Delta Wellbeing's Head of Operations & Partnerships

“At Delta Wellbeing we recognise the importance and value of staff training to ensure they possess the right skills needed to enable them to fulfil their roles to the best of their ability ensuring a consistent high level of service delivery to our customers at all times. To support with this, we created and implement a specific Training Strategy. The overall purpose is to champion better work and working lives. Creating roles, opportunities, and working environments that help get the best out of people, delivering great organisational outcomes, in turn driving our economies, and making good, fair, and inclusive work. To develop an effective training strategy, it is essential to consider three tiers; Company, Departmental and Individual.

“Tier 1 focuses on the overall Company Strategy including service diversification and how we develop and retain staff with the ultimate goal of developing a robust preventative service.

“Tier 2 supports the Departmental Strategy. The company has grown significantly since its set up in June 2018, increasing from 45 staff in 2018 to 128 staff at February 2021. This is close to trebling the staff within just under three years which aligns with the key aim of setting up the company by offering increased employment opportunities. There continues to be planned growth as we look for new opportunities to support Local Authorities and registered social landlords. All our department have their own Learning and Development requirements relating to key objectives from our Business Plan. This provides each department with an opportunity to identify future needs to develop the service or meet any legislative changes in order that the department has the skills it requires to deliver key vital services. Senior Managers and Departmental Team Leaders work collectively to develop the capabilities of people within the department so the company improves current and future efficiency, effectiveness, and output.

“Tier 3 supports Personal Development Plans. CIPD (2012) points to continuing professional development as ‘an essential part of professional life, not as an optional extra’. Learning and effective staff development maximises opportunities for business survival and success. One size will not fit all, it must be broad, potentially ranging from traditional training provision to harnessing informal learning for both employee career development and organisational advantage.

“The staff within the company make up almost 90% of expenditure and are its biggest asset. Effective personal development is key to retaining and motivating staff. It is critical that staff feel engaged and are motivated to continuously improve performance and share good ideas and practice.

“As a company we are continuously working to support the development of all our staff to ensure that they can meet the demands of their roles. As an individual, newly appointed staff will have an opportunity to discuss their learning and development needs as part of their induction or during the PDR process. Specific role descriptions are used as an aid to identify development needs and staff whose roles change are required to review their learning and development needs. The identification of continuous professional development and progression is achieved in consultation with Managers and through feedback from Training Co-ordinator.

“At a Corporate Level, staff development is key to ensuring appropriate succession planning and diversity. Formal mentoring by experienced members enables the mentee to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding and behaviours required. This is not a prescriptive or directive relationship but one which allows the mentee to find their own way, guided by the mentor. A flexible approach to the delivery of learning and development opportunities is adopted to meet the identified needs of individuals and groups and this approach has meant that we have continued to deliver strong models of training throughout the COVID pandemic.

“As we continue to expand and thrive, the implementation of a robust learning and development plan has ensured that Delta Wellbeing continues to provide learning and career opportunities to a number of staff across the business and supporting with increased job opportunities in our communities."