Kensington Consulting
Specialists in recruitment for the additive manufacturing industry
“Kensington Consulting is a company with ambitious plans, and we understand that developing our team is important if we want to reach our business objectives. We’re thrilled with the CMI programme that we undertook at Edge Hill University, and as a result we have implemented new tools and processes that aids the employee’s training and development, whilst simultaneously upskilling the management team.
We would recommend Edge Hill University’s CMI courses to any business looking to develop and grow.”
Ellé Chew – Head of Marketing and Training
CMI Management and Leadership Qualifications – benefits and impact
- Introduced management and leadership skills within the team to help support the organisation’s growth strategy.
- As a direct result of the CMI course, a coherent competency framework and induction training plan was devised and successfully implemented.
- The team has developed the confidence to take new ideas through a repeatable process to reflect, challenge and eradicate risk before refining and implementing them into the business.
- Built resilience by embedding new coaching methods and management styles.
About the business
Kensington Consulting Ltd are a Chorley based specialist recruiter in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. Headed up by Phillip Hodson, Managing Director, their senior level of industrial experienced employees on board helps them to deliver dynamic consultive services and solutions.
The forward-thinking organisation was established over 15 years ago, and in that time, they have successfully devised two sides to the business: Kensington Consulting Ltd and Kensington Additive. Kensington Additive was established in 2014 as an extension of Kensington Consulting Ltd. Kensington Additive specialises in the recruitment 3D printing industry, many of their customers are based in North America and Europe. During 2019, an organisational restructure revealed new skills and attributes within the existing team and highlighted areas for training and development.
Building leadership and management capabilities
Tactical recruitment training had always been the organisation’s primary skills focus. However, it was always the intention to develop a more formalised internal training and development policy. COVID-19 brought a lot of uncertainty to the recruitment sector and many of the team were placed on the government’s furlough scheme. As difficult as this period was, it provided the Head of Marketing & Training, Ellé Chew with the time to focus on upskilling the team and for her own self-development. This was the perfect starting point to refresh internal policies and procedures and to also dedicate the time to planning and creating Kensington’s official training and development policy. Kensington Consulting Ltd was delighted to find Edge Hill University’s fully-funded CMI courses were available online. The range of CMI qualifications offered through the programme provided Ellé with the opportunity to upskill the team and develop the management and leadership capabilities within the organisation.
The CMI programme offered a perfect opportunity for Ellé and Managing Director, Phillip to continue with their own personal development. Ellé completed the CMI Level 4 and three other members of the team are currently enrolled onto one of the CMI qualifications. Phillip completed the Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership certificate and found contextualising models and sharing best practice particularly useful. The CMI training provided Kensington with the opportunity to bring dynamic tools, coaching methods, and new management styles to the workplace.
Outcome and impact
A vital part of Kensington’s growth strategy is ensuring that the team has the right skills and attributes to drive the business forward. During the CMI course, learners were provided with opportunities to engage with employees from other Lancashire-based SMEs via the online learning platform. This created valuable networks with other participants, in which they could share operational practice.
The successful completion of the Level 4 CMI qualification has been the driving force behind the new training and development policy that Ellé has created and embedded across the organisation. Ellé has devised a robust induction plan, which not only provides a clear onboarding structure for new staff to the business, but inspires employees to take ownership of their development through a clear and measurable pathway. The ambitious team at Kensington plans to continue developing management and leadership skills within the team to support the achievement of their growth objectives. Congratulations to the Kensington Consulting Ltd team from the all the staff at Edge Hill University’s Business School.