The Challenge
Having interviewed over 40 potential candidates, Sefton Council were not satisfied that any of the interviewees had either the knowledge or skills to meet their organisations mission and values. The candidates did not appear to match the developmental / coachable mindset, or behaviours required to maintain and raise the standards of the customer experience expected at Sefton Council.
Having searched for a solution within the UK fitness industry, Excelsior was requested to create an internal academy, in order to develop new recruits and existing teams. This would enable Sefton to advance their staff, and offer them career progression, whilst also recruiting and developing new people on to the team.
The Solution
Excelsior was commissioned to design, create and implement a bespoke learning pathway for Sefton Council, establishing a successfully run in-house academy.The work conducted by Excelsior took Sefton Council on a journey of self-exploration, looking in detail about why their organisation exists, who it supports and what exactly they stand for. Excelsior embedded Sefton’s own values and missions into the education, training and development practices. This enabled their teams to be able to instruct, teach, interact and engage with members, in the correct way, to create a unique, and valued customer experience.
The Result
By forming the academy with Excelsior, Sefton Council has seen a positive impact on it’s organisational culture over the two years it has been in operation. There are now defined and additional career pathways for staff to follow as they develop into qualified teachers, and deliver education for the internal academy.
We chose to follow the pathway of being able to offer both qualifications and continuing professional development to our own teams and external customers. The academy not only fulfils our need for improved qualification delivery, both internally and externally but it has been a welcome revenue stream for our portfolio. This has enabled us to not only recoup the set-up costs; it has also created the platform for a profit centre for the foreseeable future.
We can now see the confidence and competence of our teams growing, especially as we find and recruit people who we develop, to our standards, following our values and our messaging.
— CHRISTIAN PORRINO,
SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT SEFTON COUNCIL
