alinea consulting LLP is a successful business which from formation 4 years ago, has grown its headcount to over 70 individuals with an annual turnover of £10m. Founded on core values of excellence, teamwork and trust, alinea has been recognised amongst its peers as a leading Good Employer (Building, Dec’15).
At the core of any professional technical services business is its people. The value of human capital, which does not appear on any balance sheet, is the most significant cost but also holds the greatest value. Investment in growing, attracting and retaining talent is essential for sustaining the strategic trajectory that alinea, its co-founders and team have envisioned – delivering an enduring legacy.
Through a structured programme of Performance Development Appraisals (PDA’s), specific development needs have been highlighted around personal/interpersonal skills. These development needs indicate both individual skill development requirements, development of interaction skills and social networking / business development approaches. These needs are summarised as:
- Communicating for Results – key messaging, positive influence and successful outcomes
- Managing Others – new manager transition, delegation and coaching / mentoring
- Performance Conversations – negotiating, listening and persuasion / motivation
- Personal Organisation – planning, prioritisation and structure
- Networking – engaging conversations
Working with alinea, we identified the key drivers for the development programme, which included the following:
- Improve skills and productivity
- Evidence clear linkage between PDA’s and training / development
- Enhance staff morale and profile
- Increase efficiency and drive for excellence
- Keep one step ahead of your competition
- Use creative training to reinforce and deliver Alinea’s vision, values and community
Aligned with the rhythm of alinea’s PDA’s, we have designed and delivered courses to over 60 individuals within the alinea business.
Our approach is differentiated by the fact that we engage the individuals directly prior to the course being undertaken. This preparation phase enables the individual to prepare to receive the course materials, identify specific learning outcomes and enable the course content to be tailored to those specific circumstances.
Immediately following the course, comprehensive course notes are circulated and then a 2-week follow-up session is undertaken on a 1:1 basis to review the course and any specific areas.
Finally, following the next round of alinea PDA’s, a 6-month review is scheduled to allow the individual to reflect on the learning and subsequent application into their work situation.
Added value is provided to these individuals, as trust and confidence is built, through personal coaching sessions.
