Success Story

Paul Smith: A Fresh Approach To Leadership & Management Development

Logo Paul Smith

"People are our greatest asset." Paul Smith CEO, Ashley Long

An independent British brand with 1,000 employees around the world, Paul Smith's senior leaders recognised a need to overhaul its management development strategy as a different workforce emerged from the pandemic.

Turning to FRA Business to help, our Talent Development team worked with 250 of the brand's managers and senior leaders to understand the existing strengths and skills gaps at both a personal and company level. These existing structures and competencies were mapped against Paul Smith's strategic objectives to feed into a bespoke development plan which would ensure managers at all levels of the business could lead confidently, collaboratively and transparently and earn their Paul Smith Stripes.

OBJECTIVES

1


Create a people-centred process and programme, aligned with brand culture

2


Empower managers to do an exceptional job whilst leading by example

3


Develop future-focused leadership and management skills

4


Ensure development activity is designed to meet the needs of time-challenged managers

5


Increase transparency and collaboration between business leaders and managers

Eight guiding principles and five areas for development were identified and built into a framework to support ongoing growth and improvement for those in management and leadership positions, as well as a series of online learning events and masterclasses for managers at all levels focused on the areas identified as opportunities for development across the board.

Implementation of the new development framework was strongly supported at all levels of the business, with people managers particularly keen to see improvements in employee satisfaction, engagement and retention in a changing and increasingly competitive environment. Following the initial period of delivery, the FRA will re-map skills and objective, measure the impact of the programme and make additional recommendations.

HOW WE DID IT 

Creation of bespoke Skills and Strengths framework for business leaders and managers 

Through a series of interactive workshops with around 20% of Paul Smith's managers, we discovered which practices were working well, what could be enhanced, and why people love working for the brand.

These insights helped shape a new approach to managing people and processes, which we called the Paul Smith Way. As part of the process development we ensured creative, language and approach was reflective of the iconic Paul Smith brand and tone of voice. 

Within the new approach we developed eight guiding principles for leaders and managers, and a skills and strengths frameworks articulating the competencies and traits Paul Smith values in its people.

We brought the management population together to launch the Paul Smith Way at three events, using a series of interactive activities and discussions to explore the new approach, which also provided an opportunity for managers from across the business to meet and share experiences.

Talent Audit and Skills Mapping to identify workforce strengths and skills gaps 

Next we rolled out a data-driven skills reflection and mapping exercise, asking all managers and their line managers to rate themselves on scale from 1 to 5 against each area of the skills and strengths framework, focusing on their opportunities for development. 

The data helped us to identify: 

  • How people perceive their leadership and management skills set 
  • How managers perceive the skills of their team 
  • Perception gaps between individuals and their managers 
  • Skills gaps at an individual, team, division and company level 

We created a bespoke, interactive dashboard for Paul Smith, analysing the data and presenting key findings to the Paul Smith team to inform the development of targeted training and development programmes. Division heads can also use the dashboard to better understand the skills within their teams, while for individual managers it can be used to fuel conversations around development.

Development and roll out of new, bespoke leadership and development pathways for multiple levels of management 

The next step was to design new development pathways for all managers focused on addressing the key needs across the business highlighted by the skills mapping exercise. We developed a concept of earning your leadership and management stripes, to reflect the iconic Paul Smith Signature Stripe. 

We identified four levels, from aspiring managers up to experienced business leaders, and designed pathways for each group focused around five curriculum pillars identified as opportunities for growth within the data.

We designed the programme to be practical and easy to complete whilst harnessing the benefits of collaboration. Aspiring managers completed the programme in cohorts via online sessions, while more established managers had additional in-person workshops and online learning sets to put the theory into practice, and work together on problem-solving. 

In addition, we created a calendar of bite-sized online learning classes for managers at all levels focused on the areas identified as opportunities for development across the board.  

WHAT THEY SAY

There seems to be a lot of openness and willingness to change and progress, not just within the company, but the industry is changing and developing in so many ways: it’s the right time to make sure managers are equipped to deal with that change.

Camellia

Head of Retail Operations, Paul Smith

HOW IT'S GOING

The first year of rollout has been focused on aspiring and established managers, in addition to Insights Discovery sessions with directors to ensure top-down buy-in and understanding. We also launched the PS Series hosted by guest speakers and FRA experts, from consultants at OC&C to business coaches.

As of March 2024, we are nearing the end of the first year of programme delivery working with over 200 managers. We are currently working with Paul Smith to plan our next intake of programmes for aspiring managers, and progression opportunities for those that have already started their journeys to becoming outstanding business managers and leaders.

KEY FACTS

250+


eligible managers & leaders

8


guiding principles of the Paul Smith Way

5


areas for development

4


bespoke development pathways

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They strive to encourage our learners to excel, and I am proud to say we have achieved fantastic apprenticeship results over the past 5 years

Talent Development Team, Harrods