CLIENTS

The Challenge

Recruitment Investment Group Ltd (RIG) is a London-based investment company that points proudly to its recently-gained Investors in People award as tangible proof of the importance it places in developing and training its employees. RIG invests primarily in start up, growing recruitment companies in very niche markets. “The nature of our business is essentially people. The skills, experience and motivation of our people are what make us successful and profitable.”

Lots of effort and resources was put into ensuring that we have a comprehensive and credible training and development programme for all our employees. However, growth necessitates succession planning and with new levels of managers, most notably Team Leaders, appearing in the structure of our various operating companies, it was time to ensure that our leadership talent is fully equipped to help steer our business to achieve the goals of its ongoing and aggressive growth strategy.

The Solution

To achieve this, RIG went into partnership with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to develop a tailored Assessment and Development Centre to measure the skills and competence levels of our current pool of Team Leaders. It was important to ensure that once we knew what the skills gaps were, that we meet those needs through an in-depth and practically focused management training programme.

As a partner with the REC, they were introduced to Innergy, who facilitated and delivered the training to their people. The RIG Extraordinary Leadership Programme (ELP) was again tailored to meet RIG’s specific needs. The pilot programme was run over 12 weeks, with a full day training course taking place every fortnight. This allowed for delegates to take the knowledge and skills acquired and put them into practice before delivering live reports every couple of weeks on what was achieved.

The Outcome

The RIG ELP is a huge success, with delegates displaying noticeable improvements in their thinking and the way they manage their teams.

RIG insists that training and development is measured and that it has a positive, practical outcome. The ELP was delivered to achieve this objective. The key to the programme’s success is in its simplicity. Often complex concepts have been wonderfully simplified and presented in a manner that allows participants to understand, remember and apply acquired knowledge. The use of diagrams and practical examples further reinforces learning and facilitates easy implementation back in the office. Participants are given a real-life, practical project where they are required to demonstrate increased profits and/or cost savings in their business. This keeps them alert and focused during their training as they know that they can’t afford not to pay attention.

During the programme, the Managing Directors and other senior managers were put through a Management Overview Session where they were taken through many of the key exercises given to the Team Leaders that they had placed on the programme. They understood first hand what was being delivered and how they could go about supporting the Team Leaders to successfully implement what was learned on the course.

The grand finale was an afternoon session to which the RIG Board and Managing Directors of its various operating companies were invited to a light lunch with the Team Leaders, followed by presentations delivered by each Team Leader to the invited guests. Nerves were on edge, but every one shone as they delivered reports on the culmination of weeks of hard work and practical implementation. 

What they said…

"The Team Leaders attending the course were like little children on a journey of discovery… they constantly experienced revelations that rocked their world. A number of them had never before functioned in this type of role. There were constant remarks about how they wished they’d been exposed to this type of knowledge before they joined RIG.

Positive comments and feedback flowed freely from the senior management team. The time and resources invested by the group in its Team Leaders had delivered a noticeable return.

RIG is now looking forward to roll out the second ELP next year. The focus will increasingly be on preparing future managers to take up leadership roles within the operating companies in the group.

As the person responsible for overseeing the successful planning, implementation and evaluation of this people development initiative, I would like to express my appreciation for Innergy’s assistance on this extraordinary programme."

Jerome S Kalan - Head of Recruitment and Training