Since it was founded in 1969 The Donkey Sanctuary has successfully evolved from modest beginnings to be an employer of over 600 staff and 650 volunteers across the UK and internationally. They also care for over 6,000 donkeys in the UK and Europe, including the largest collective group of mules in the UK.
Through an innovative leadership training programme which is now embedded in the organisation’s culture, the charity has ensured managers are prepared and confident to deliver ambitious objectives relating to the number of donkeys they reach and the quality of care provided. This also includes improving visitor facilities and interaction on site in Sidmouth.
Date 2016
Region Devon
Size 500 employees
Sector Animal Charity
volunteers internationally
donkeys in care in the UK and Europe
k annual visitors to Sidmouth site
UK locations
Objectives of the leadership training
Challenges
Dedicated staff and volunteers means that there is a relatively low turnover of staff, with over a quarter of the staff serving fifteen years or more. The positive side of this is knowledgeable staff and volunteers, the flip side is that change can be slow to embed. It also means that teams are multi-generational, with baby boomers working alongside millennials. ‘One style clearly doesn’t fit all – we needed to equip managers to engage with their teams on all levels,’ notes Steven James.
More generally, The Donkey Sanctuary is by necessity a functional organisation, providing care and welfare for the donkeys 24/7, 365 days a year. Alan Brown, Farm Manager, who took part in the training having been a manager there for 22 years said: ‘We’re more based on the practicalities; our focus is on caring for the donkeys, monitoring and dealing with any behavioural issues and where possible getting them ready for rehoming.’ The challenge was to make the training applicable to all areas of the business, including those like Alan’s.
What did the training entail?
The first session was on personal leadership and strategy; getting people to identify what they did on a daily basis and how that linked to the charity’s five-year strategy.
The second session looked at the practical application of leading teams through a series of interactive activities with peer feedback, and the third session focused on coaching. Work is underway to support managers to identify strengths within their teams and create a talent map for the whole organisation, further training is planned around understanding what skills we have within the teams and mapping that against what we require for the next 5 – 10 years. ‘It’s very much is a starting point,’ says Steven James.
The practical approach allowed managers to immediately put into place different strategies. Advised on how to structure team meetings, Alan Brown says these have become increasingly useful forums. ‘Also, the tools we have been given have given us something to refer to in a difficult situation, meaning we can plan it out first and have a dry run, which makes you feel more confident as a manager.’ Jaime Down, Farm Supervisor, who is relatively new to management, says the tools have helped her in working collaboratively with her team.
Impact
Given the challenge of wide ranging disciplines, and cultural differences in teams in Europe, managers found the training programme valuable and relevant. As Steven James says, ‘the principles of aligning the values went across all teams and countries’.
The experience has opened up managers’ eyes to the strengths and priorities of those they work with. Jamie Down says she was surprised to learn how much people valued coaching, and pleased that the trainer encouraged managers to take the time to train people, rather than just rely on someone who would already do a job well. ‘That’s a really good form of management because in the long-term it’s much more productive to spend the time coaching people to get to that level. We’ve now got a really multi-skilled team as a result.’
Guidance on how to map their team’s talent has enabled them to identify strengths and weaknesses. ‘We’ve mapped our full team and paired people to help and mentor each other, to get everyone to a much stronger level in themselves, which helps with productivity, and helps us meet our targets,’ says Jaime Down. ‘It’s definitely benefited the team – everyone is really motivated now.’
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