University Challenge: Rhema Group helps Cambridge University Press reach business goals through Leadership and Management

An ambitious global business expansion strategy across all areas of activity in Cambridge University Press set demanding goals for the publishers in English Language Training (ELT)- which accounts for over a quarter of the Cambridge University Press publishing sales revenue and over a half of all publications sold.

Rhema Group was asked to run a full-day session on Leadership and Managing Change for ELT publishers, as part of a week-long CUP conference.

In the context of a business which was established in the mid 1970s and within thirty years has become one of the world's leading publishers of ELT material, Rhema Group consultant Paul Anderson-Walsh facilitated a programme entitled  Leading in times of Change: The Intellectual and Emotional Journey  at a Senior Publishers workshop.

The programme covered the following three key issues:

• Empowering for A Change -Understanding Change and Our Role as Change Agents.
• Embedding Change Inside Out.  
• Engaging with Change Outside In.  

The workshop was designed to take participants on a journey from understanding emotional intelligence and leadership to engagement and transformation  via a Must Win Battles process.

Paul Anderson-Walsh says: “This was a programme created for this group to motivate them and equip them to play their part in the Cambridge University Press drive for further rapid expansion of global sales.”

“The value of the programme won excellent feedback from participants, with comments including “All was engaging, relevant and interesting with positive outcomes; lots to take away” ; “Excellent all round”; “ All fabulous, but leadership v. management was particularly resonant.

 

Rhema Group and Carbon 360 jointly supply important performance management and measurement benefits for radio technology market leader Sepura

The major benefits of introducing a Competency Framework to define performance measures for all staff roles, while also providing excellent online feedback about that performance, are being delivered to leading worldwide radio technology company Sepura Ltd by Rhema Group and strategic partner Element 78 – via its Carbon 360 software.

Established in its field for over 60 years, and employing over 300 people at its Cambridge headquarters, Sepura designs and develops digital radios for the Emergency Services, the Military and the commercial sector. It is unique in focusing solely on the provision of TETRA terminals as the global market is migrating to that specific technology. It has a global team of account managers and support engineers and a network of distribution partners supplying and supporting some 600 organisations in over 80 countries.

This year Rhema Group has assisted Sepura throughout a large-scale project to create a full competency framework, including competency descriptions for:

• Responsibilities
• Team Management
• Customer Satisfaction
• Problem-Solving
• Effective Communication
• Leadership.

It also involved achieving complete buy-in from managers and staff, and providing tailored training.

This was aligned with the installation of Carbon 360 as an easy-to-use, cost effective online 360 degree feedback solution, readily customised to meet Sepura’s individual requirements.

Rhema Group has also ensured that both Carbon 360 and the competency framework are fully integrated into the Sepura culture - this focuses on unrivalled customer service through building close relationships and investing in R&D to meet and exceed customers’ demands.

Rhema’s approach was to link the new Sepura competency framework to the existing managers’ competencies, the performance measures for the business and the Sepura Mission Statement. Standards were set at a high yet realistic level by focusing on the factors which differentiate “ the best from the rest”.

Consultant William Burton explains: “These factors can be observable skills, knowledge, demonstrated behaviours, personality traits or capabilities but need to be tailored to each organisation that uses them. Sepura has invested time and energy in ensuring the competencies they selected were exactly right for the business”.

The process Rhema Group has followed began with a full presentation of the competency framework creation process for all senior staff and everyone involved in the project. Other stages included:

• Creation of a Steering Group.
• Selection of the preferred Competency Development Process and checking c ompetencies against the Mission Statement.
• Allocation of relevant Competencies to Job Roles.
• Population of Carbon 360 with the Competencies, with Element 78 providing all the necessary training.
• A Pilot project and feedback from the pilot group.
• Briefing Sessions for all staff.
• Performance management training for all remaining managers, leading to understanding the importance of balancing performance requirements with satisfaction needs, agreeing relevant objectives, monitoring and measuring performance, giving and receiving feedback effectively.

Says Burton: “This is an important, demanding and well-rounded project which has brought together the complementary management development expertise of Rhema Group and the excellent Carbon 360 online appraisal system, to serve the performance-related objectives of an impressive client”.

Reed Business Information calls Rhema Group in for highly successful re-run of unique Editorial Academy

Wanting a practical and professional answer to the question How do you get creative, highly individualistic people to lead and manage teams consistently and measurably in a creative, subjective profession? Reed Business Information turned to Rhema Group- which then created and ran a unique, customised training programme entitled The Editorial Academy.

The success of the first Academy programme disproved the traditional assumption that creative professionals had to be allowed to concentrate on being writers, artists etc and could not be expected to be managers in any conventional business sense.

Two years on, and with the inevitable new generation of Editors in place on many publications, the world-class business to business publisher (over100 news and information products covering 18 sectoral markets) asked Rhema Group to return and re-run a full set of Editorial Academy sessions.

MD Jeremy Francis reports that feedback from participants has been overwhelming in its praise for the content, delivery and relevance of this unique programme for developing consistent, effective editorial leadership across a wide range of publications - covering areas as diverse as agriculture, healthcare, property, personnel, science, travel and TV. Again there has been strongly expressed appreciation from participants of Rhema Group’s exceptional understanding of the editorial process and the role of senior editors. The training has tackled and resolved many issues including the soft skills and behavioural issues involved in managing teams of journalists in both a hard copy and online environment.

The Editorial Academy programme involves 3-day modules involving senior editorial staff in small groups; it includes:

• Leading and Motivating Editorial Teams.
• Communicating and Managing Change.
• Building High Performing Teams.
• Developing People’s Potential.

The inclusion of 360 ° feedback provides valuable insights for participants which can be included in their Personal Development Plans.