Productivity in professional services, by inspiring employees to step forward

"_""I have stepped forward requesting further training and opportunities rather than waiting, improved my confidence and stepped outside of my comfort zone."" - 'Be Bold' participant_

The Career Innovation Company (Ci) has developed a new online programme for employees, taking place over 10 weeks, which provides similar benefits to coaching but at lower cost and larger scale. Its innovative combination of coaching methods, positive psychology and an online platform enables people to 'step forward' at work, increase their contribution, and future-proof their skills. It is called 'Be Bold in your Career'.

So far 1,600 people have taken part in the programme, with impressive feedback. Now we wish to demonstrate its impact on businesses as well as individuals, focusing on the professional services sector. The concept we are seeking to prove includes these components:

1. To what extent does this programme, which engages individuals, also result in measurable productivity benefit for their organisations?
2. How much and what kind of complementary support for managers -- if any -- is needed to maximise this impact at firm level?
3. Theory of Change: What are the causal links between future-focused career support and short or medium-term productivity?
4. Specifically: To what extent does the programme's focus on the future equip and motivate people to take action to update their skills?
5. To what extent does the programme's focus on emerging trends, including automation, lead to individuals and firms recognising and responding to those trends?

This is an opportunity for us to test the impact that an online, scalable, future-focused coaching programme can have on small employers and hence the wider economy.

Working in partnership with the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), a highly-regarded UK centre of expertise on productivity and human resources, the Proof of Concept will also be used to design and prepare the methods and partnerships needed for a full-scale trial.

This research will accelerate Career Innovation's ambition to provide more impactful, lower-cost, higher-scale employee support than has previously been achieved, and reflects IES's mission to help bring about sustainable improvements in employment policy and human resource management.

The project also has the support of a leading professional body, and two universities with specialist expertise in SMEs and productivity.

_""I can honestly say it has completely changed my outlook and the opportunities open to me. Some of the best investment of my time that I have ever made for my career."" -- 'Be Bold' participant_"