Some of the clients we've helped
British Airways
The Challenge
To develop the leadership and management skills of all first line staff across the organisation. The target group would be diverse and include baggage handlers, ticketing staff, as well as ground and cabin crew. The groups would be spread across four continents and would require consistent training and an internationally recognised qualification.
The Solution
Wolsey Hall designed and developed a blended learning programme comprising distance learning workbooks, classroom-based training and an outdoor, activity-based residential weekend, which led to a Certificate in Management Studies. The programme was validated by Oxford Brookes University.
The Result
More than 2000 BA staff completed the programme succesfully, including groups in Australia, India and the US. The programme resulted in a significant increase in the morale of staff and reduced staff turnover, as well as in the effectiveness of service provision across the organisation.
Shell Exploration and Production
The Challenge
To develop the leadership, communications and management competences of first-line and middle managers on North Sea oil platforms following the shortcomings revealed in the Pipa Alpha disaster of 1988 in which 167 offshore oil workers lost their lives.
The Solution
Wolsey Hall designed and developed a competence-based training and development programme blending classroom based training and distance learning. Assessment on the programme was against clearly defined management competences and required managers to provide work-based evidence of their developing competency against national standards.
The Result
Shell's own evaluation of the programme demonstrated that as a direct result of the training programme and the increased skill levels of the programme participants, Shell had made savings of £18 million. Not a bad return on investment!
The Civil Aviation Authority
The Challenge
To develop and deliver a management training programme which would cater for the diverse training needs of managers within the organisation, many of whom were highly qualified technical specialists in National Air Traffic Services.
The priority areas for management training within the CAA were at first-line management level. And the programme had to be delivered within an organisation where the culture, for obvious reasons, was highly risk-averse.
The Solution
The training solution for first-line managers within the CAA was a practical, skills-based management training programme. It combined distance learning with face-to-face workshops and was based on a proven management training programme customised to the requirements and culture of the CAA.
It was designed to cater for a wide spectrum of levels of ability and responsibility, including supervisory and technical staff who had begun to acquire managerial responsibilities.
The Result
A significant broadening of the skill sets of key first line managers. Those who had previously operated in a technical ‘box’ were enabled to take a much more rounded view of their management responsibilities, with the realistic prospect for some of reaching senior management levels in due course.
Lloyds TSB
The Challenge
To create a programme which would be suitable for junior managers in all functions within the bank, and who were based in all parts of the UK. A key deliverable was to understand and incorporate into the programme the developing culture of the recently-merged organisation.
The Solution
Before designing the programme Wolsey Hall took time to understand the cultural issues within the organisation and the different functional requirements of the different areas of the bank.
The blended learning solution that was agreed laid stress on participants developing a ‘Personal Development Journal’ (PDJ) as a key learning tool. PDJ reviews were designed to become an important focus at workshops and seminars as a means of sharing learning, development, and cultural issues across groups.
The Result
In addition to significantly improving management skills at a junior level, the resulting programme created a greater sense of cohesion within the bank and a broader understanding by participants of the very different key job roles within Lloyds TSB. Senior managers worked as mentors to numbers of individuals and believed that they too had benefited greatly from the outcomes.