Last week we launched the new website for our professional training business, Arnold-Kurtis Training. With c.1,500 views, many “Likes” and great comments on the LinkedIn post, we were overwhelmed with the positive feedback. Thank you all!
There were a couple of direct messages from long-standing friends and ex-colleagues who questioned the timing of the decision (“why would you launch a new company just as we are going into recession”). A reasonable question and genuine concern which is much appreciated. In order to explain the rationale behind the announcement last week, I thought it’s better to put a blog together, so here goes…
As some of you may know, training has been a large part of my career, predominantly within employment or consultancy contracts. So although most people know me as a Marketing/Business Consultant, I have also been delivering training courses for over 20 years. The only difference is the decision to scale it up under a new brand and website, hence the birth of Arnold-Kurtis Training!
What’s more, having researched the market extensively, business professionals are tired of “same old” training courses and a) they favour our approach of bespoke, sector-specific programmes but also b) there is demand for new courses inc. Mental Health at Work, Employment Law Basics, Trading with the EU after Brexit and many others which our new partners will be delivering (watch the website for updates in the coming weeks).
It is well documented that during times of financial crisis, from the Oil Crash in the 1930s to the Lehman Brothers recession in 2008, there have always been business opportunities to explore. Just this year, Netflix doubled their subscribers during lockdown (up by 16m globally) and coffee machine sales have gone through the roof.
Of course, professional training and personal development should never be a fad or a temporary commercial opportunity. By the same token, it is myopic to consider investing in people only during growth/expansion times. Companies with a long-term plan invest in people development continuously, as they appreciate the value of a loyal, skilled and flexible workforce.
What is happening at the moment, as UK companies adjust to the “new normal” and markets consolidate, serious players still plan for growth but in a more sustainable, efficient way. Managers consider what the end of furlough scheme will mean for their future HR plans and individuals feel the need to strengthen their CVs and employability prospects.
We recently had an example of a client in the financial services sector with a large team of Account Executives handling mainly inbound customer-care calls. With their outbound sales team not able to book and conduct face-to-face appointments and with demand for their services decreasing, they quickly realised that they needed to restructure the entire sales team making them slick, flexible and able to multi-task whilst working remotely. They needed to train the Account Executives to be able to make outbound calls with the highest calibre employees asked to make online demonstrations and closing sales. An intense programme of Sales Training (inc. telesales, negotiation skills and presentation skills) was put together based on the specific requirements of the financial services industry and our customer’s needs.
Another client in manufacturing found themselves in a situation where they were forced to reduce their operations team by 30% and in the process, they lost some experienced team leaders. So they contacted Arnold Kurtis Training with an urgent requirement to re-structure and upskill existing staff with the view of promoting from within. In the words of the HR Director: “I need Dave who has been one of the lads for years to be able to manage a team, conduct appraisals and attend meetings with senior management; and fast…”. We were able to react quickly, running our successful “Supervisory Skills for New Managers” course adapted to the client’s industry and specific business requirements.
In short, every obstacle is an opportunity and now more than ever companies need multi-skilled, adaptable employees to help them improve efficiency and pull through the looming recession and grow again in a sustainable way.
Find out more about our Sales Training programmes and our Soft Skills/Management Training courses or contact us for an informal discussion.
Thank you again for your support and I hope to see you all again soon!
Christos Kottis
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