The history of Winchester Cathedral can be traced back to the
seventh century. The legendary St Swithun is the Cathedral’s patron
saint and its heritage reads like a Who’s Who of English
history, from King Alfred the Great to Mary Tudor and Jane Austen.
But under the surface of this ancient place of worship is a modern
organisation of 100 staff and some 700 volunteers who keep
everything running smoothly for the 300,000 people who visit each
year.
Winchester cathedral was one of Mentor’s first
clients and Annabelle Boyes, the Receiver General, and Donald
Colquhoun, Head of Personnel and Training, turned to their Mentor
Specialist Consultant in Employment Law & HR, Wes O’Donnell,
when the Cathedral decided to implement a performance development
review (PDR) process.
“One of the great things about Mentor is the
depth and range of experience that clients can call upon. I put the
Cathedral in touch with Lucy Coombs, who specialises in this area,
to work with them to assess what the Cathedral needed to put in
place,” explains Wes.
Lucy met with Annabelle and Donald to
determine their needs and to plan a way forward. “Mentor is all
about helping organisations to be the best they can be.
Successfully introducing a PDR system across an organisation partly
depends on putting the right training in place,” says Lucy.
“I recommended a bespoke training plan
to cover not only the procedure but also the principles and best
practice behind performance development, ensuring that line
managers had the confidence to conduct reviews professionally. I
also recommended a training session for senior managers and a
briefing session for staff so that everyone knew what to expect
from the new system.
“I worked closely both with Annabelle and
Donald to implement the process and we started the line manager
training in January. It is early days but I think the training was
well received and it was great to see so many people realise how it
could help them in their jobs,” she adds.
The new system has been designed to open up
greater dialogue between line management and staff, with
individuals working to clear objectives and receiving feedback on
performance. “There was no PDR system within the Cathedral and we
wanted a fair and consistent approach which would enable us to
capture the learning and development needs of our staff,” explains
Annabelle.
“The primary aim is to put people first,
ensuring that they feel valued and effective and to give them the
opportunity to realise their potential. Our employees are very
valued and we greatly appreciate the work they do. We are trying to
introduce a culture that supports lifelong learning and makes
training accessible so that we can continue to support the
staff.
“Mentor’s training has helped us to implement
the new system quickly and efficiently. The team demonstrated a
very good understanding of our needs and requirements. Their
approach was very thorough and it soon became apparent that as a
training organisation they were well prepared to deliver the
training required to a high standard. We would have no hesitation
in recommending them to other employers,” Donald adds.
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