The document outlines aspirations for a central support team at Pathway Group, including protecting and growing income, implementing sales opportunities, and embedding a customer-focused culture. It discusses priorities like improving careers advice, understanding labor market trends, and addressing current issues such as low success rates, staffing challenges, and the need for stronger marketing. The central team would champion customer experience, sales, and business processes to help the organization deliver on its mission of changing lives through skills and work.

1. Customer Experience
Lead
Central Support Team Briefing Document
06/07/2022

2. Introduction
• Pathway Group aspires to be an organisation that Changes
Lives Through Skills and Work with the aim of making a
meaningful and impact difference to clients and learners. We do
this by becoming an indispensable partner of choice to funding
bodies, other lead providers, employers, and supply chain
delivery partners.
• As an organisation that aspires to ‘Changes Lives through Skills
and Work’ to make a meaningful and impactful difference to all
of our customers, including learners, participants, stakeholders,
employers, and this includes staff.

3. Aspirations for Central Team:
• Assist us with a specific function of
sales and customer growth.
• Protecting and growing what we
have and taking us to the ‘next
level’ in our journey.
• Ensuring correct contract
implementation and outcomes are
delivered to high expectations.
• Working with Executive team to
and all key front line leaders drive
the growth phase of our journey by
focusing on operational excellence,
customer service and experience
and sales and marketing.

4. Aspirations for Central Team…
• Implementing opportunities, sales, including new business and
development, customer account management, assisting with
effective marketing and sales funnels.
• Where needed researching, collating, and collaborating data
and where necessary overseeing business presentations.
• Overall protect and grow our income base to continue to move
forward, which will breakdown silo working and ‘connect the
dots’.

5. Aspirations for Central Team…
• The department and key individuals will need to think
implementation to deliver impact. Embed a sales frictionless
customer experience, culture and journey. Think process, think
systemisation, automisation to ensure optimisation and
consistency.
• To nurture a high-performance culture focusing on revenue,
quality, and impact by removing barriers and ensuring
ownership, accountability and responsibility is embedded
throughout the organisation.

6. Aspirations for Central Team…
• Involvement in any technical writing and producing
documentation which are bespoke and specific to us. Ensuring
all literature, website and all aspects of outbound material is fit
for purpose – taking direction from Executives and Head of
Impact.
• The department and key individuals will be customer
champions, sales champions and a systems and process
champions for the business, both internally and externally.

7. Other key aspects for consideration:
• To source and identify opportunities
available for sales and partnership
workings that are in line with company
objectives and aspirations
• To oversee and be accountable for
end-to-end customer service and
ensuring all leads and potential
winning sales are completed with a
high degree of impact and accuracy
and to specific timelines
• To implement appropriate routeways
and sales avenues whilst seeking to
increase and maximise funding

8. Other key aspects for consideration…
• To create new business contacts whilst nurturing existing
relationships in the aim of securing future opportunities
• Attend networking events both online and in person as required
as a leader within our sector with a clear objective of raising and
managing our company profile

9. We need to think and consider:
• Having forensic attention to detail
and meticulous proof-reading skill
with an understanding of
excellence and write reports on
sales analysis and customer
feedback when required
• Being able to communicate in
written form at the correct level to
bid and tender appraiser /
evaluators
• Analysing trends, customer
analysis and improve our
performance
• Identifying initiate and implement
commercial revenue opportunities

10. We need to think and consider…
• Creating a culture of learning from feedback including planning
transformational change leading to continuous positive
outcomes
• Maintaing an awareness of our funding contracts and
programmes
• Leading the preparation and management and application of
research work using various sources such ONS, LMI as well as
any relevant strategic documents and research papers
• Proving a full and confidential management support to Execs

11. Think:
Protect and grow our
income base to continue
to move forward, which
will breakdown silo
working and ‘connect the
dots’.
Bring more and
do more, with
we have.
Embedding a true
feedback culture that
brings tangible
demonstratable result.
The ‘Go-to People’ on
problem-solving and
advising on preventative
solutions to protecting
customers
Coaching and training
continuously all relevant
people and departments
to deliver on our
outcomes.
Ownership, responsibility,
and accountability for all
matters: customer
experience, customer
journey,

