% of the difference between engagement and disengagement is due directly to the Manager. For Managers to lead effectively, they need to believe in what you do as a company, be loyal to your brand, believe in your products. The best way to develop this is to take time out to help your managers engage with your brand, values and products. Give them opportunities to discover them in an interactive way, facilitate exploration, encourage questions, invite them to give honest feedback and respond to it. Listen to what is said and where you can, make changes in response to what they say. Empower them to take their newfound enthusiasm and engagement back to their teams and pass it on. This small sacrifice will likely have a positive ripple effect across your entire company as your managers pass it on and lead by example.
For more information visit www.timesquaredltd.com
Business boost for employability through supported internships
Young people with special educational needs and disabilities are being supported into work through a new internship programme led by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) in partnership with local and regional businesses.
National Grid Metering and Nuneaton Signs are already on board with the programme and are providing work placements for students that aim to see them move into paid employment. As a large employer in the area with over 600 staff, NWSLC has also made a commitment to offering five supported internships within its own teams with placements in sports, floristry, construction, automotive and catering already in place.
Tom Blount and Scott Edmond have already started work at National Grid Metering where they have been introduced to the systems and processes involved in the customer service centre, the metering department, and the IT support team. Students Warren Evans, Darren Sneddon and Connor Deakin have recently joined Nuneaton Signs which has manufactured signs, stickers, and banners since 1982.
The new scheme was officially launched at the college’s Nuneaton Campus with a formal induction and NWSLC is calling on more employers from across the region to lend their support by offering new supported internships.
Faye Dowling, Change Specialist & Employability Lead (Solihull) for National Grid Metering said, “Tom and Scott started with National Grid Metering in September, and we have never seen such a huge transition in confidence and abilities in such a short period of time. Within just five weeks both Tom and Scott were independently organising their own workload, learning multiple systems and processes, taking part in team meetings and community projects, and have even delivered ‘All About Me’ presentations to our employability team.”
Holly Hunter, Social Impact Officer for Nuneaton Signs said, “Our business was originally founded as a sheltered workshop to provide opportunities for adults with disabilities. Getting involved with the college’s scheme enables us to extend our reach to young people and help them to bridge the gap between education and employment. We have over 60 members of staff and 65 per cent have at least one disability. We have 20 mentors within our workforce and everyone at Nuneaton Signs was pleased to welcome Warren, Darren and Connor and are now helping them to settle in.”
Marion Plant, Principal and Chief Executive of NWSLC said, “We were delighted to host our students and employer partners at the launch of this scheme which provides a vital stepping-stone for young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The scheme is structured so that students benefit from the support of a dedicated job coach to help them adapt to the demands of their new work routine and have someone to check-in with them on a regular basis. This is very important for these students and helps to make sure that they remain in the placement and thrive, moving on to paid employment when the time is right.
“We’re grateful to our employer partners who have helped us to secure placements for our first intake of students, and we are happy to support the scheme ourselves by offering the opportunity for students to work at the college in a variety of roles from sports coach to catering assistant. With around 100 students currently enrolled in our foundation learning programme, it will be important to develop a robust pipeline of future opportunities so we urge businesses to get in touch if they feel that they can offer a placement to one of our students.”
Supported internships are structured study programmes designed to enable young people with special educational needs and disabilities to achieve sustainable, paid employment by equipping them with the skills they need for work through learning in the workplace. Internships normally last for a year and include unpaid work placements of at least six months. Wherever possible, they support the young person to move into paid employment at the end of the programme. Students complete a personalised study programme which includes the chance to study for relevant substantial qualifications, if suitable, and English and maths to an appropriate level.
For more information visit www.nwslc.ac.uk
Green 4 Motor Company and Coventry College
Green 4 Motor Company operates three modern and welcoming dealership locations in the Warwickshire region. They have been supplying their dedicated customers with new Mazda vehicles for over 25 years.
The dealership has since taken on three apprentices, through Coventry College, the first being Kian Sheehy. Kian is currently attending the business administration course and says “So far, the overall experience has been great. My college tutor Denise is very friendly and is always available to assist me if I ever need help.”
Erin Stapleton has been studying at Coventry College since 2018 and is now enrolled on the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 2 Accounts/Finance Assistant apprenticeship. Erin explains “The best part about Coventry College are the tutors. I have had a great experience with all of them and they are always very understanding. If you have a problem or do not understand everything, they are very supportive and help you wherever they can. I feel extremely welcome there and everyone is very friendly.”
Along with Kian and Erin, Charlotte West has also decided to go down the ‘earn while you learn ‘route and is currently studying a Level 3 Digital Marketing apprenticeship. Erin believes “Despite only attending the college for a month, I already feel that the knowledge and skills that I have been taught so far will be critical for me to use in the workplace.”
Alison France, HR Director at Green 4 Motor Company said, “We’re really privileged to work with Coventry College, they have sourced some great apprentices for our business, and we look forward to a long relationship with them.”
Robert Jones, Sector Engagement Officer for the college says, “I have really enjoyed working with Green 4 Motor Co and they have embraced the worth of taking on apprentices, and the value they can bring to a business. I look forward to working with them in the future and achieving some very positive results.”
Coventry manufacturer chooses apprenticeships to drive future
A Coventry manufacturing business is taking the apprenticeship route to support its development as it moves into a new era.
