Image via Wikipedia

Browsing through any number of training provider websites, you simply cannot avoid seeing solutions described as either tailored or fully bespoke.  Those words are everywhere and in many cases they are used to describe exactly the same thing.  Now, I’ve no doubt been guilty of this myself but it was only following a recent experience from a genuine tailor that I actually began to consider what their real meaning is and how as a training provider we need to clarify the difference.

For my 40^th birthday, I’d always promised myself a properly tailored suit.   An introduction to the excellent Boland & Banks (www.bolandandbanks.com) got things going and a few weeks later I was proudly sporting a fantastic looking new suit.  Was it, however, tailored or fully bespoke?  A quick look at the industry definitions might help us here:

“A tailored suit is cut, usually by machine, from an existing pattern, and adjusted according to the customer’s measurements,” while “a fully bespoke suit would be hand-made and the pattern cut from scratch, with an intermediary baste stage which involved a first fitting so that adjustments could be made to a half-made suit.”

That also neatly sums up the key differences between tailored and fully bespoke training solutions.  A tailored solution still requires pre-course consultancy to understand individual and organisational objectives, as well as the subsequent refinement of content to reflect these.   A fully bespoke solution on the other hand, would involve much greater analysis of the current requirement, followed by the design of a solution that includes completely unique content.

It’s also worth considering that Phoenix never charge for simply tailoring a course – it’s an essential part of any effective solution without which, relevance and results are impossible to achieve.  We do however charge clients for fully bespoke work, but equally, we are very clear on exactly what a client is paying for.  Our embedded consultancy approach, where we work on a client’s site, is a great example of this.

With such pressure on budgets, I would urge any buyers of training to think very carefully about whether they need a tailored or a fully bespoke solution and also to make sure that their chosen provider is accountable throughout the design process.

And in case you were wondering, my suit was tailored.  It still looks great and cost a lot less than the fully bespoke option!

Earlier this month I became one of the Mayor’s ‘pioneers’ and signed up to the London cycle hire scheme.  Paris’ ‘Velib’ has been a great success, but I never thought a similar project would materialise in London.  Then, in June, cycle hire stations sprang up seemingly overnight all over central London, and before I knew it, the scheme was up and running.

Unfortunately I ended up waiting 3 weeks for my access key to arrive.  I kept a mental note of all the times I could’ve used a hire bike in that time and was surprised how many missed opportunities presented themselves.  My key finally appeared on the 24^th August, and on the 25^th I headed for a docking station with the intention of cycling up to a client meeting in St Pauls.  I left myself 50 minutes to travel the 2 miles, and was glad I did.

The first docking station refused to release any bikes, the lights remaining resolutely red.  I headed for the next station and was relieved to nab the last remaining bike.  Riding to the meeting was joyous. I cycle six days a week, but these bikes are so far removed from what I’m used to, it was almost like being a beginner again.  The design and gearing encourages a sedate pace and I bumbled along just delighted to be in the saddle and not on the Tube.  In fact riding in a suit, with my satchel perched on front of me felt rather European. Thankfully the relentless traffic reminded me I was in London and not Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

The parking process punctured my enthusiasm though.  I’ve purchased Malcolm Barclay’s excellent ‘Cycle Deluxe’ app for the iPhone, and used it to find a station close to St. Pauls before heading out.  The app informed me that there were four spaces available.  Unfortunately by the time I arrived there were none.  A frantic ride around central London ensued and I visited a further five locations, each progressively further from my destination, before I finally found a free dock.  By the time I got to the meeting I was sweaty, stressed and unimpressed.

Unlike Paris, London’s bikes have not been equipped with locks, and although each half hour access period is free, keep a bike for longer – say the duration of a meeting, and things quickly become expensive.  I can see the logic in this, but if you can’t find a free bike dock then you have a problem.  One blogger reported finding a bike abandoned in the city this week, the (presumably wealthy) rider having abandoned it in frustration.

This is a fundamental drawback of London’s scheme, bikes are not being adequately re-distributed throughout the day, meaning that locations in central London tend to fill up in the morning and empty in the evening.  Fine for commuters, but the scheme isn’t really designed for commuters, and until they iron out this glaring issue I simply can’t risk taking a bike to a meeting.

It read like this -

“I am working for the French Business Schools since 2004, and I am in charge of helping some French students to find a company based in London for their UNPAID Internships.

There is NO fees, NO expenses for your company as it is a TOTALLY UNPAID Internship (We are covering ALL the expenses, There is NO Costs, NO Expenses, NO Fees for your company).”

Having read it a couple more times and briefly mulled over the potential of employing a French student, my rather cautious nature kicked in and I quickly dismissed the whole idea.

