Situation

A UK Retail Travel subsidiary company had been sold by a global travel business and acquired by a Middle East concern.

The travel market had been under pressure for a number of years and the organisation required a major re-branding strategy.  It was considered that the UK management team required development to lead the business through the uncertainty and to develop the potential of its staff, identify talent and create a vision and concept for the subsidiary.

Our Work

Leadership Development. We established a year- long leadership development programme for both the Senior Management Team and the Middle Managers.  This ran concurrently, with the first and last session being joint to inculcate a top-down; bottom-up approach and dialogue between levels.

It was positioned as an aspirational programme for the middle managers, who not only needed to have reached their performance targets, be recommended by their senior managers but they also were interviewed.

For the senior team, it was to enhance their strategic approach and delegate greater operational decision-making to the middle managers.

The Senior Management Team development concentrated on Strategic Planning and Development, developing the team in terms of thinking outside the box and improving skills in financial management of an independent company as a national division of corporation.

For the middle managers workshops were held on improving sales performance through coaching; improving business acumen; importance of clear communication; basic management skills and situational leadership.

Results

Feedback was that we transformed the energy in the business! Previously those who had not applied for the programme were eager to be considered for the following year.  The senior management team transformed its strategic plan.  The intention is to roll-out a similar programme next year.