Potential Growth Coach Guide Guidance notes and checklist for potential Growth Coaches Welcome! We are delighted that you are interested in becoming a Growth Coach for GrowthAccelerator. These guidance notes will explain a little about GrowthAccelerator, the qualities we look for in potential Growth Coaches, the recruitment and selection process for Growth Coaches, and what to do next. What is GrowthAccelerator? GrowthAccelerator is a unique service aimed at SMEs in England with the ambition and capability to grow. It is designed to, help them achieve strong, measurable growth in revenue and create jobs, providing an economic boost. This is delivered through high growth business coaching. The service was formally launched by Vince Cable 23 May 2012. GrowthAccelerator is a partnership between government and private enterprise comprising of a consortium of key partners; Grant Thornton, Pera, Winning Pitch and Oxford Innovation. Together, these four consortium partners provide a service which covers the whole of England. Why is GrowthAccelerator different? GrowthAccelerator is different from past business support programmes in that it specifically targets high growth businesses capable of 20%+ annual growth, is open only to eligible and suitable businesses, and is strongly results orientated to Gross Value Add and employment uplift thereby generating significant, measurable economic impact for the UK. To deliver this, GrowthAccelerator has built a community of associate Growth Coaches to provide high impact coaching. Further information about GrowthAccelerator can be found at www.growthaccelerator.com What is offered to high growth businesses? The core of the service is delivering high quality business coaching to participating companies. Our Growth Coaches play a major role in helping our client businesses achieve their growth potential. Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 1
The value proposition for GrowthAccelerator covers the following areas: Business Development Coaching: primarily customised business coaching which addresses general business areas such as strategy, change management, sales, marketing, organisation, systems. This is typically delivered over a period of several months to enable the company to apply the learning and embed new and/or enhanced management practices. Access to Finance: bespoke support from finance specialists to identify appropriate sources and structures for funding requirements, build the investment proposition and financing plan, and secure investor introductions Growth Through Innovation: bespoke support from innovation specialists to develop and commercialise innovation and to create and build a culture of innovation. The aim is to deliver growth by unblocking or accelerating an innovation challenge to help the business achieve tangible results and create new jobs Leadership and Management Training: providing 50% matched funding up to 2k per manager in the client business, linked to development priorities Access to Workshops & Masterclasses: providing a range of learning programmes to client businesses GrowthCommunity: connectivity of high growth businesses taking advantage of GrowthAccelerator. What is meant by coaching on GrowthAccelerator? Coaching for GrowthAccelerator is focused on business performance, not on personal development. There are many definitions of coaching. In GrowthAccelerator, we are not precious about the definition and recognise that Growth Coaching will run across a spectrum of coaching, mentoring, signposting and facilitation: GrowthAccelerator has chosen to apply the term business coaching to this. Having said this, GrowthAccelerator is clear that it is not in the interest of the client or the Growth Coach for the Growth Coach to provide direction to the client by acting as a traditional management consultant. What we look for in our Growth Coaches We recognise that Growth Coaches are an important facet of the GrowthAccelerator brand as well as delivering high impact coaching for strong GVA results. So, we look for high quality individuals who have robust experience of business and the commercial world, and of delivering business coaching. Therefore, two key criteria against which we judge all potential Growth Coaches are: Personal business record: we are looking for experienced and credible business people who have strong commercial acumen and firsthand knowledge of growing a business either as a business owner or in a senior position Personal track record in coaching business leaders: we use coaches who can demonstrate an existing successful track record as a business coach focussing on business performance. Further, we look for individuals who can demonstrate their credibility, experience and expertise, and who can build strong and robust relationships with business leaders Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 2