A few days later, a colleague and I were reviewing a recent meeting with our online marketing consultants.  We had been told in no uncertain terms that we needed to undertake a major piece of analysis before we could begin to implement a truly effective campaign. Of course, this analysis called for the one thing we’re in really short supply of right now – our time.  However, as the prospect of late nights and a weekend spent in the office loomed, my thoughts returned to that email.

There were a few raised eyebrows when I put forward the idea at our weekly meeting and I must admit that I was as sceptical as anyone at first. However, having done a bit of research I begun to warm to the idea and a few days after having declared our interest, we arranged a telephone interview with our prospective intern – Ms Chéryl Bourjac.  Chéryl, who is originally from Guadeloupe, was in her second year at the ISC Business School in Paris and needed to spend six weeks working for a UK based company as part of her degree.

Although the conversation was brief, I felt thoroughly reassured by her enthusiasm and agreed there and then to offer a six week internship at Phoenix.

Chéryl has now been with us for two weeks and her assistance to all parts of the business has been invaluable.  She has already completed the first stage of the marketing analysis and has impressed us all with her strong work ethic and attention to detail.  At the same time, her English is improving quickly and I’m sure that she is learning a lot from working in a company like Phoenix.

Overall, I’m delighted that we agreed to the internship and I would certainly have no hesitation in doing so again.  I think that the scepticism we have for such placements probably stems from the concept of work experience which here in the UK has always been associated with surly school children showing little or no interest in the job.  In Europe, “Internships” are viewed as a key part of many College courses and provide a valuable experience for both parties – which is exactly how we both feel now.   If your company gets a similar opportunity, do please try it – if it’s anything like our experience, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it works out.

I cycle all year round, I cycle to work, I cycle to the pub, to see friends, to the cinema. Sometimes I cycle just a few miles a day, sometimes eighty or more.  It’s an exhilarating pastime, but at times, a frustrating one.  When I first started riding a bike in London I was terrified.  I found driving in the City daunting enough, but on a bike, sharing the roads with cars, lorries and buses was like nothing I’d ever experienced.  Like many adults that turn to cycling, I hadn’t ridden since childhood, I knew nothing of bikes, of v-brakes, of rear derailleurs and bottom brackets; of chainwhips and star nuts.  I was uninitiated, confused and a little nervous.  I did almost everything wrong.  I bought the wrong bike, the wrong clothing, the wrong lock.  I couldn’t change gear properly, I couldn’t fix a puncture, I rode in the gutter and my bike handling skills were awful.  I was knocked off and knocked out by a black cab, I spent 4 hours in A&E, I had my top lip stitched back together.   I didn’t ask for help, but I wasn’t offered any.

Unfortunately this is the default position.  You buy a bike and off you go.  A good shop might give you a quick run down on the correct use of gears and brakes, might make some suggestions around what other kit you’ll need, many won’t.  Cycling is enjoying an unprecedented boom in London and the UK.  The big cycling chains have all opened new branches in London over the past few months and are reaping the benefits.  Yet I’ve never come across a shop that advertises what training and support is available, let alone offers any sort of training to their customers.  Of course this isn’t their job, but it wouldn’t hurt them to point out to new cyclists that there are resources available, and places you can turn to, places like the CTC?  These days even TFL have got in on the act, although they don’t make things particularly easy – requiring form filling and the (ever empty) promise that someone ‘will be in touch with more information.’

I gleaned my knowledge from trial and error, cycling forums, the inestimable Sheldon Brown (RIP) and manufacturer sites like Park Tool.  All very useful for understanding more about bikes themselves, less useful for understanding how to ride safely in a busy city like London.  This is where training would be invaluable.  Perhaps there’s an assumption among new cyclists that you don’t need to learn how to ride a bike in a city environment, that training is somehow unnecessary, or only for children.  Or perhaps they simply aren’t aware that there is help out there if you can take the time to look.  Sadly the lack of training usually results in people riding badly, something I see every day, whether its scattering pedestrians as they ride blithely across busy zebra crossings; risking death by riding on the inside of buses and HGV’s; cycling in the dark with no lights or reflectives or cruising through red lights.  The vast majority of these cyclists seem totally unaware of the potential consequences of their actions.  It’s this that I find so frustrating.  Not only are they endangering themselves and others, but their basic lack of ‘cycle-sense’ does nothing to encourage harmonious relations between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.  I’m sure much of this poor cycling stems from a ignorance, a lack of skills and perhaps a lack of confidence, all things that effective training always looks to address.

I’m not advocating compulsory cycle training, but perhaps if the cycling industry, government and local authorities were a little more vocal in promoting training we could reduce accidents and fatalities and ultimately encourage more people on to two wheels?

