Client Case Study - Health Care

The Company

A UK Division of an International Health Care Company – specialising in treatments for blood pressure and diabetes conditions. Their service offering is targeted at General Practice, Primary and Regional Health Care Trusts and Hospital Consultants / Surgeons. They are part of an internationally known group of companies and with net sales of 30 Billion Euros are able to boast renowned brand names on the world stage.

The Need

A mixed team of Regional Business Managers (RBM’s) and Regional Development Coordinators (RDC’s) who were responsible for some 300 Medical Consultants across the UK required a set of practical tools and skills to help them manage and coach their teams more effectively.

The Health Care Company had a great development culture, with its own internal training department and supporting infra structure; however it was felt that the RBM and RDC Teams would benefit from more practical management tools to help them in their daily duties.

The team was very diverse in age and experience and although highly qualified were predominantly in their early to mid thirties and had risen through the ranks very quickly.

This meant that some of the more important management and commercial responsibilities were being overlooked in favour of more “comfortable,” tasks which the managers had previously been undertaking in their more junior roles and there existed a tendency to gravitate back to these – with the knock on effect this had on performance by their teams.

It was recognised by the client company at board level that the RBM’s and RDC’s were doing a good job but that their enthusiasm needed to be directed more towards “managing” rather than “doing”.

Action

A Coaching and Mentoring Development Programme was developed and delivered - having first undertaken some significant, in-company, needs analysis research. This research involved exhaustive interviews with many of the individuals within the teams as well as detailed discussions with the RBM’s and RDC’s and Client “Customers.”

This work, combined with the input by the Client’s Directors and the internal Client Training Department meant that the programme delivered was topical, appropriate and relevant to this specific team of Managers and Coordinators. It also meant that the areas covered supported and complemented the range of programmes already being delivered internally as part of the RBM / RDC development and business plans.

Results

During the programme, there was extensive role play and case study work which meant that RBM’s / RDC’s were able to get very comfortable in using the techniques delivered – within the safety of the training room.
Managers were also able to apply many of the ideas (in confidence) to many individuals within each of their responsibility. This provided for valuable discussions to take place and enabled managers to “fast-track,” many situations they might encounter over a typical management career. This built a great deal of learning and confidence across the whole team.

Because of the open nature of the business, many of the managers decided to show their own teams the outputs from their own individual character assessments following the programme. This helped demonstrate clear management commitment and built even more of a team culture for their individual areas.

Directors reported that the programme has delivered a very measurable benefit to their business and that this is an ongoing process. They report that managers are far better able to delegate, motivate and coach their teams using the ideas developed on the modules and that the implementation support received by the client company before, during and after the programme has ensured the RBM’s and RDC’s continue to use the techniques and have adopted them into their way of working in their Senior roles.

Directors have estimated an increase in bottom line profitability as a direct result of the programme and have commented on how RBM / RDC enthusiasm is rubbing off on others they manage within the business.

Very quickly RDC’s and RBM’s have bought in to the new way of working – which has capitalised upon their experience and expertise while at the same time, “stretched,” their ability to manage their teams.