Recruitment and selection process for Growth Coaches Our Growth Coaches go through a careful recruitment and selection process so that the businesses we work with can have complete confidence that our Growth Coaches really know their stuff. We want our businesses to feel safe in the knowledge that they are part of a truly experienced community of growth-focussed business experts. All our registered and approved Growth Coaches have successfully completed the following four stage recruitment and selection process. Each stage of this process represents a quality gate to ensure that we recruit only the highest quality Growth Coaches. CV Submission Potential Growth Coaches should register their CV, areas of expertise and sector experience.these are then reviewed and vetted by the GrowthAccelerator team. Three References - You will be requested to provide three references or testimonials from Managing Directors of businesses that you have coached. These should be on headed notepaper and signed by the Managing Director or provided via an email trail which clearly demonstrates it originated from the Managing director. Further, they must mention you by name, and give specific details of the positive impact and outcomes that your coaching support has provided to the Managing Director and the business. 1:1 Interview Potential Growth Coaches will have a face-to-face meeting with a local Growth Manager or other GrowthAccelerator personnel. This interview will look more in-depth at your CV, references/testimonials and personal experience of business growth. It will also explore how well your skills and experience are fitted to tackling the issues typically facing high growth companies. Due diligence Potential Growth Coaches must be approved by a background check. We will require you to provide specific information to us which we can then check against credit reference agency databases, including information from the Electoral Register and fraud prevention agencies. Coach Briefing & Assessment Potential Growth Coaches will attend a Coach Briefing Day which provides further detail about GrowthAccelerator, takes you through observed and assessed exercises, and explains some of the typical tools used with GrowthAccelerator clients. Only a coach who has been successful in this recruitment and selection process will be accepted as a registered and approved Growth Coach, and be matched with clients on GrowthAccelerator. Your details will be kept on GrowthAccelerator system which will allow us to match you with clients, and will allow you to update your details as necessary via the Coach portal. In addition, we will require to see evidence of a minimum 500,000 Professional Indemnity Insurance and in some instances, a minimum 500,000 Public Liability Insurance. We'll also require details on limited company registration with Companies House or confirmation of sole trader status. Please Note: This is not an accreditation or an employment process. Completing this process only means you are registered with the service and pre-approved to work with potential clients should your profile match a client. You are not guaranteed coaching assignments. Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 3
How are Growth Coaches engaged with clients? Once a Growth Coach has been registered and approved with GrowthAccelerator, they can be allocated clients and coaching assignments. Growth Coaches selected to work with clients are contracted by consortium members (Grant Thornton, Pera, Oxford Innovation or Winning Pitch) and sign up to delivering the outcomes detailed within the Scope of Support. Coach payments are linked to the delivery of outcomes within the Scope of Support as opposed to the number of days coaching provided. Payment is made to growth Coaches on completion and sign-off of the work. We do not pay expenses. Payment is made within 30 days of the coach submitting their invoice and completed paperwork. A Scope of Support sets out the objectives and measurable outcomes of the work to be undertaken. It is signed off by the client and used to help the Growth Manager select and appoint the most suitable Growth Coach. Growth Coaches can provide Business Development Coaching, Access to Finance Coaching or Growth Through Innovation Coaching depending on their individual areas of expertise and experience. This will be recorded in our system following review by a Growth Manager of your skills and expertise to support a search for coaches in those areas. Although the primary contact for the Growth Coach will be the Managing Director or Chief Executive of the client business, our Growth Coaches might work with more than one person in the organisation during their engagement with the company, driving the performance of the organisation by typically working with the senior management. Becoming a registered and approved Growth Coach is in itself no guarantee of work. The client s needs will always drive a match with a Growth Coach, typically in relation to location, sector experience and functional specialisms. If you refer a client into GrowthAccelerator, please be aware that you may not be assigned that client to work with; a Growth Manager will assess the need based on the Scope of Support, however client preference is always considered. Registered and approved Growth Coaches are free to work across all regions. Should you decide to do this, we will require you to complete a coach contract with