Overview

The Royal Mail wanted to involve over 1000 HR staff in a three day developmental event. It was the first time they had embarked on an event of such a scale for their HR community.

The brief

To help co–design and deliver a learning event which will deliver core personal development skills in a way which engages, surprises and inspires people. Something a bit different!

The design process

Wizard Toby Rhodes worked closely with clients Jo Allerston and Tricia Raymant to design a programme which would achieve their objectives and exceed expectations of the participants.

“I think the success of the project was largely down to the fact that Toby really listened to us, gave plenty of creative suggestions and unlike some consultants or third parties didn’t fight us or push us into doing something we didn’t feel was right. Instead he patiently worked with us to find solutions that met our objectives 100%.”

Jo Allerston
Service Manager
Royal Mail

Delivering the event

The project team (Jo and Tricia from the Royal Mail and Toby from the Wizards) decided to offer a menu of very different transformational workshops, repeated over three days and each addressing a key developmental area associated with the Royal Mail leadership framework. Each session was presented by different members of the Wizards Network. Participants could attend the workshops which most appealed.

Authentic influencing – horse whispering

Learning how to ‘whisper’ means that you no longer need to shout. Horse Whisperer Harriet Worthington demonstrated how gentle power and being authentic can be the most effective approach to influencing behaviour.

Why sharing your ideas is good for you – comedian

Improvisational comedian Simon Strong brought ideas from the advertising industry, performance skills and a study of human behaviours to help staff work and share more creatively with colleagues.

Presenting with impact – voice coach

Voice and performance coach Paul Ogden shared tips and techniques to help everyone who uses their voice at work.

Perceptions, truth and reality – insights from the Met

Former Met Police officer John Wilson showed how everyone perceives things differently, even when observing the same thing. Understanding this will help staff fine–tune observation, listening, questioning, recording, and communication skills.

Taking a Chi Break

Tai Chi master Angus Clark helped participants establish a ‘chi–break’ culture – integrating refreshing moves into people’s busy days.

The art of flirting for business success

There’s much more to flirting than batting your eyelids. Nicky Moran lead this fun and insightful workshop designed to teach the skills of flirting as a valuable and positive tool, making it easier to negotiate, collaborate with clients and inspire others.

The secrets of charisma

Wizard Rachel Turner helped staff discover how to put more zing into themselves and how to engage their teams.

Sheer brilliance

Val Schuch introduced simple but transforming ideas to help individuals be at their best and make the most of what matters.

Dealing with conflict

International conflict mediator Krish Raval helped participants learn how to work with others who do not share the same views in order to achieve a positive outcome for individuals and for the organisation.

Tools for improving performance

Toby Rhodes introduced a practical framework for the analysis of performance problems, and provided a systematic approach to improving performance at work.

“The sessions were fun, interactive and really got people moving around. They were also short enough to enable participants to sample many different learning experiences.”

The result

“Participant feedback has been extremely positive. They really enjoyed the fact that the sessions were a refreshing and memorable way of learning. They learned new skills such as how to look at things differently and the high energy generated has been very contagious! It was very satisfying to see people outside of their normal environment and comfort zone enjoying activities such as horse whispering. Longer term, we hope that the skills learnt will have a positive impact on the workplace as well as enriching their personal lives.

Our HR Director is an accountant so is very focused on whether activities and training offers value for money. He was blown away by the Wizards involvement. This is largely because:

• The Wizards found a unique way to bring a large number of people together
• They were flexible and offered a broad mix of sessions to meet a large number of developmental objectives
• Participants left with tangible changes of behaviour – such as improved presentation skills, more reflective approaches and practical skills to improve their performance, general behaviour and attitude, not just at work but in life too.”

Jo Allerston
Service Manager
Royal Mail

Any particular success stories?

“One particular participant attended the presentation skills workshop. The following day, he was invited to a meeting with a colleague. The participant asked his colleague whether he could do the presentation himself in order to try out his newfound skills. It was the first time he had presented and the fact that he had the confidence and motivation to immediately take himself out of his comfort zone and apply the new skills was proof that the event had really made an impact.

Another said that she found the flirting workshop a real revelation and looked forward to implementing her new skills in the workplace!”

Jo Allerston
Service Manager
Royal Mail