Case studies

Some examples of our current clients and projects are shown here.

Atos Consulting is one of the UK’s major management consultancies and part of Atos Origin, Europe’s largest IT Services company.

A programme of acquisitions between 2002 and 2004, followed by a major recruitment drive, meant that the consulting population had received varying amounts of training and development. The company needed to standardise consultancy methodologies and harmonise the value set to underline its new identity.

Working together with an internal team, Silver Pebble consultants are co-delivering an intensive programme of training for 200+ new and existing consultants over a two-year period. The five-day residential programme reinforces the key consulting methodologies through a case study and includes guest presentations from senior directors to embed the core values.

Successful completion of the training programme allows delegates to receive a portable qualification, awarded by the Chartered Management Institute.  The Certificate in Management Consulting Essentials is the UK's only post-graduate Certificate-level qualification in the Management Consultancy field.

HM Revenue & Customs was formed in 2004 by the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise. It employs 98,000 people across the UK and is responsible for collecting £350 billion of revenue each year.

Bringing together two such large organisations, with their own heritage and processes, posed many challenges, not least the integration of the cultures of the management teams. So the Department embarked on a programme of ‘Management Capability Masterclasses’, a series of briefings and workshops across the UK aimed at HMRC's middle managers and front-line Officer managers. Silver Pebble consultants led a number of these events in 2006, focusing on motivation in times of ambiguity.

Cornwell is one of the UK's leading independent IT and programme management consultancies.  With over 100 consultants, it has a strong record in Information Management in the public sector.

A key element of Cornwell's growth strategy is to share the responsibility for selling more widely within the company.  But because most of the consultants are engaged on full-time assignments, it was difficult and costly to arrange training events during the working day.

After evaluating the learning needs and options, Silver Pebble designed and delivered a programme of participative evening workshops to build the selling skills of the consultants.  Within weeks of starting the programme, new sales opportunities were identified and converted, paying back the cost of the training straight away.

SERVICOM is the government department in Nigeria which is tasked with improving the services that the government provides for the public.  It does this by auditing service levels and developing improvement plans for over 300 public sector organisations including hospitals, government agencies and and the police.  The department was set up in 2005 with support from the UK Government through the Department for International Development (DfID).  

Working with Atos Consulting and funded by DfID, Silver Pebble designed and is delivering a certified programme of training in Nigeria to build the capacity and credibility of the SERVICOM team.  

The development programme is accredited by the UK Chartered Management Institute and leads to the award of a postgraduate qualification, the Certificate in Management Consulting Essentials.  

Unipart is well-known as a global logistics partner and supplier of spares for the automotive industry.  With a turnover over £1bn, Unipart is in the top 30 privately-owned companies in the UK.

Part of Unipart's strategy is to provide consultancy services, particularly in the application of lean manufacturing techniques to improve efficiency in service industries.  It has a wide range of clients, including government departments and financial services organisations.  Unipart's unique strength is that their consultants and practitioners are experienced managers and subject matter experts who share their time between consultancy and their line responsibilities.

Silver Pebble is working with Unipart's own Learning & Development team to design and implement a development programme for the consultants and practitioners.   Using a 'train the trainer' approach, Unipart's own staff are licensed to deliver an accredited programme, keeping down the costs of training and increasing flexibility.