the local consortium partner, as well as providing copies of Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurances. Why do Growth Coaches choose to work with GrowthAccelerator? Our Growth Coaches choose to work with GrowthAccelerator for a variety of reasons. These often include the opportunity to building longer-term relationships with the service and the consortium partners, the opportunity to network with other coaches to build support and business networks, as well as the opportunity to build commercial on-going relationships with the high growth SMEs they may work with through GrowthAccelerator. In some cases, Growth Coaches are able to provide Leadership and Management Training to GrowthAccelerator clients (see below for more information). Registered and approved Growth Coaches are also free to work across England (see above for more information). Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 4
Coaching and Leadership & Management training Leadership & Management training is designed to support the individual training needs of senior managers in the client business, so that they can successfully implement the growth plans that arise from the business coaching. In a small minority of cases, Growth Coaches can also deliver Leadership & Management training where they can demonstrate that they offer the best training solution for the client. This will depend on the Growth Coach s areas of expertise and experience. The delivery of any Leadership & Management training is outside the terms of any coaching contract and subject to prior approval from GrowthAccelerator; it is also the subject of a separate commercial arrangement between the training provider and the client. Where the Growth Coach and Leadership & Management training provider are the same person or company, the Growth Coach is required to complete the 'Coach as Trainer Proposal' form and indicate how it is a separate offer from what will be delivered in the coaching. What should I do next? Having read these Guidance Notes, if you decide you wish continue your application and be considered as a Growth Coach on GrowthAccelerator review the Growth Coach Checklist. To progress your interest contact your local Growth below: Business Development Coaching London and Hertfordshire GAcoaching@uk.gt.com Midlands and East of England coach.queries@peraconsulting.com North West England Sandra Wood, s.wood@winning-pitch.co.uk North East England Samantha Hayton, s.hayton@winning-pitch.co.uk Yorkshire and Humberside Kathryn Wilson, k.wilson@winning-pitch.co.uk South West and South East England coaching@oxin.co.uk Access to Finance South West and South East England coaching@oxin.co.uk All other areas of England GAcoaching@uk.gt.com Growth through Innovation South West and South East England coaching@oxin.co.uk All other areas of England coach.queries@peraconsulting.com If you are unsure who to contact or have general questions regarding Growth Coaching across the consortium partners, contact Heather Reagan, Growth Coach & Mentoring Executive at heather.reagan@growthaccelerator.com Please be aware that from time to time the consortium partners will put recruitment on hold because they have a sufficiency of Growth Coaches covering the geography, or because they have a sufficiency of sector experience or functional expertise for the client businesses they are currently supporting. You will be advised if this is the case. Thank you for your interest. Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 5
Potential Growth Coach Checklist Submit CV Your CV should demonstrate BOTH: Your firsthand experience of growing a business Your experience of coaching for business performance Complete Coach Profile Online Details in this portal allow us to assess suitability, search for you as a coach and match you with a potential client. This system is used solely by Growth Managers and admin teams and is not public information. Access given after CV Submission Due Diligence Send an email with your: Full Legal Name Date of Birth Home address (not a business address) "I give permission for a due diligence check to be completed" Submit 3 References References must: be written by Managing Director level or similar mention you by name (not your business or firm name) give specific details of outcomes your coaching has provided Acceptable Formats include: Headed paper and signed by the Managing Director (sent by post or scanned) Email trail (forwarded or direct to coach lead from referee) which clearly originate from the Managing Director Evidence of Insurance Send certificate or evidence of: a minimum 500,000 Professional Indemnity Insurance (if requested) a minimum 500,000 Public Liability Insurance 1:1 Interview An in person interview conducted by a Growth Manager you are already in contact with or one we will introduce you to. Scheduled after CV & Reference Review Coach Briefing & Assessment Day (final stage) You will be sent an invitation to select a Coach Briefing date (typically one per month) once the first four items have been completed. Full Day Session (RSVP Required) Potential Growth Coach Guide and Checklist / version 8 5 February 2014 6