Written by James Ashburnham – Relationship Manager

As I write this blog I feel slightly embarrassed that after nearly fifteen years of running my own business, today was the first time that I attended a networking event.  I have been to conferences and seminars but not an out and out networking event.  I have to say that I have always been a bit dismissive of the idea of going to such an event.  My impression of a networking event was of lots of people all selling their products and services at each other.  I now realise that networking events could be like that but also could offer a lot more to those who attend.

The event I attended was hosted by the Southwark Chamber of Commerce.  When we arrived we were greeted positively and encouraged to grab a cup of tea or coffee and “mingle”.  At this point I thought “here we go” small talk time and was quite pleased to discover that there didn’t appear to be anymore tea available so I quickly made myself busy seeking out some more.  However, once the tea had arrived and my fellow tea drinkers and I started to introduce ourselves and chat, I realised that it is the small talk that gets it all going.  Lots of people find small talk a little awkward, talking to those that you don’t know can often be difficult.  The networking event environment actually helps you here.  The fact that you don’t know anybody means that you have to dive in.  There appeared to be a collective sense of “well we’re here so we might as well talk”.  I suppose that is obvious and seasoned networkers would understand this.  After a short period we were invited into a dining room where breakfast was to be served.  A sit down breakfast, again not what I was expecting, I thought a bit of mingling, few cups of tea, breakfast with those who you came with and go!

As my colleague, James and I entered the dining room, I decided that there was no point sitting next to him, so I headed to the other end of the table and found myself sitting at the head of the table, a chair others had avoided I think.  First good decision:  don’t sit next to your colleague, it is comfortable but limits your networking options.  I found myself next to a guy called Tony and a lady called Chica without going into detail, they worked for very different organisations.  I soon got into the swing of introducing myself to others around my end of the table but the Chair of the Chamber of Commerce also asked everyone to formally introduce themselves in turn to everyone round the table.  People took their chance to make a good impression and it gave everyone a chance to identify who they might want to have a chat with at some point.  The Chair of the Chamber welcomed us all and reminded us of what the Chamber was all about and it made me start to think about other benefits of this type of event.

The dining room created a very open environment that encouraged conversation and the attendees were taking their chance.  Chica and I did have a chat about training and our roles in the organisations we worked in but actually the bulk of our conversation was about the changing face of South London.  Tony gave me some ideas about how we might go about printing up some training documents and manuals, which was food for thought at the very least.  OK, I didn’t make the deal of the century, James seems to have made more progress in that department.

I did leave with the feeling that I would certainly attend such an event again and felt that somewhere along the line these conversations and contacts will lead to something.  That something may be some training being sold but it also might mean when I do need some printing, some financial advice, a new business property or a self portrait for my office, I might know just the person to contact.  So I now view these events as not just about promoting what we do, they are also about finding out what others do and how they do it.  Overall, I think the message is “don’t underestimate the networking event”.  Make the most of them not only as way of promoting your business but as a way of creating a support network to draw upon.

Foot note:  one day after this event somebody booked onto one of our Introduction to Sales courses as a direct result of a conversation had at the event.  So I am now even keener on networking events!

Written by Bill Osmond – MD

As Phoenix continue to grow steadily, having recently taken on another full time trainer, we decided that now would be a good time to review our existing office and training space and explore the possibility of moving into somewhere larger.

The recession has led to a surplus of office space in central London and we thought that there would be a good chance of securing a long term lease at a bargain price.  What’s more, we were sure that London’s lettings agents would be falling over themselves to convince us of the value of their properties and how they would be just ideal for a training company with our particular needs.  Sadly, our experience of the latter could not have been more different.

Now, I know estate agents are an easy target but I can assure you that this isn’t yet another dig at the profession as a whole.  It is however designed to expose the lack of basic sales skills that those we met displayed, and to reinforce how critical it is to have the core skills in place before you can even hope to sell in today’s tough markets.

On arriving at the first potential office, we were left hanging around for 15 minutes before the agent finally arrived.  We’re all late on occasions and there may well have been a good reason, but the very least we could have expected was a call to manage our expectations.  Every week, I’m amazed by sales people who think that it is acceptable to turn up ten, fifteen or even thirty minutes late without so much as a phone call.  It’s not, and in most cases you’ve lost the sale before you’ve even begun.

