Hermes

Developing leaders to create business impact

International consumer delivery specialist Hermes identified that their talented people must be agile and adaptive, ready to embrace leadership roles of increasing autonomy, complexity, responsibility and ambiguity. Hermes commissioned Common Purpose to deliver an experiential leadership programme for executive level leaders. The programme combined executive coaching with Immersions, which took participants out of their usual environments and challenged them to think about how they respond to unfamiliar cultures and leadership environments. We then used a series of techniques that encouraged participants to share new ideas and find creative ways to translate this learning back into their roles.

The programme was shortlisted for 'Best Leadership Programme' at the 2018 Yorkshire Leadership Awards. 

“Hermes is at the forefront of the logistics industry in the UK and Europe; we are a fast-paced business who demand a lot from our leaders. We chose to work with Common Purpose to develop a programme for our top talent group because we wanted an approach that would take people out of their usual environment and broaden their horizons. The programme challenged them to consider their own impact and developed their ability to collaborate with a wide range of people so they could make better decisions and accelerate complex change. As we track the impact of the programme we can really see the operational, cultural and commercial benefits of this investment.”
Leanne Hamley, Head of Talent Acquisition and Development, Hermes

The participants describe the impact, six months on:

“This trust in my leadership has given me great confidence to ensure that I do the right thing in all business decisions and activities. This has also reduced pressure on me and allowed me to make decisions that benefit our business strategy.”

“The programme has taught me to collaborate differently; to take that step back and not assume that my assessment and view is always 100% right; to listen to the people at the coalface; listen to their experience of the issue; not dictate but guide, support and encourage my team to come up with the ideas to change and fix the problems.”

“My team have begun to shine in ways I didn’t think would happen, meaning the business now has more capable people, and a pipeline of future senior managers they can look to if I were to move on.”

“Improving my abilities has allowed me to succeed with a specific project that in the past I have failed to get off the ground. The result of this has been an increased volume of parcel numbers and rate – basically, increased revenue.”

“I have become a more effective leader since my time with Common Purpose, which has led to better decisions, stronger development of my people and a more engaged team. All of the above drive better results for the business.”