12. Just some of our Current conversations
• CRM Implementation, Limited progress made towards
marketing and funnel systems
• Lack of customers- learners, no multiple activities
• Testimonials and referrals (the lack of )
• Integrating the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance, BAME
Apprentice Network now known as our MultiCultural Brands,
and overall getting more Multicultural App Awards and other
ThinkFest/Pathway2Grow activity

13. Just some of our Current conversations...
• Staffing levels – recruiting the right staff at the right level and
replacement of key people
• Some organisational cultural issues – particularly above and
below the line
• Financial pressures are getting harder and harder., we need to
meet and exceed profiles

14. “Successful” Providers – a continuous
journey
• Sound, best practice governance
• Costed and regularly monitored delivery
• Understand what is happening on the “coal face”
• Have employers
• Relentless focus on teaching, learning, achievements and
support for learners
• Strong management of finance, Strong and supportive & action
led HR
• Positive, “can do” culture and climate

15. "Poor(er)” Providers
• Complacency
• Lack of urgency
• Management; not held to account
• No/little understanding of changing times
• Lack of compliance culture
• Staff Turnover and staffing
• Too rigid; lack of focus on teaching, learning, achievements and
learners
• Ineffective financial controls and reporting
• A “ feeling sorry for themselves” culture

16. Priority Quadrant
Not all business efforts deliver the same results: Priority Quadrant
High
Low
Low High
Revenue
Impact
Effort
1 2
3 4
X
Apprenticeships
Traineeships
X
Loans
X
AEB

17. We need to get big on Careers Advice &
Support
Many conversations on this and this is something that the Central
Team need to get a handle on quickly:
To enable us to make a real difference to improving the quality of
people’s lives through the design and delivery of effective career
guidance, we need to look at

18. We need to get big on Careers Advice & Support…
Career education;
information, advice
and guidance;
coaching,
consultancy and
management.
Career Development Institute (CDI)
Gatsby Benchmarks
Burning Glass
Labour Insight Data & Reporting
Webinar Workshops

19. We need to get big on Careers Advice & Support…
We also need to support developments in:
• Career guidance and development sector, principles, policies,
and the benefits it brings to society, the economy and the
individual
• Reflective practice and engagement in continuous improvement
• Interview skills and strategies required to support participants
with their career decision making and building: self-awareness,
confidence and resilience

20. We need to get big on Careers Advice & Support…
• methods, topics could include; LinkedIn, Labour Insights
• Building an extensive knowledge of education and training
systems and sources of labour market information and be able
to use this effectively across provisions
• Referral planning
• Deliver career related learning to groups of learners using
interactive

21. We have to get awareness and
understanding of the Gatsby Benchmarks
Gatsby Benchmark - The eight
benchmarks are a framework for
good career guidance developed to
support schools in providing
students with the best possible
careers education, information,
advice, and guidance.
goodcareerguidance.org.uk/benchm
arks-and-background
A stable
careers
programme
Learning from
career and
labour market
information
Addressing the
needs of each
pupil
Linking
curriculum
learning to
careers
Encounters
with employers
and employees
Experiences of
workplaces
Encounters
with further
and higher
education
Personal
guidance

22. Lets talk a little more on some of our Current
Issues and Concerns.( some of it covered
previously)
• Significance underspend!
• Ofsted readiness and impact
• Success rates and timeliness remain poor
• Weak learner / customer offer
• Limited progress made towards marketing and funnel systems
• Little / No current links with employers and in work learners in
the workplace
• Staffing levels – recruiting the right staff at the right level
• Organisational cultural issues – particularly above and below
the line

23. Lets talk a little more on some of our Current Issues and
Concerns.( some of it covered previously)...
• Financial pressures are getting harder and harder. The number of new
starts isn’t coming in. Our projected income is profile-led, target driven and
based on performance against contract, we need to meet and exceed
profiles
• A requirement to improve our customer service, experience and IAG,
create “raving fans” and have more inbound marketing opportunities
• Improving the learner journey, quality of delivery and passing the “so what”
test
• Additional strength in our teaching and learning, particularly with our mode
of delivery and embracing more online, remote, and on-demand learning
• Insufficient process implementation and pipeline in key areas
• Better business interruption and contingency planning

24. pathwaygroup.co.uk/feedback/
We have ambition to brand up our process for feedback and actually get it
to a position where it really works for us, We are looking at:

25. Other considerations:
• We need the Central Team to be the beacon of conversations
and actions around the following:
• Customers, Business Development, and all important “Sales”
• Get the message across that Marketing’s aim is to get you
leads to convert and sell.
• Get the message across that he aim of ‘Business Development’
is to get leads also to convert and sell.
• and that both should get you “Sales”
• That is new business with both New and Existing customers.

