Scottish & Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD) Case Study

Faced with a business transformation project that was set to be rolled out to thousands of people in Scottish & Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), Fiona McLeish knew she faced one of her greatest career challenges.

Surveying her recently formed team of specialists from within the business, she had just a few months to help them transform into a team of extraordinary trainers, with the skills to make the difference.

Her first call? Tickety Boo Training.

“Here I was, surrounded by a team of extremely intelligent people with a real hybrid of skills, but no formal training in how to train people or transform their exceptional knowledge of the business into valuable training courses that could be delivered internally. You could say that, while the business knew they needed us, when they formed the team they weren’t entirely sure what to do with us. Tickety Boo Training helped us change all that” commented Fiona.

Looking for a partner that would pour their heart and soul into the project, Fiona knew that Tickety Boo Training would respectfully challenge their thinking as a team and help focus their energies on delivering to the best of their abilities.

Starting with the team was key. Tickety Boo Training worked with the whole team at SSEPD to explore their skill sets, strengths and challenges and, through a series of interactive workshops, took 12 business specialists and transformed them into at team of exceptional trainers.

Jane Bakella went through the transformation process. She commented:

“This was an amazing experience. I’d come from within the business and knew what knowledge was needed, but I didn’t understand how to break it down for people, or the learning process that delegates undergo. I knew what the problem was, I just wasn’t sure how to fix it.

“Annie was marvellous. She consulted with us individually, then worked with us as a team. She broke down the whole training process into manageable parts and she made it fun for us. The difference was incredible. All of a sudden we were able to take our specialist knowledge and pull it apart, then put it back together for the benefit of others. The business impact was measurable.”

Just a few months down the line and the team are taking a short but well-earned break after rolling out a series of internal training programmes to well over 1000 delegates.

One of these programmes earned them a ‘Moment of Excellence’ award at their recent internal Leadership Conference for the introduction of the use of mobile technologies in the field. Arming electricity engineers with iPads, the business benefits of getting buy in were clear: less travel time, less paperwork, speedier service and happier customers. But first, they needed to take 500 electricity engineers, many of whom had never used a Tablet before, and help them get to grips with the technology. 

The feedback from delegates has been significant with many of them citing it as the “best training they’ve ever experienced” and concluding that they “went in scared, came out confident”. The ultimate objective? Well, to get customers lights turned back on quicker – and who wouldn’t want that?

Jane commented:

“I think initially we were slightly unsure of what our role was within the business. Now we approach every training needs analysis with the end outcome in mind. It’s not just about ensuring our engineers know how to switch on a tablet – it’s about helping them understand how the tablet can lead to the end outcome: getting the lights back on quicker. It’s all about the business, and how we can enable people to make the important things happen competently, quickly and effectively.”

Annie Lindsay, who led the internal programme at SSEPD for Tickety Boo Training commented:

“The group trainer programme is a fantastic experience for people who are technically competent in their own professional field and have a desire to pass technical and theoretical knowledge to others and it was just what was needed here at SSE.

“Fiona, Jane and their team have all worked extremely hard to make sure they were skilled up and ready to deliver for the business at a time it was undergoing incredible internal changes and their hard work has paid off by enabling them to deliver to their business colleagues enthusiastically and effectively.
Tickety Boo’s programme is highly experiential and can be adapted to suit the specific needs of any business. Adopting brain friendly learning techniques, and using multi-sensory learning, they ensure that the high paced learning experience is both enjoyable and memorable.

“Annie doesn’t understand the impact she has on people,” commented Fiona. “And I really want her to know that we have been ‘full on’ delivering training courses internally for the last 8 weeks and the sense of team has been exhilarating. The energy levels have remained high, we’ve played to each other’s strengths and we have delivered exceptional training. We have Tickety Boo Training to thank for that.”