Wright Solutions, the Midlands’ leading training and HR recruitment specialists have provided RoadChef with a highly cost-effective, flexible and continuous management training programme. This has enabled the national service station operator to retain full strategic control of corporate training whilst maximising organisational efficiency.

Founded in 1972, RoadChef boasts 29 sites throughout the UK. Each one offers travellers tempting self-service and Wimpy restaurants, delicious Costa Coffee and a shop. Premier Travel Inns are also available at 15 of these locations. A £30m refurbishment programme has strengthened the company’s position at the forefront of the industry.

A real boost for in-house training……

However, RoadChef operates in an extremely competitive market place where costs have to be tightly managed in order to offer customers the optimum combination of quality and value. As a result, the company’s over-stretched in-house training department struggled to deliver the management team’s robust business plans. In 2004, a strategic decision was therefore taken to co-source training by enlisting external support.

Anna Woods, Training and Development Manager at RoadChef explained “it became evident that we needed to add to the manpower of our training department. We did not though want to increase the fixed costs associated with recruiting additional people and therefore decided on a co-sourced approach. We appointed Wright Solutions to develop and deliver a wide range of specialist training services”.

Proven blend gives added strength……

Working closely with RoadChef, Wright Solutions began by writing a number of bespoke training courses designed to address the company’s unique, individual requirements. These encompassed topics as diverse as Finance, Communications, Customer Service, Presentation Skills and “Train the Trainer”. To coincide with RoadChef’s own objectives and timescales, Wright Solutions has delivered this training at various locations throughout the UK.

There was also a need to provide department Managers with coaching and guidance whilst they carried out their everyday roles. In order to answer this requirement, Wright Solutions devised a number of innovative training tools.
“How To” manuals and coaching cards were produces and these have enabled managers to continue their development long after the completion of formal training. Meanwhile, unique e-learning programmes have allowed them to work at their own pace, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to improve their understanding of IT, business essentials, fire safety and food hygiene.

Paul Wright, Managing Director of Wright Solutions added “as a company, we provide true blended learning solutions. We realised from a very early stage that a really mixed approach would be ideal for RoadChef and went about designing a multi-level training programme. This has worked perfectly as it combines traditional structured training with cutting edge, innovative learning tools. The result is that managers receive solid, rounded tuition that helps improve their overall operational performance”.

In providing this cost-effective additional resource, Wright Solutions have enabled RoadChef to realise their strategic training plans. Safe with the knowledge that high quality training material is being developed and delivered, key people have been able to focus more closely on core business objectives.

New flavours brewing…..

Wright Solutions’ commitment to building long term partnerships with every client has been one of the key factors behind the company’s success to date. Furthermore, the ability to work as an extension of a customer’s own resources and add value throughout every stage of a project has enabled the partnership with RoadChef to develop strongly over the past 18 months.

As in most other businesses, it is essential to continually nurture, challenge and develop talented individuals. With this in mind, Wright Solutions has recently assessed a number of universities in order to identify those most suitable for senior Roadchef managers to attend whilst working towards MBAs and other professional qualifications.

Wright Solutions HR and training expertise is also being employed in the development of an induction programme for newly appointed Site Directors. As key representatives of the business, it is essential that these people comply fully with internal business procedures and external legislation. Wright Solutions has been asked to create a compliance template to help new directors integrate seamlessly within the organisation. This project is also expected to reach completion in 2007.

Anna Woods Training and Development Manager at RoadChef added “Wright Solutions have provided an invaluable extension to our own in-house training function. They work closely with us at all times and make sure that they really understand what we need. From the initial training courses, they have added real value and provided an extremely professional, flexible and cost-effective service”.

Paul Wright concluded “To date, the partnership has been extremely successful. We hope to continue its development in the future and are already playing a far more integrated role within RoadChef. We have started to advise them on their future training strategy and help with planning”