Bentley Motors has won a 2007 National Training Award for its creation of a new generation of managers at the company based in Crewe, Cheshire.
The awards are the UK’s Number One accolade for business, organisations and individuals who have achieved lasting excellence and success through training and learning. The Becoming a Bentley Manager (BBM) programme was designed, initially, by its own ‘Academy’ with nine candidates in mind. Judges felt that the Bentley programme was the best Management Development Programme that they had seen in a very long time. In the citation they noted: “What is significant is the coaching and support of line managers for the delegates attending the programme and the application of the work-based projects. “Judges believe that this programme has had a major effect in enabling Bentley Motors to develop managers from within the business to manage the almost doubling of the workforce. ”
Margaret Cheshire, head of People and Organisational Development, said: “The company needed to ensure that new managers could adapt quickly to the changes taking places. They had to be operational over a very short period of time and ensure efficient delivery of new models, along with effective management of their teams. ”
Bentley Motors has, since 2002, focused on the design, manufacturer and launch of Continental GT, Continental Flying Spur, and GTC models, as well as the exclusive Arnage and Azure.
“We believed we had the potential with the business, and were keen to provide opportunities internally for new managers to be promoted, but we had no formal structure to our management development, ” said Cheshire.
All nine candidates successfully completed the programme and went into their first-line managers’ positions (Zone Manager). A further eight programmes have now been run across all areas of the business with a total of 85 candidates successfully achieving their first-line manager position.
As the programme has been rolled out across the business, Bentley has seen senior managers showing increased commitment to the programme. Targets for internal promotions have been exceeded, with 77 per cent of 2006 management appointments made from internal applicants.
“We managed to minimise potential issues by taking candidates and their managers through an induction process to clarify content, the process and to answer any concerns, “ said Margaret Cheshire.
“We followed a partnership approach, having reviews with candidates and managers to ensure progress was being made and that candidates were getting the support and feedback they needed.
“The BBM programme has developed managers who can support their teams and the requirements of the business through a time of immense change and ongoing challenges.
“The programme has proved consistent enough to support business growth and adaptable enough to support a range of candidates. ”
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday December 13 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
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