26. 20% of your effort gives you 80% of your results.
This will help you see your most productive tasks.
80%
RESULTS
20% EFFORT
We need to embed and think that:

27. Real Life Examples on this are:
20% of customers bring 80% of revenue
80% of work is completed by 20% of the team
80% of complaints come from 20% of customers
20% of marketing efforts gives you 80% of results

28. One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Time
X
0
Products Customer Staircase
The Perfect Customer
Lets think what we can do with all our
customers – this is where we think about our
Customer Staircase

29. As a Central Team, there are Three
things we need to be aware of and do
Get
Customers
to Buy
more often
Get
Customers
to Buy
more
Get
Customers
to Buy

30. We can only look to do “customer maximisation” by firstly having
programmes that work for them and ensure each touch point is
positive and easy. We need to get across the message of:
Think
Customers..
Think Products
Think
Customer
Service
Think
Experience
Think Results
Think
Improvement
Plan, Do,
Check and Act

31. Events, Sales and Marketing
Customer
Experience
Lead
New Business
Development &
Positioning
and Building
Sustainable
Ecosystems
Stakeholder
Comms &
Sector Insights
Ensuring
Relevancy &
Value add
Patron
Relationship
Management &
Enhancement/
Growth
New
Product/Servic
e Development
& Commercial
Implementatio
n
Creating &
Developing
Continuous
Thought
Leadership
Opportunities
& Influence

32. Our Eco-System, Connectivity
Past learners
employers partners,
community
engagements,
events, networks,
and other
stakeholders
Employers
Existing
learners

33. Continuous SWOT Analysis
Strengths - Internal Weakness - Internal
Some key team members- autonomy and working together
Branding and awareness
Existing structure
Communication and internal resistance
Processes & systems not aligned & Inconsistent
Staff training and awareness
Silo working
Lack of “raving fans” and ambassadors
Lack of roles models and champions
inconsistency
Strengths - Internal Weakness – Internal
Doing with more with what we have – customer relationship
management & enhancement/ growth
New business development & positioning and building sustainable
ecosystems - understanding and servicing our existing customers
better
New product/service development Stakeholder comms & sector
insights ensuring relevancy & value add
Creating & developing continuous opportunities & influence
Staffing
Complaints / Customer satisfaction
Competition

34. Our Events and Networking Brands

35. Social Media Platform and Current Position
Statement
Social Media Platform (23 May 2022)
Pathway Group
BAME
Apprenticeship
Alliance
BAME
Apprentice
Network
BAME
Apprenticeship
Awards
Apprenticeship
Diversity and Social
Mobility Forum
LinkedIn 4,448 Followers 1,266 Followers 3,329 Followers 637 Followers 39 Followers
Facebook 5,995 Likes 270 Likes 1,460 Likes 85 Likes
Google Reviews
29 Reviews (4.6
out of 5 Stars)
Twitter 4,866 Followers 2,126 Followers 3,471 Followers 38 Followers 118 Followers
YouTube 65,096 Views 4,504 Views 38,723 Views
Instagram 1,884 Followers 1,023 Followers 1,691 Followers 17 Followers

36. Trust
Trust
Character
Intent
Caring Transparency
Openness
Integrity
Honesty Fairness
Authenticity
Competenc
e
Capability
Skills Knowledge
Experience
Results
Reputation Credibility
Performanc
e

37. Core Values
Quality is
everyone’s
responsibility
Ownership,
accountability and
responsibility in all
that we do
Always start with
the best intent
Act in the best
interests of us All
Gain and build
trust in all we do

