freemans grattan holdings

apprenticeships - a case study

Overview

In partnership with digital retailer, Freemans Grattan Holdings (FGH), with a Bradford-based workforce of 750, we are delivering an apprenticeship programme which is distinctive in its approach and results, for learners and the organisation.  

A strategic review at FGH had highlighted concerns. The organisation recognised it needed to become more dynamic and agile in the face of significant market pressures, and address capability and talent gaps in the current and future workforce.

By engaging early with Azesta, we designed a management development programme together to excite learners, engage their teams and deliver for the organisation. A second cohort swiftly followed the successful pilot cohort; in total, 23 learners embarked on the programme and all but two, who are on maternity leave, have completed it.

Achievement

The outcome of the programme exceeded the expectations of FGH’s executive team, and Azesta’s innovation was praised by Ofsted. Our programme was unique in its experiential approach and the problems it continues to solve for FGH. It has given FGH a succession pipeline, changed employee perceptions of development opportunities, boosted confidence and increased collaboration across directorates.  

Ofsted awarded Azesta a grade of ‘Good’ with outstanding features at its first full inspection. We are about to start our third cohort of Level 3 learners and FGH has extended the programme to include their departmental managers, starting a Level 5 cohort in October 2020, further securing their talent pipeline. 

Strategy & Implementation

Extensive evaluation methods were employed to measure results. This included pre and post-programme skillscans and 360º behavioural analysis, qualitative surveys of all learners and line managers and detailed analysis of FGH’s data on internal promotion and staff retention.  

The metrics showed:

  • Workshop attendance of 91% 

  • Retention of 100% of learners 

  • 100% passed the end-point assessment, with 80% achieving a distinction and 20% a merit 

  • 13 of the 21 graduate apprentices have received promotion 

  • The question ‘How likely would you be to recommend the programme to a colleague’ received an average score of 9.8 out of 10 with a net promoter score of 100%. 

  • 100% of learners reported increased confidence in their skills and have moved to ‘competent’ from ‘not competent’ in at least eight key areas of their ‘skillscan’  

  • 95% significantly improved their scores in their second 360º review.  

Following the programme, learners’ managers immediately documented improvements in their performance and business leaders recognised a significant and positive impact on overall staff retention and the promotion-readiness of individuals.    

The Approach

Our objective was to build a programme which would result in an Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) diploma, meet apprenticeship standards and address organisational challenges. Importantly, we had to deliver it with the Azesta twist, making sure learners left energised and engaged.  

We blended e-learning with personal reviews, performance monitoring and goal setting. Learners enjoyed a series of activity workshops: creating models, taking part in team challenges and tackling real-life business issues.  

Our ten modules, co-designed with FGH expertise, covered key business functions, including human resources, finance, operations and project management and were delivered with the positive involvement of line managers. 

Apprentices were supported with coaching which reinforced the need to evidence and practise new skills, along with Azesta-designed workbooks and ILM’s interactive platform ‘Get to Gateway’ to embed the learning.

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Ofsted Report

Our colleague retention of junior and middle management is now very high and the skills and confidence of candidates has grown. … Our programme has facilitated greater networking within the business via project work, workshops and cross-functional coaching, all of which were key to the apprenticeship developed with Azesta.

| Scott Acklam, Head of Learning & Development, FGH

I wanted to carry out my role better and be prepared to take on a more senior position. The level 3 apprenticeship course showed me how to apply management models to my day-to-day work to gain the best outcomes. The course helped identify how I could get the best results out of myself and others.

| Fiona Ayres, FGH graduate apprentice

Apprentices are enthusiastic advocates of the distinctive and innovative experiential learning approach that underpins their apprenticeship. They benefit greatly from the growth mindset approach to learning and high-quality teaching methods used by their course facilitators. As a result, they are highly motivated and engaged in their learning.

| Ofsted April 2020 report

apprenticeships

take advantage of our innovative approach to management apprenticeships

I've worked with azesta in developing our Apprenticeship approach since December 2017. Their collaborative approach has ensured we are delivering a leadership development programme that meets both the ILM & apprenticeship criteria but also ensures a corporate look & feel. The delivery approach is interactive & highly experiential bringing the learning to life. The additional support for our learners away from the classroom has facilitated a strong transfer of learning into the workplace. Importantly our learners are enjoying their experience.

| Scott Acklam - Learning & Development Manager, Freeman Grattan Holdings