SUCCESS STORIES

Huw Owen, CEO, Atlas Consortium

"I have known Georgia Group's Manley Hopkinson for over 20 years and worked very closely with him over the last four and a half. He has huge energy, a joy for people, obtaining their best performance and leadership and exudes enthusiasm. We have worked on some challenging engagements together. First while I was the CEO of the Atlas Consortium - the £7Bn MoD single technology infrastructure and next in my role as Regional Vice President and Managing Director of HP Defence & Security business.

Georgia Group was responsible for standing up and driving a High Performance Organisation. The team demonstrated an ability to quickly get under the skin of the people in the organisations, work out true North and then be instrumental in leading the change. The engagement levels as surveyed went from 21% to 78% in 12 month in the last role - no mean feat.

Challenging, honest and direct, they are a good mirror for senior management teams and their behaviours. "

John King, CEO, House Of Fraser

"As a business in these tough trading times, it’s vital for me as the CEO to know that leaders across the organisation fully understand the strategy and values of our business. We are asking people to perform and overcome the challenges in difficult conditions when the consumer is struggling with inflation and reduced net household incomes. We needed a supplier to help us get this message across to over 2,000 managers in a 10 week period. We selected Georgia Group for the team's pragmatic approach and for their retail experience. Working with the HR team here at House of Fraser they designed and delivered, with our senior managers, a stimulating programme that rapidly engaged the business.

We will not stop there as our values and our strategy are core to us achieving our goals. Indeed, we have over the past few weeks, through our managers, delivered sessions on our vision and values to over 14,000 staff, both House of Fraser staff and our brand partners. Georgia Group helped us on our way and delivered a professional piece of work in a short time frame. It was much appreciated by us all at House of Fraser."

Mark-Newton Jones, CEO, Shop Direct Group

"Manley Hopkinson of Georgia Group has led and delivered the development for my Executive and Leadership Teams in Shop Direct Group during the difficult leadership period of bringing together of two large organisations into the one.

Working with the Executive Board, he provided personal coaching to the members of the Board and 385 managers. It was cohesive and influential leadership development in a series of Leadership programmes and Master Classes designed by Georgia Group. It also included regular leadership input at our monthly Leaders Meeting. They have also delivered the hugely successful off-site development days for my leadership across the organisation.

He quickly earned the respect and trust of myself and my leadership team, and was a vital part of our successful transition. I strongly recommend Manley and his team as a leadership development and cultural change catalyst to any organisation in a time of transition and beyond."

Mark Axon, Group Strategy & Business Development Director, GAME Group

"GAME Group contracted Georgia Group in May this year to assist in a significant colleague engagement programme focussed on communicating our “Dedicated to Gaming” Strategy.

From the initial pitch to the post implementation review the Georgia team demonstrated total commitment and professionalism. They delivered an in-depth engagement programme which covered everything from the reason we needed to change, new values, new behaviours, strategic themes and articulated what it meant to individuals and teams.

Georgia Group quickly got to grips with understanding the DNA of our business, working alongside senior leaders to understand where we wanted to go, what we needed to achieve and importantly, how. In six weeks, Georgia Group had led to completion, whole day workshops for 300 Head Office colleagues and 700 store managers. 

Two key themes emerged from the programme one was that we certainly ‘lit the blue touch paper’ in terms of engagement, plus we raised the expectation of the team on us (the senior leadership) to deliver all the things we committed to do… there is no longer anywhere to hide! Georgia Group worked in a way that totally changed how our people feel about GAME, now we have a message, vision and values which are at the heart of everything we do, everyday. The message, vision and values are clearly at the heart of what we do today, some six months down the line. Thank you Georgia Group."