Wiltshire training company helps drive leadership change for Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland

Wiltshire training consultancy Intelligent Dialogue has won a major contract with UK-wide plant hire company Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland, aimed at supporting a new leadership development programme for its depot and branch managers to provide exceptional customer service, as part of its five-year strategy, Sunbelt 4.0.

Sunbelt Rentals, with a HQ in Warrington and over 190 depots across the country, rents and sells equipment to a wide range of sectors, including construction, events, government, facilities management and film and TV.

Intelligent Dialogue, based in Royal Wootton Bassett, is working alongside Sunbelt Rentals to design and deliver this new leadership development programme as a core element of their new Management Academy for Operational Managers. This reflects their commitment to developing their people and recognising the importance of customer experience.

The development will be focused on:

• Action centred leadership – the art of balancing the team, the individual and the task.
• The difference between doing, managing and leading.
• How DiSC profiling can help understand preferences for managing people and teams’ preferences for being managed.
• How to give direction and delegate to people based on your preferences and theirs.
• Developing an action plan for teams to motivate  and improve performance.

Intelligent Dialogue specialises in designing and delivering transformational training programmes, tailored to individual businesses, and focusing on areas including sales, customer service, and leadership development.

“We are delighted to have been asked by Sunbelt Rentals to work with them on this vital part of their people strategy,” said Diane Banister, Managing Director of Intelligent Dialogue. “To make this programme successful, we have been visiting depots and meeting Sunbelt Rentals colleagues, so we can tailor our training to their culture and business.”

The face-to-face training is initially for 160 managers around the country and will be spread across the year. The training will be underpinned by the DiSC profiling tool as well as the Intelligent Dialogue BUILD leadership roadmap framework, which has been developed specifically for fast-paced and operationally led organisations.

Jenny Parry, Head of Talent at Sunbelt Rentals, commented: “We’re delighted to have secured funding from the CITB to introduce this leadership development programme for our Operational Managers. We’re excited to be working with Diane and her team at Intelligent Dialogue to develop and deliver a course which will support our Depot and Branch Managers to effectively lead themselves and their teams. This programme aims to not only drive exceptional service for our customers but also create a culture in which our teammates feel engaged, empowered and can evolve to be their best.”

After completing the training, the managers will take away some practical tools and knowledge which will make sure that they have the right skills, tool and capabilities to develop their teams effectively. Strengthening the capabilities of the Depot and Branch Managers will enhance the performance of everyone, and enable them to be more engaged and empowered to lead their teams. The training is being funded by the CITB – Construction Industry Training Board - which supports the development of Britain’s construction sector.

Diane said: “Depot and Branch managers have demanding roles and daily challenges, dealing with people, machinery, unexpected scenarios. In fact, they make miracles happen on a daily basis!

“Our training is about helping each person to understand their natural style of leadership, where it will work for them, and where it will work against them. Our aim is to broaden their skills and approach, to work effectively and confidently in a wider range of situations and with a wider range of people. Our emphasis is on delivering practical applications that will help in their day-to-day work.”