Instep steps out as demand grows
TRAINING company Instep, which focuses on helping businesses grow by developing their middle management, is seeing a pick-up in demand for its services leading to expansion of its own.
The Cheshire company, founded 24 years ago by husband and wife Suzanne and Peter Hitchen, will open offices in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and in the south in 2014, as it continues to grow its client base.
The Holmes Chapel firm, which has annual revenues of £1.2m, counts a number of major companies as clients, including North West baking giant Warburtons, Mueller Dairies and Irish chicken producer Moy Park.
Mrs Hitchen told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We see the middle management/ team leader tier as an area where we can add real value. This is a sector of an organisation which can be quite squeezed so it is important to understand the pressures people face.
“Over the last 18 months we have started to find the correct formula at this level, looking at the leadership and management skills these people need, and then measuring what they achieve.”
Other Instep clients include tinned food specialist John West, Arriva, Eddie Stobart and most recently Seddon Construction.
Over the past year, it has seen a significant increase in both inquiries and project work and has hired five additional staff to expand its team by 20%.
Client needs have taken Instep’s consultants as far afield as Mumbai, where an executive programme for insurer Jardine Lloyd Thompson was delivered.
Another string to Instep’s bow is helping companies devise or refine their induction programmes as they hire more staff as the economy improves.
Suzanne Hitchen added: “The key to the success of all of our products and services is that they offer a return on investment. We’ve designed all our programmes around delivering workplace results by providing learning that is really needed for people to do their jobs.
“We are confident that with our geographical expansion we will see more growth. We don’t have targets to meet, but we enjoy developing business for our clients by developing people.”
