We are delighted that our strengths-based coaching programme that we designed and delivered with our clients Cumbria Police has made the shortlist for three major training awards! Cumbria Constabulary have been announced as finalists in the Training Journal Awards 2019 in the categories of; Best Coaching/Mentoring Programme, Best Engagement Programme, Best Public Service/ Not-for-Profit Programme
We love working with our clients and helping them achieve great outcomes with their teams. Our workforce development programme with Cumbria Constabulary developed the coaching skills in managers to have Chats That Matter® to transform the Performance Development and appraisal conversations. By focusing on what matters to someone, building on what is good and helping people see what they can do get things On The Up!
“Our old approach wasn’t treating our people like human beings!”
The Constabulary undertook a consultation with their staff 2 years ago and discovered what needed to change. “Our old PDR focused on performance and compliance. We knew it was failing and spent years trying to adjust the form to make the process work. We realised that the old approach wasn’t treating our people like human beings and was probably affecting performance in a negative way. The conversations we were having were being led by the form, so the focus was on ticking the boxes and not on the individual.” Tania Kirkbride, Blended Learning Manager Cumbria Constabulary.
“This has the potential to form the bedrock of policing!”
The constabulary wanted to help people Grow and Achieve by understanding them as people. and with a new People strategy, they applied our innovative coaching conversation tools and framework to change the PDR conversation. Superintendant Sarah Jackson, Head of People at Cumbria Police described how “We needed to fundamentally change the relationship between staff and supervisors, with a focus on individuals; their strengths, their health & wellbeing, resilience building and unlocking their potential through professional development. Now the force have this strength-based approach, these Chats That Matter® reguarly. Managers are helping officers to set their own goals and “Create a stretching development plan to find new ways to unlock their potential and performance.” As one sergeant told us about our approach, “This does have the potential to form the bedrock of policing in Cumbria and set the tone for a generation. It really is that crucial!” For people that are feeling disengaged, undervalued or even ‘burnt out’ this is a way to renew focus, develop realistic perspective and positive engagement with teams. It helps people who do important work every day feel valued and have a renewed sense of purpose and clarity, even when times are tough.
“This makes the difficult stuff easy to talk about!”
Our innovative coaching conversation tools engage teams and help to embed the approach. So what has really changed for Cumbria police? We make talking about “difficult things”, really easy and very normal” Says Supt Sarah Jackson. “The feedback from the 2 day sessions has been phenomenal. . 98% of attendees found the session useful and interesting, and the qualitative feedback showed an overwhelming support for our organisation framing conversations around the brilliance of our staff. There have been some real light bulb moments for many people who recognised the value of this approach is in helping people find their own ways to help themselves. This builds resilience in the longer term. as one manager described it was “By far the best and most stretching course I’ve ever been on! Thankyou.”
Having our client’s programme recognised by the Training Journal is a wonderful thing for both us and our clients. Helping police staff and officers keep doing the amazing work they do every day is just brilliant! We hope this work will carry on as we reach more organisations with this approach.
