Walsall MBC

Town Hall

Coat of Arms

Mayor takes Salute

CLIENT ASSIGNMENT:  Management Development & Capacity Building

Duration: 2 Years

Location: Walsall, West Midlands

EiB Role: Management Development

Project Overview:

The Council identified the need to embrace a programme of transformational change if it was to achieve its aspirations of becoming an 'excellent' authority.  The senior management team recognised that transformational change could not be achieved without strong and focused leadership.  Every manager and supervisor would need to become an advocate and catalyst for change, if the programme was to be a success.  For many managers, this meant equiping them with a new skill set that would allow them to drive the authority forward.

The Council was looking to appoint a firm of management development specialists, who could design and deliver a bespoke; innovative; engaging and enjoyable management development programme, which would be recognised as best in class and clearly aligned with the Council's aspirations to be an 'excellent' authority. EiB were selected as the Council's principal delivery partners with a specific focus on supporting the managing change workstreams within the Management Development Programme.

We designed all of the change management related modules to reflect the Council's requirements; agreeing the core content with the HR Department and management team; developing the training materials, pre-course work and delivery methodology; and delivering the modules over a two year period.

As part of the design, we underpinned the management development modules with a programme of mentoring and coaching.  We also organised shadowing opportunities with some of our other client organisations to help share good practice and reinforce some of the key learning points.  The entire focus of our approach was built on 'learning in action' rather than in the classroom.  This enabled managers to quickly apply new skills in the workplace, as a result ensuring the effective transfer of skills and embedding the learning within 'the day job.'

Project Outcomes/Impact:  

1. The development of bespoke Management Development Programme with specific change management modules, to address the Council's transformational objectives; and become an 'excellent' authority.
2. Management development training provided to all key senior, middle and front line managers over a period of 24 months.
3. 98% of managers were satisfied or very satisfied with the content, delivery methodology and relevance of the training modules.
4. In 2008, Walsall Council achieved a score of 3 out of 4 under the CPA 2005 'The Harder Test' inspection process.

CONSULTANCY SERVICE LINKS:

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT LINKS:

CONSULTANT LINKS: