The Coaching Special Interest Group was delighted to welcome Damian Palin (Training and Development Manager) and Sarah McCormack (Regional Training Manager) from Iceland Foods in Deeside to speak at our group in Chester in May. The evening provided us with a clear insight into a culture change programme, that had coaching at its core.
Following the successful recovery of Iceland after being bought back from The Big Food Group, they wished to move away from a directive style of leadership to more coaching and participative style. With over 18,000 staff and a small in house training and development team, this was a challenge they were very determined and energised to see through. Applying a combination of enthusiasm for the challenge and working with an external industry expert they produced a highly effective programme.
External industry research indicated that most managers did not spend enough time coaching their staff, however their staff valued this kind of support most highly. This was a view that was also mirrored within Iceland. To maximise the impact on the organisation key managers were chosen for the programme that could most influence a coaching culture, typically managers of managers.
The design of the course revolved around a coaching definition of ‘an action-orientated partnership focused on measurable results’. They used simple models and practical tools as part of the training that could be easily applied in the Iceland workplace. Professional branding & materials were used to support & follow up the programme, to further embed learning, such as key-rings, ‘on the job’ workbooks and branded coaching bags. The content of the coaching training was endorsed by the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management). This helped to give a professional edge to the programme and raised the profile of coaching internally.
The actual course consisted of a two-day workshop with pre and post-course work. It included the Lifestyle Inventory (LSI), practical exercises including coaching exercises around real life scenarios, constructive 1:1 feedback as well as a knowledge test. Coupled with stakeholder buy-in at all levels, the course could only ever be successful!
Success measures were very important and specific feedback was gathered in detail after the managers had completed their training programmes. In many stores, KPIs improved significantly, with one notable example of KPIs increasing by 65%. Many positive business changes were recorded at store level and many ‘non-measurable’ changes also occurred such as the ‘language change’ of managers as they began to coach their staff more effectively.
That specific programme may have ended, however Iceland continue to follow up and reinforce this key management skill throughout their current training initiatives which are incorporated into the overall HR plan.
To hear about this case study proved to be highly enlightening for the Coaching SIG audience. It was wonderful to hear of a practical case study with such successful and measurable results. As we all milled around at the end, the over-riding impression was highly positive and we are very grateful that Damian and Sarah gave up their valuable time to be with us and share their ongoing success story. Interestingly enough, Iceland Foods continue to buck this current recessionary trend. To those of us ‘in the know’ who love coaching so much, there is no surprise and we’d undoubtedly link their ongoing success to their belief in the power of coaching!
Jenny Johnson, M.D., Red Rocks Consulting Limited