Bristan Group - creating excellence in leadership

With over 250 employees, Bristan Group, based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, is one the largest bathroom suppliers in the UK. It is the parent company of the Bristan and Heritage Bathrooms brands. Lane4 has worked with Bristan Group since 2011, supporting the group in putting the leadership agenda into practice through a development programme.

Commenting on the choice of Lane4 as the company’s training and development partner, Kate Stranks, Group Learning & Development Manager, says, “When we went out to tender, Lane4’s innovative approach differentiated them from other providers. Bringing sports psychology into the workplace was an engaging angle”.

It was the best leadership programme I've ever experienced.

Jeremy Ling, CEO at Bristan Group

Leading from the top

The Bristan Group board has supported the leadership programme wholeheartedly: the group’s European CEOs and HR directors were the first to participate in the programme. Bristan Group CEO Jeremy Ling was among them. He endorses it, saying, “It was the best leadership programme I’ve ever experienced.”

Even after completing the 9 month programme, Jeremy and the members of his team continue with their action learning groups and regular sessions are held in board meetings to monitor the programme’s continuing contribution to leadership development.

The Solution

  • Knowledge transfer

    All the Group’s people managers go through the programme, which comprises of four elements:

    • Leader as self –help managers understand what great leadership looks like.
    • Enabling others to fulfil their potential –empower others to make their own decisions.
    • Leading change –engaging others in change and getting the best from them through change.
    • Creating a high-performing team – using Lane4’s framework to give a unique insight into how teams are performing.

    Part of Lane4’s philosophy is about creating sustainability of any change. Many of the leaders became internal advocates of the programme. Kate Stranks was not only a key stakeholder, but an important ambassador of the models and ideas in the programme and the working relationship between Lane4 and Bristan Group. As Kate’s understanding developed, so too did the Lane4 relationship into one of a trusted advisor.

  • Achieving results

    Reviewing the benefits of having Lane4’s long-term support, Kate says, “Our early expectations of Lane4’s ability to make a difference have proved well founded. Benchmarking ourselves against industry standard criteria, has shown that we have consistently improved both our overall engagement score and the score for how managers are ‘motivating, conversing, considering and caring’.”

    Since the programme started, there has been an increase of 6.5% in engagement scores for Bristan Group employees. The course also coincided with an 82% profit increase in Bristan Group.

    Already a gold accredited Investor in People, Bristan Group was justifiably proud to receive an Excellence in Leadership award recently. The judge cited the fact that ‘there was a clear sense that Bristan Group have transformed the way people see the organisation. They have empowered their people, making them a truly outperforming company’.

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Key benefits of the programme

  • Year-on-year improvements in the overall engagement of the workforce – a total increase of 6.5%.
  • Contributed towards an 82% profit increase.
  • An award winning programme – winning an Excellence in Leadership award.
  • 6.5% year-on-year improvements in the overall engagement of the workforce.
  • 82% profit increase contributed by the Lane4 programme.

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