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A cut above the rest

Vestas Blades UK Ltd proves that self-directed learning in an SME can sharpen staff morale and reap some positive business results

Vestas Wind Systems, a global provider of wind turbine renewable energy technology, owns Vestas Blades UK ltd, a blade research, development and manufacturer based in the Isle of Wight and Southampton. In 2002 the UK subsidiary set itself some ambitious strategic goals. These included:

• reduce manufacturing times and costs drastically
• introduce 24-hour seven-day production
• launch three new blade designs into production
• increase quality reliability

The company planned to increase the number of employees from 120 people to over 450 in three years and saw learning as playing a key role in developing its capability to achieve the strategic objectives. Traditional training approaches had been used for technical skills and new starters but, given the forward agenda the management team wanted to introduce new approaches for ongoing learning and provide a mix of learning opportunities for its growing number of employees.

The approach to learning

Critically, new approaches had to give ownership of learning to individuals. Learning needed to be continuous, timely and relevant for people whose roles would present new challenges as the business grew. They wanted employees to have a choice about what, when and how they learned. A menu of training courses not only seemed unattractive but was also seen to have limited effectiveness in terms of the transfer of learning to the workplace. A requirement of any new approach was that it should motivate employees by serving their individual learning needs while at the same time meeting those of the business. After due consideration the company chose to use self-directed learning (SDL) groups developed in conjunction with Roger Martin and Russell Devitt of the Acuition consultancy.

Rod Taylor, Vestas' HR manager, began by inviting twenty managers to pilot the SDL programme. Those invited included all four members of the senior management team and the people who worked closely with them. It was made clear that all those invited, irrespective of level, could decline if they did not genuinely believe the programme would work for them. After nine months the pilot group of 20 recommended that SDL groups be extended to a further 80 people.

The SDL programme began by addressing a common mind-set held by many: 'I'm here and I'm waiting to be taught.' This was tackled by introducing the concept of personal awareness (via the Myers Briggs type indicator) and its relevance to learning and human interaction more generally. Second, in conjunction with the Acuition consultants, Rod Taylor developed an enquiry tool to help participants identify their own learning needs. Known as the needs analysis process (NAP), individuals decided on the learning goals that would have the greatest benefit to them and their part of the business. The NAP focused attention on the impact the business' strategic and operational objectives had on each participant's current and future level of performance.

Once participants were made aware of the wealth of learning resources available through books or e-learning they chose the learning group they wanted to join. Each group consisted of four people from across the organisation and would meet every six weeks in confidence, serving as a support structure for its members. Such support was critical; the opportunity to talk about how to apply learning in the workplace not only helped group members make sense of the effect their learning had, but also supported fellow learners in the group working on the same or similar topics. The frequency of the meeting ensured an individual's learning stayed close to the top of their agenda.

During the first year each group had its own facilitator drawn primarily from Acuition but also from within the company. The facilitator's role was to accelerate the group's capability to learn. The key drivers that effected this capability were seen as the quality of dialogue and levels of trust between participants. Facilitators helped each SDL group member to:

• articulate clearly the issues they saw as important to their progress
• focus more on what is, and less on what is not, within their sphere of influence and control
• identify how their attitudes and subsequent behaviours contribute to successes and difficulties
• gauge emotions, ask insightful questions and listen actively
• give and receive feedback
• use colleagues to achieve specific objectives, eg as role players to practise a group or one-to-one meeting which is due to take place

The work of the SDL groups was supplemented by workshops delivered by neurolinguistic programming practitioner Sue Knight. These further sharpened people's ability to use precise questioning, listen and give feedback.

Programme effectiveness and results

From the learner's point of view SDL asks them to make a commitment to themselves, their learning group colleagues and the company as a whole. No one missed a learning group meeting and the original SDL groups have now been in existence for over two years. One person out of 99 has dropped out of a group since they began in 2002.

Discussions at learning groups are held in confidence, but participants describe their groups as a place to get energised and to reflect on topics they don't discuss with anyone else. They value the new insights they receive about themselves and these make a difference to their confidence and competence in meeting the challenges of their jobs. Though conversations in the group can sometimes be challenging, participants also feel supported by their fellow group members. Many feel they learn as much by helping colleagues in their group as they do from receiving help.

The key to SDL's effectiveness for individuals is the practical changes it makes to the way they work. Examples include:

• better delegation to, and development of, the work team
• more effective buy-in for process improvements and business plans
• building more understanding relationships across different departments

In addition, SDL participants feel that they have learnt how to consult and how to get to the root causes of production and other frequently recurring problems. Another issue to have emerged from the SDLs is the exploration of the balance between lives inside and outside work.

The company has learnt a lot, but it took the risk of awakening people's deeper desires through SDL. A few engineers left when they realised they were not where they wanted to be. But SDL helped the vast majority of home-grown talent to cope with the demands of leadership. Vestas Blades UK achieved exceptional business results by achieving the strategic objectives it set itself. SDL has become integral part of its culture and learning seen as an important part of the psychological contract the company has with employees. Groups still meet regularly support each other, unaided by a facilitator. New groups are planned and the challenge now is to engage more front-line production staff in the learning process especially now that a key strategic challenge is transfer the blade technology developed and built by Vestas UK to other factories around the globe.