Developing the strategic skills for sustainability

Developing the skills to navigate a changing landscape

Nick Newbury is Business Development Manager for TPS Healthcare Group and decided to participate in the Business Strategy and Risk Management course to help prepare for the long-term ambitions of the organisation.

One reason for participating in the Advanced Skills Programme is the UK’s imminent departure from the EU. Although TPS Healthcare Group currently export their products, the company has had limited exposure to this activity. With increasingly complex import and export regulations, it’s an area that is becoming more and more difficult to navigate and could have an impact on the business.

Developing a strategic roadmap

Nick found the course extremely helpful in providing a roadmap for his risk strategy, as he explains. “The course was very concise, with an appropriate level of detail, helping me to learn more about the subject without feeling overwhelmed. I was able to develop my thinking on how to avoid preventable risks by using the company’s values, boundaries and mission statement. I now have the tools I need to develop and plan the company’s risk management strategy.”

Succession planning is another area Nick was able to consider during the course. “In a business such as ours where there are fewer team members, there’s a greater impact when senior staff retire. We’ll need to plan how to fill any knowledge gaps and ensure good customer relationships are maintained once these team members have left the organisation.”

The course allows participants to not only think about the internal business risks, but also those which are external. It’s an area that’s especially important in the current climate, and one Nick found particularly useful. “Although there are lots of great long-term plans for the tangible areas within our business, we also need to plan for any long-term risks from the external environment. One example would be the impact of leaving the EU on our customers that trade within Europe. We’ll need to consider how leaving the EU might influence the way they choose to do business in the UK, and whether that will affect the services we provide these organisations.”

Convenient way to learn

The Advanced Skills Programme was comprised of a series of short online courses, which many participants found to be a convenient way to learn and Nick was no exception.

“I’m a member of different professional organisations that provide trainings on different topics. However, the length of time required away from my workplace often makes these difficult to attend. I really liked that the course at the University was offered as a short course, making it very accessible. The content, delivery and presentation were all excellent and I was able to tap into the expertise of the tutor to ask questions that were specific to my company which was really helpful.

My main priority now is to implement awareness of the short, medium, and long-term risk management plans across all functions of the business. My hope is that we’ll create an aligned operations, finance and commercial strategy towards risk, and the course has given me the confidence to achieve this.”

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