How the Serocor Group transformed their Leadership with Business EQ
The guaranteed way to a change Leadership performance
It is a truism that most leadership and management programmes do not result in Team Leaders and Managers transforming their performance significantly.
Unfortunately, much of the management and Leadership training in the business world is “off the shelf”, tending to take a standard approach that does not focus on, or is bespoke to individual learning needs. This had been the case with the management training at The Serocor Group, a leading UK based Recruitment Company.
The Serocor Group wanted to make a change
The company had been recently voted in the top 50 recruitment companies in the UK, yet despite business success, industry accolades and great feedback from customers, the company had noted a steady increase in leavers and management issues.
The HR team and Directors recognised they had to make a positive and innovative intervention that would have an immediate impact and rectify the following issues:
Reduce attrition
Reduce misconduct and complaints
Drive performance
Increase efficiency
The EBW Solution
The HR Team were introduced to Paul Miller, a Certified EBW Global Partner who Serocor engaged to deliver a bespoke EBW Leadership Programme.
The EBW Leadership Programme focuses on empowering leaders to understand, and be able to take, personal responsibility for the critical emotions and behaviours (Business Emotional Intelligence) that impact on their own and others’ performance.
As part of the programme, each Manager and Director completed the EBW Assessment, which provided them with personal feedback on their Business Emotional Intelligence.
This enabled Paul to focus and support those individuals through the various practical exercises and tasks during the 3 month programme.
Each manager developed personal management plans that focused on understanding how people work and the impact they had on individuals in their team.
Following the EBW Programme, a number of the Directors engaged Paul as a coach to maximise their learning and development of their Business Emotional Intelligence and to ensure continued improvement in their personal performance.
What Participants Said:
“The Emotions and Behaviours at Work Programme has been a real eye opener for me. Even though I have been in a Team Leader/Managers role at ARM for around 5 years there have been some interesting hints and tips on how to manage my team more effectively."
The psychology elements to the training were particularly interesting as it enabled you to look at how you are perceived and how your mood can impact the productivity of your team. The training facilitator throughout the course has been brilliant and interaction within the group has been brilliant.
We learnt the importance of mentoring high performers as well as low performers rather than leaving them to it. I learnt that my mindset and individuals mindsets play a major part in being successful”
A huge reduction in personnel complaints
The EBW programme had an immediate impact with improved performance at all management levels. In the first full month following the programme, five out of six highest billers in ARM were managers who had attended the EBW Programme.
6 months after the programme completed, the HR Director reported a 75% reduction in personnel complaints that his team were having to deal with. Feedback suggested that this was because Managers felt more confident, and were better equipped to deal with difficult employees who were underperforming.
Managers report greater self awareness and understanding others by using the EBW Business EQ approach. Some common themes in the feedback were: “they have never had this before” and, “the EBW report provides the best and most useful information about themselves that they have ever had”.
The EBW reports have ensured that they continue to concentrate on the motivational drives and behaviours that have an impact on their teams’ efficiency and performance. The EBW programme also increased the capability of existing managers, and those who are seen as potential managers for the future. It has provided them with the tools, the skills, and the insight they need to successfully transition to their new role in management.
One of these potential managers spoke to the HR team prior to his appointment. On reading his personal EBW report, he recognised that he needed help and support with management, as he is very goal/financially driven rather than people focused. This type of insight is seen as a huge step forward for the business by the HR team, who recognise that it will reduce future personnel issues and increase efficiency.
Leon Howgill, Managing Director Corporate Services, ARM, said:
“Bringing together a new leadership team, one of my key drivers was to understand how we could get the best out of each other from an emotional intelligence angle. I’ve personally seen a real step change in my leadership team since we undertook the training, especially in how they engage with different levels of people within the team. We’ve also seen our time to excellence decrease which has resulted in positive impact to the bottom line.”
The change in management style, the engagement to drive efficiency and positive feedback from the individuals who attended the EBW programme has meant another of the companies in the SEROCOR group (Optamor) have engaged Paul to deliver EBW programmes to increase the performance of their managers and teams.
After this case study was being written, the value of EBW Business EQ was further recognised by the Senior Management team in SEROCOR and a Programme on EBW Leadership engagement was successfully undertaken.
