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A day in the life of… Michele King I’m supporting people to unlock their potential!
M
ichele is a Management Trainer for Countrywide. She has worked in its estate agency network since the
acquisition of Nationwide Estate Agents in 1994, where she was a Mortgage Consultant. Working in Financial Services training and development from 1995, Michele moved to the Estate Agency Division in 2007 to support the design and delivery of management skills training solutions. Michele describes her role as ‘made for her’.
“It’s the only role I have ever had where I can see the difference I make. I am supporting people to unlock their potential and achieve a better result from their teams.” Michele lives in Essex and supports the Eastern side of the country, from East London to Norfolk and Suffolk, East Midlands, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. She works with three other Management Trainers who cover the remaining parts of the UK.
6.30-8.30 An early start as I am off to see the Central MD in Bedford. Late is one thing you cannot be in a training role. It really doesn’t set the right impression does it? I need to negotiate the dreaded M25 and leave plenty of time for that! I am really looking forward to this meeting.
8.30-10.30 I start my two-hour meeting with the MD and Financial Services Director. We discuss, plan and formally agree the Central strategy and training plan for Branch Managers in 2012. A core element of Countrywide’s ethos is to ensure that all parts of the businesses work together. Throughout all the training programmes, we ensure that there is a combination of employees from Estate Agency, Financial Services and Lettings. We are looking at a variety of management
skills programmes in 2012. One is a refresher programme for Branch Managers. The second programme will be tailored towards aspiring Branch Managers to develop their career. This is a new programme that will be launched in 2012. I will be allocating sufficient time to support the Regional Managers to ensure we successfully deliver this programme in Q2 2012. Regular training and development is
provided in many guises, with Regional Managers conducting sales training every week. The strong focus on training is paying off, evidenced by their high success rate.
10.30-12.00 Driving back to my base in Waltham Cross allows me the opportunity to reflect on my meeting this morning. I use the time in my car to take a few calls, hands free of course! I am already thinking about how we can deliver the management refresher training later in the year.
40 l April 2012 l TheNegotiator
After their extensive and continuing training, Countrywide’s top employees are rewarded at the Chairman’s Awards, which celebrate their achievements.
“Late is one thing you cannot be in a training role. It doesn’t really give the
right impression does it?” Michele King
12.00-3.00 Another one of our new management programmes for 2012 is an updated Senior Management Development Programme. I’ll spend a few hours now writing more material, which is tailored for our business. We rarely buy material “off the shelf”. This programme is designed to support aspiring Regional Managers. It covers a wide range of management skills from analysis and IT skills through to coaching and presentation skills and activity and impact management. I want to ensure I engage with managers across the business well before the launch so they have time to consider the best candidates to nominate. Managing Directors recommend individuals who they feel are ready to progress and eager to make that leap to Regional Manager level. This programme is very much in demand
and we often have a number of disappointed nominees who do not make the programme and reapply the following year. Those who are selected commit to a 12 month programme as well as continuing to excel in their current Branch Manager or Mortgage Consultant role. The results of those who attend are fantastic. You often see an immediate application of the new skills and the positive changes it can make both to them as a manager, their team and their branch. For me, this is the best part of my role.
3.00-6.00 Preparation time I am delivering a bespoke training session tomorrow for employees in our Property Auctions business. This includes producing the training
material and written materials as well as rehearsing the training to ensure it is on message and tailored for the audience and their business needs. I am fortunate to work with Auctions
and Corporate Property services as well as residential subsidiaries. This allows me to integrate one with the other when delivering a training session to ensure a cohesive approach is taken to training and development across the business divisions. With my auction preparation complete, I
switch focus to my upcoming Recruitment and Selection training session with Corporate Services in Weybridge on Monday.
6.00 My Thursday is over and I am already looking forward to tomorrow – a completely different day, but with the same objective of developing people to achieve the best result possible. l
Who is the lynchpin in your office who you simply couldn’t live without? Let us know.
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