Nevertheless, we’re still keen buyers so, on this occasion, the agent’s transgression will be forgotten if he can really convince us of how this office space will work for us.  On first inspection, it all looks pretty good – modern, stylish and in a great location – but we just couldn’t visualise where the training room would go, mainly because the whole space was still a shell.  We turn to the expert for inspiration, but he’s actually walked away to the other side of the space to take a mobile phone call, and is merrily chatting away oblivious to us!  The moment is lost.  On finally regaining his attention, his answers lack conviction and we’re left totally unconvinced by the potential of the office.  On reflection, the phone incident, though scarcely believable, was hopefully a never to be repeated mistake; however, from a sales perspective, the lack of expertise was even more worrying and is actually very common indeed.  If you’re going to sell anything – property, software, pharmaceuticals, even training services – you must know all there is to know about your product or service and be able to relate this knowledge to your customer.

Despite our initial experience, we were still in the market for a new office, so headed off to view another couple of options with high hopes.  Both agents were on time which was a good start and both had properties with real potential and yet, once again, simple mistakes were made that resulted in the collapse of the sale.  At the first, we were left abandoned in the office whilst the agent enjoyed some banter with the builders over the road!  With no one to ask about the details, how could we be expected to commit?  Just like our mobile phone friend, they demonstrated an unbelievable lack of interest in us.

The next and final viewing was going well, until the agent admitted that the landlord was not interested in the property as a whole and that he doubted he’d be willing to modernize the 1970’s décor in the common areas.  Now honesty is a real virtue, but by creating a picture of uncertainty and possible conflict with the landlord, he immediately lost us.  Potential customers want assurances and certainty before they commit, not vagueness and ambiguity.

You may think that I’ve exaggerated things here, but I can assure you these experiences are very real indeed and I’m sure they are repeated in sales situations in many different markets.  One final thing that struck me with all three agents, was that not one of them even asked us what we actually did – maybe they already knew, but it is this lack of basic questioning and interest in our business that meant we were never going to commit.    Maybe we just got a bad bunch who have got lazy, simply used to taking orders rather than actually selling, but in the current climate a return to the basics would go a long way to winning more business.

We’ve now given up the search for a new office, instead looking for a larger space at our current Leathermarket site run by Workspace.  What’s more, we’ve recently run some training events for their site managers to make sure that they properly engage with the customers and create a fantastic picture of what the office will look like once they’ve moved in. After all, it’s this image that will create the real desire in the customer to move in.  Simple but effective.

Oliver Osmond – Sales Director, Phoenix Training

Well, my last few weeks have felt like a real rollercoaster ride.  Eight weeks ago I was happily leading a successful team of sales managers, delivering financial solutions to the mass affluent market in Yorkshire.  Today, I’m sat in my new London office with my new colleagues enjoying excitement and challenge in equal measure and looking forward to a new chapter in my life, returning to a dedicated role in people development.  When asked if I’d like to contribute something to the blog my thoughts went back to a previous role – that of Induction Delivery Manager looking after the needs of around 3000 new hires for a large corporate. In particular my thoughts turn to two key areas.

Firstly, close attention to the emotional journey any new-hire is likely to go through is crucial to their success.  The on-boarding process needs to recognise that journey and help the new-hire celebrate and retain the emotional and motivational ‘highs’.  It also needs to anticipate and recognise the potential lows and help the new-hire deal with the associated emotional impact.  Having now been both recruiter and ‘recruited’ the experiences have, once again, put the different perspectives into sharp focus.  One thing is undoubted, both the hiring manager and the new starter have a common interest at the outset – success.  The question is what does ’success’ look like for both and are they similar?

The challenge this throws squarely in front of the hiring manager – ‘how do you have a generic on-boarding process that caters for the needs of individuals?’.  It boils down to one thing – know your people.  Not just your new-hire but those people you already have that are likely to be the key influencers in the individual’s early development.  Checking in regularly with you new-hire is crucial.  You need to pulse check motivation.  As managers we often correlate motivation with productivity.  What’s missed is the link – development.  In order to be more productive I need to develop.  A strong belief I have brought with me to Phoenix is that, in order to develop, individuals have to have to want to learn.  For new hires or ‘old hands’ or indeed anywhere in between, the effective manager will know how to motivate the individual.

This brings me to the second part of successful on-boarding of the ‘new-hire’.  That of being aligned with the company vision, goals and values.  I spent my first day in the training room with Bill (MD and trainer) observing Phoenix’s Essential Management open course here in London.  It re-affirmed the pre-hire belief that my own values and beliefs were aligned with that of my new employer.  Imagine if they weren’t!  And it’s not just being ‘told’ the company values – as a new hire it’s vital to see those values coming through in the behaviour of leaders, managers, peers and teams.  Again this confers a responsibility on the manager to explore the individual’s values and ensuring that those of the company are communicated in a way that demonstrates that ‘you’ve made the right choice’.

Having had my confirmations that I’ve made the right choice I’m now on the lookout for lots of work – ah, the power of motivation!