MPL Fabrications has taken on a new Welding and Fabrications apprentice, through college group WCG, after coming through an uncertain period for the business.
The light sheet metal company has been in business for 40 years and was taken over by managing director Kevin Duffy, whose father-in-law founded the company, after the former owner passed away suddenly.
Kevin was tasked with guiding the business through a difficult period and it is now enjoying significant growth, with sales growing by 20 per cent month-on-month.
MPL Fabrications’ workforce has its foundations in apprenticeships, with one former apprentice having been with the business for 36 years.
Richard Wilson, 16, is the company’s latest apprentice and will be completing a Welding and Fabrications apprenticeship through college group WCG – with time spent studying at its Royal Leamington Spa College site.
Kevin said: “We have strong track record with apprentices over the years and supporting them in their development “Working with WCG has been seamless. The funding opportunities were explained well to us, the college dealt with administration and supplied a good selection of candidates.
“I’m a firm believer that offering apprenticeships can be as beneficial to the business as the employee.”
John Colclough, Business Development Manager at WCG, added: “Apprentices can be a valuable asset to any business – be that a start-up or a business that is pursuing a growth strategy
“We were pleased to be able to work with Kevin to ensure he had the right calibre of candidates for his position and that now he has been able to fill the vacancy.”
To find out more about WCG Apprenticeships, contact the WCG Business Development team: E: employerenquiries@wcg.ac.uk T: 0330 135 6940 W: wcg.ac.uk/employers
Students celebrate success
Warwickshire and Worcestershire graduates at college group WCG have been celebrating their success in a series of graduation ceremonies in Warwick.
Around 250 graduates from Royal Leamington Spa College, Rugby College, Moreton Morrell College and Pershore College graduated across four ceremonies at St Mary’s Church.
The graduating students were a mix of 2020 and 2021 graduates – as 2020 graduates were finally able to celebrate their achievements after disruption caused last year due to the pandemic.
Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, was on hand to present students with certificate scrolls and was joined by the representatives of the college’s board of governors across the three days of celebrations.
Peter Manford, Linda Norville, Rachel Sandby-Thomas and Chris Bradshaw represented the board of governors at individual ceremonies.
The ceremonies also featured a trio of keynote speakers, with Helen Peters, CEO of Shakespeare’s England speaking at the first ceremony. Nik Spencer, an entrepreneur, inventor of the HERU and former student at Moreton Morrell College addressed graduates during the second ceremony.
Helen Peters said: “It’s been fantastic. I felt so sorry for graduates last year who didn’t get this opportunity. It’s great that they have that chance today and then also that the class of 2021 hasn’t had the same disruption.”
Nik Spencer added: “I was educated at Kineton High School, went to Moreton Morrell and my education was here in Warwickshire. To be here today and be able to address the students was a fantastic honour to me.
“I know how important a day like this is for the students. It’s a day you will remember for the rest of your life.”
For the two final ceremonies on the third day, WCG welcomed Chris Moody, who recently retired as CEO of Landex. He spoke with Moreton Morrell College and Pershore College graduates about the importance of the land-based industries in which both colleges specialise.
Chris said: “The opportunities available to students graduating in the land-based industries today are enormous and they’ve made a very wise choice.
“It’s always quite the achievement to achieve a degree, but to do so given the circumstances of the last two years is a doubly impressive achievement.”
Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, said: “After an incredibly difficult couple of years it was fantastic to bring together all of our graduates to celebrate their achievements – which had been a long time coming for our class of 2020.
“Our degree-level courses pride themselves on providing the skills and knowledge to help our graduates to succeed in the next stage of their development, and that is reflected in the latest figures showing that 95 per cent of our graduates currently are in employment or undertaking further study.
“Graduation day is a culmination of three years of hard work for many of our students, who may have been juggling jobs with education and overcoming other personal challenges. Add a pandemic into that and it is all the more impressive that they have achieved what they have.
“We would like to congratulate all of our graduates on this magnificent achievement and look forward to following their development as they take their next steps into employment or by continuing to develop in education.”
WCG offers higher education courses in a wide range of subjects through full time and part-time options. To find out more visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study
Atherstone sweet treats retailer takes on first apprentice
A sweet treats retail business, based in Atherstone, has taken on its first apprentice after thriving since the launch of its online shop in lockdown.
Lisa’s Sweet Treats is owned by Lisa Organ and until recently she had been managing the day-to-day operations of the growing business on her own.
The business was set up in September 2019 and mainly supplied sweet carts for weddings, corporate events and the hospitality sector. But when the pandemic hit Lisa pivoted the business and launched the online shop and ecommerce business.
This move has seen the business thrive as sweet-toothed customers headed to her website to send gifts. It has now sent more than 6,000 sweet packages and that success has led to the business moving out of Lisa’s home office and into its first office premises in Atherstone.
As a result, Lisa has taken on Alice Porter as a Digital Marketing apprentice and she will be completing the apprenticeship through college group, WCG. She said: “By taking on an apprentice, it will help me to grow my business. Alice brings new skills into the business and is already making a massive impact in terms of digital marketing.
“WCG has been really helpful and have made signing-up an apprentice possible.
John Colclough, Business Development Manager at WCG, added: “Apprenticeships are a brilliant way for small businesses, like Lisa’s Sweet Treats, to expand.
