We have continually maintained a commitment to developing its employees to help everyone reach their fullest potential, dating back to its early origins. However, like many companies, training and development initiatives risked being somewhat ad hoc and highly dependent upon the ability of the individual line managers to correctly identify the training needs of their team members.
It was therefore agreed that the training and development initiatives should be centralised and given a more consistent and professional focus. The Academy is the end result of this rethink and the vehicle for all training and development initiatives within the company.
The Academy prospectus is held in electronic format on Intelligence, for access by all employees and also for speed and ease of update. In this way, managers and employees can all view the up to date content detailing the aims, objectives, target audience and content to assist with correct identification of training needs and selection of effective development solutions.
All our employees are automatically given membership of the Academy. The first experience of the Academy for all employees is inclusion on the induction programme. As part of the induction process you will have the opportunity to work with your line manager to undertake an assessment of your training needs against the competencies required for your particular role. These will then form the initial stage of your continuing personal development plan.
Following the induction, all training and development programmes begin with the Core Skills Development Programme. You may not need to complete all items under this Programme as you may have attended similar courses and developed these skills elsewhere, but this will be discussed and agreed at induction.
From then on, your training route will depend both upon your personal needs and the needs of the business. You might, for example, concentrate on acquiring advanced skills. You might embark on a course leading you towards professional qualifications, or you might follow one of the specialist routes. Many people will follow a development route, which contains a combination of the different routes available.
Whatever the requirements, you must discuss and agree these with your line manager. Although we have a policy of holding appraisal and development reviews at least annually, we actively encourage informal reviews on an ongoing basis with your line manager.
Any number of changes can happen within a period of a year, which may lead to the need for training and development. These might be changes in job role, amendments to or introduction of new legislation, or requirements driven by the business planning process, for example. Whatever the changes, please feel free to talk to your manager at any time.
Learning does not stop on obtaining a qualification. All learning will be enhanced by attending update courses. We also have a commitment to provision of internal core CPD courses and also subsidising external CPD courses. Each office has a local CPD Representative to assist with provision and coordination of local CPD initiatives from the CPD budget allowance.
Our Academy is designed to help everyone reach their fullest potential through an extensive and comprehensive training programme. As our company continues to expand, so will the Academy programmes to ensure that we fulfil the needs of all our people and all our businesses.
Everyone gets formal and informal feedback. We've found that ongoing, immediate feedback, delivered in an environment of trust and mutual support provides the most valuable opportunities for all employees at all levels to learn and grow. Your manager, colleagues, office mates, team members and Partners will all provide you with constructive feedback. And you are expected to coach and counsel others in return.
Our commitment to flexibility means that you can choose from a variety of programmes in the Academy designed to support you in realising your full potential:-
Knowledge Sharing Sessions
Regular Friday lunches given by experts from around the firm presenting on a variety of topical issues.
Designed to update employees on the large number of projects and development efforts going on within the firm, and to ensure new thinking and approaches are shared with colleagues.
These may range from formal projects, designed to further our understanding of key management issues, such as sustainability or capital allowances. To informal groups of employees from around the country getting together to exchange views and catch up on recent developments
Rider Levett Bucknall Academy - Training for the Future, Adding Value to our Business, Adding Value for our Clients