CLIENT STORY: From learning to leading. Crafting a Management Essentials Toolkit for Busy Recruiters.
The Recruitment Employment Confederation (REC) is a beacon in the realm of recruitment, and serves as the guiding light and professional body for those working in the industry.
Established to uphold excellence, the REC endeavours to equip recruiters with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive, driving standards and empowering recruitment businesses to build better futures for their candidates and themselves. Central to this mission is the provision of specialist legal advice, setting professional standards, and the provision of qualifications and training for an industry, which contributes nearly £43 billion to the UK economy.
THE CHALLENGE.
REC approached us with a pressing challenge: to redesign their most important leadership development course: their Management Essentials workshop. A recent review of their entire training and qualifications offering had highlighted an opportunity to bring some of these materials up to date. Of a very long ‘To Do’ list, the number one priority? Their Management Skills offering was their number one - with a desire to ensure that they were not only fit for purpose in the current climate, but also reflective of the latest research, trends and best practice in the realm of leadership development.
The mission was clear—to create a dynamic, contemporary programme that not only addressed the foundational aspects of management but also provided practical tools and strategies for the real-world leadership challenges they would face. The revamped 2-day course would empower recruiters transitioning into management roles, offering insights and skills crucial for success in their leadership journey. In essence, providing them with a robust, diverse and practical toolkit of resources to take them through the first 12-18 months of their new or expanded management responsibilities.
Challenge accepted!
DESIGNING THE PROGRAMME.
Understanding the ‘big’ picture, and the ‘nuts and bolts’.
Crafting an engaging and transformative learning experiences is one of our happy places, so this was a challenge we relished. However, before we ‘hit the books’ the first thing we did was take a moment to think about the entire learning and career development journey for these busy recruiters. Making sure that the revamped Management Essentials programme would fit absolutely seamlessly into, not only REC’s existing training and qualification offering, but also a recruiter’s professional development journey, was at the heart of how we wanted to approach things.
Working in collaboration with REC considered the key milestones and challenges for recruiters during their career, and brainstormed a long wish list of the knowledge, skills and attributes that they would need at each point - and how this mapped on to REC’s full training and qualifications offering. With this groundwork done, the priorities for the revamped Management Essentials programme became crystal clear….
‘Hitting the books’.
With the design specification clear we ‘hit the books’. The current content was relying on some older styles and ways of thinking about management and leadership so we were absolutely resolute about the need to bring the content in to the 21st Century. Hitting the books, we conducted extensive research to identify the latest evidence-based practice and insights in leadership development, with particular consideration for how they would apply to the specific challenges faced by recruiters stepping into management roles.
‘Getting our design on’
For our busy recruiters, two days away from the office is not a decision taken lightly, so not only pulling together high impact content, but creating a memorable learning experience was absolutely mission critical…
Curating the course content. Based on our findings, we curated the course content to align with contemporary leadership theories and practices, with specific focus on models, tools and techniques that would be simple to use, easy to remember, and that would intuitively build upon each other throughout the learning journey.
Crafting the learning experience. Known for our ability to create immersive, interactive and engaging learning experiences, we plan our workshop content as a ‘journey’ or adventure that we take people on. From when someone arrives, to when they depart - we map the challenges, the connections and the insights (and even the post-lunch energy dips), to create a unique experience from beginning to end.
Building the toolkit. We love a good theory or model, but when it comes to course creation then accessible and easy to use is at the heart of how we do things. To support our busy recruiters on their leadership journey, materials were created to not only support the learning experience during the workshop, but to act as a reference guide that could be drawn on for many months to come. In practice this means a toolkit with all of the course content included, supplementary information on each topic and suggested further reading, as well as templates, checklists, additional self-reflection exercises, and guidance for activities with their teams.
THE RESULT.
The redesigned Management Essentials launched to rave reviews from participants and stakeholders alike in the Summer 2019. Feedback highlighted the relevance and applicability of the content, as well as the engaging delivery format. Participants reported feeling better equipped to navigate their new management responsibilities, armed with practical insights and tools.
Mission accomplished! Working in partnership with the Recruitment Employment Confederation, we transformed an outdated training programme into a dynamic learning experience. By marrying cutting-edge insights with interactive delivery methods, we empowered recruitment professionals to thrive as effective leaders in a fast-paced, evolving industry landscape.
WHAT NEXT?
As hoped by REC when we started this journey, the Management Essentials course is now an integral part of their training and qualifications offering, which runs as an open course several times a year - often still facilitated by Psychology Works Chief Business Psychologist, Maria Gardner.
In addition….
Adaptation for Online Delivery.
Whilst hugely popular, and even with regional in-person delivery offered across the UK, and options for in-house workshops, it became apparent that there was a clear and growing need for virtual delivery.
Working in partnership with the in-house training team, we reviewed and optimised the content for virtual engagement. Leveraging interactive platforms, virtual breakout rooms, and multimedia tools, we kept the emphasis on maintaining an immersive learning experience accessible from anywhere, at any time.
Diversifying the toolkit: LinkedIn, social media strategy and personal branding.
One of the unique challenges for managers within recruitment is that they often also retain responsibility for significant personal billing targets, even once they take over responsibility for leading a team. So, to help build out their toolkit further, REC approached us to assist with the revamp of additional workshops:
LinkedIn Masterclass
Social Media Strategy and Personal Branding
(We love a good sequel!)
Find out more…
If you would like to know more about leadership development or the services Psychology Works offer in this area, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In the meantime, why not check out some of our other blogs and thought pieces. For real time updates and insights you can also find us on LinkedIn, our social media platform of choice: @PsychologyWorks and @mariagardner
The encore.
Love a case study and still wanting more? If so, then why not check out these other client stories, articles and thought pieces on leadership development and building a Manger’s Playbook….