38. PDCA Diagram
Plan Do Check Act

39. Digital Engagement
Digital
Engagement
New
Business
Development
(Learners &
Employers) Enhancing
Customer
Service & IAG
Effective
Management
of Social
Media
Channels
Public
Relations
Stakeholder
Communica
tions &
Insight
Curriculum
and Planning
Marketing &
Advertising
Content
Creation

40. The Central Team – Customer
Experience Focus and
Consultative Sales

41. The Central Team – Customer
Experience Focus and Consultative
Sales
In order to seize opportunities with each function of our business we
need to work in a more aligned way. This involves working more
effectively with each other and creating the links and driving these
opportunities. This will enable us to better establish needs of
employers and learners and once in motion will allow us to market the
wider range of services that we can offer to support the individual
learner and meet the needs for the employer’s training of existing staff
and even recruitment of new staff, their continued development in
employment and staff development for existing employees via
qualifications.
This is being rolled out in “Three Steps”:

42. “Step 1”
Where are we?
o Reflecting on the experience of our existing employers and learners.
o Checking support given to both and whether this can be improved
o Obtaining case studies and testimonials to support positive experiences from both employers
and learners
o Our Fit for purpose of our existing Business Development Teams and their impact
o Culture Assessment – linking the Central Support Team Briefing Document to our plan

43. “Step 2 – Deep Diving”
What do we need to do?
o Previous learners and employers and also reviewing lost business to generate business and to
learn and improve
o Reflecting on the experiences of past employers and learners. Checking support given to both
and whether this can be improved
o Why did the learner/employer not take on another programme? Did they go elsewhere for
provision?
o Destination tracking to identify positive progression of learners ( see Destinations Data slides)
o Will the learner/ employer refer and continue to work with us?
o On the basis of the research rating the employers and looking at the options to do business
o Check on learner/employers’ needs and looking to promote the window of opportunity.

44. “Step 3 – Performance Improvement and
SIRII”
To pre-empt complaints and result in performance improvement and
opportunities to drive extra income, we need to:
o Identify patterns and trends in existing and previous provision
o Career goals and planning work (Gatsby)
o Refresh positive contact with previous employers/employers
o Regular telephone based and face-to-face review meetings with independent IAG Officer to
employers and learners to improve quality of service and the introduction of new
products/services.
o Producing information to share with employers and learners, e.g. e-newsletters, email
campaigns
o Create internal champions
o Create external ambassadors for the future

45. Ask questions more regularly….
We need to ask questions
more regularly as destination
linked to training provided, So:
It’s crucial for us to know if the
curriculum is right and…
we are doing the right thing.

46. Think about the impact of our work…
Are we making the
difference that we believe
that we are?
More contracts and more
focus than ever on
destinations

47. Think about the impact of our work…
However, it is now more than ever
sustained destinations not just
destination once
but
again,
again
and again…

48. The importance of data destinations
information
Curriculum
planning and
design
Helping with
decision
making
Helping the
learner

49. The importance of data destinations
information
Understanding our
impact
(Ofsted Rating)
Building and
sustaining
customer (learner)
relations
Marketing and
public relations
purposes
Doing more, being
more

50. The importance of data destinations
information
Curriculum
planning and
design
Helping with
decision making
Helping the
learner
Understanding our
impact (Ofsted
Rating)
Building and
sustaining
customer (learner)
relations
Marketing and
public relations
purposes
Doing more, being
more

51. Some of our managers….
Need to get more out of the talent of our senior leaders:
• Focusing on own priorities?
• Work at their own pace?
• Not enough challenge at times?
• Too much challenge which become unproductive?
• Unable to provide the right support due to: lack of
knowledge, skills, understanding or mindset?
• Not enough awareness of overall business and moving
forward for my liking

52. Lets talk Customers,
Business Development,
and all important “Sales”

53. Marketing’s aim is to get you leads to
convert and sell.
The aim of ‘Business Development’ is to
get leads also to convert and sell.
Both should get you “Sales”
That is new business with both
New and Existing customers.

54. We can only look to do
“customer maximisation” by
firstly having programmes
that work for them and
ensure each touch point is
positive and easy.

55. “BUILD ECO SYSTEMS AND CONNECT
IT ALL BACK”
Single Units make
returns and
contribution
Bigger returns on
impact and branding –
helping us to
“dominate”
What more can we
do?

56. Final Thoughts and Thank you
28 June 2022