What makes the best, the best?

Those who know me know that I am passionate about training and developing people, particularly managers. It gives me a real buzz to see people grow in skills and confidence.

It was a real joy therefore to meet an Operations Manager recently who felt the same way. She, like me, had worked at Boots and had experienced some really beneficial personal and professional development. This Operations Manager had a manager working for her who she recognised was struggling in his role and she wanted to discuss what training and support we could offer him. That organisation continues to grow, in large part because they are not afraid to invest in people who can help them achieve that growth.

What a contrast it was to be contacted by another manager from a different organisation who did not really value training and wanted some management training on the cheap. It was obvious, when he realised there was a price tag associated with the training, that he was paying lip service to the idea. When he realised we were not going to play ball and deliver poor quality support, things went very quiet!

Employees will always deliver the quality of service that their employer deserves. Good quality takes time, costs a little more (not always a lot) but lasts significantly longer. When it comes to training, it is definitely worth the investment.

What makes the best, the best?

One of the sessions we deliver on our Progress Club is "What makes the best, the best?" We have a guest speaker from Motorpoint, the car buyers champion. They truly are good at what they do and their business continues to go from strength to strength. Underpinning their success is the time and attention they pay to developing their managers so they can inspire their team members to be the best they can be. Last week I witnessed, and was part of, some of that development first hand. The energy, motivation and commitment in the room whenever I am with Motorpoint managers is amazing. The behaviour exhibited by Motorpoint managers directly impacts the customer service that their staff deliver. To hear some of the inspirational stories regarding employee engagement and to feel that I am able to contribute to their passion and commitment is incredibly rewarding.

Motorpoint is a living example of what makes a company great. Investing in both managers and staff alike has made Motorpoint a real business success story. You get what you pay for when it comes to training staff. Motorpoint is a living example of the benefits of delivering quality training and development and I am pleased to be part of that story (even in a very small way!).