BSkyB and YourStory

'THE BIGGER PICTURE: YOUR SPORTS TOURNAMENT'

A 2 day module of an 18 month leadership development programme

The first module of an 18 month leadership programme for senior people at Sky aimed to help participants increase self-awareness of their behaviours, leadership styles and team preferences, and the impact these have on others. The method was to work with 'hard to reach' young people on a Schools Reengagement Programme run by YourStory — a south London charity that uses sport as a hook to engage young people in personal development — to organise and deliver a major sports event for pupils from a local school.

"The leadership programme module we ran with Three Hands was fantastic in helping to achieve goals both for our chosen community partner, YourStory, and for the development of Sky's own leaders. The pace, energy, inspiration and results which arose from this event were exceptional and unique. We're now working on a plan with YourStory to ensure the partnership becomes a longer term one and we anticipate lots of mutual learning along the way. Three Hands promise development projects which are 'real' and 'powerful'... and they deliver on this in abundance" Organisation and Talent Development Consultant, BSkyB

Adam & Company and Breast Cancer Campaign

'THE PINK TARTAN BALL'

A continuous competency development programme over 6 months

Adam & Company, part of RBS Group, was keen to show its commitment to a charity partner and at the same time to develop its people around its internal 'Performance Excellence Framework'. Breast Cancer Campaign funds research work in Scotland but had never held a high-profile fundraising ball north of the border. Fourteen Adam & Company employees from various parts of the business, all committed to their own career development, became the ball's Organising Committee, delivered the first ever Pink Tartan Ball at the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, and succeeded in hitting their target of £50,000 in funds raised for the charity.

"We were delighted to work in partnership with Breast Cancer Campaign on this unique project, which supported Adam & Company's HR and CSR strategies. The in-kind support provided staff from different areas of our business with valuable structured learning and development opportunities and, by increasing awareness of the charity as well as raising valuable funds for their research projects in Scotland, the project proved to be a win-win situation for all parties involved." HR Business Partner, Adam & Company

Open programme with Kids Company

'CROSS THE LINE WITH KIDS COMPANY'

A skills development programme over 2 days followed by 6 weeks of virtual teamworking

Our first 'open' programme involved twelve people from companies including RBS, Reuters, Compass Group, Tata Consultancy Services and Control Risks working alongside Kids Company's young people to devise a major presentation about the charity, which which the team and the young people delivered at Kids Company's 10th anniversary exhibition at Shoreditch Town Hall in July 2007. The programme was facilitated to help participants develop skills in areas such as communications, marketing & design, peer group discussion and feedback, and influencing without authority.

"The open programme with Kids Company was incredibly revealing in terms of the lives of excluded young people, here on our doorstep in London, the gulf between their world and our business world and the fact that such a gulf is not sustainable. It was also a great opportunity to develop business skills — including working in a brand new team (including Kids Company's young people) and understanding and communicating an issue in a short space of time — by working with managers from a number of companies and with the young people themselves. Their 'just do it' approach was refreshing and inspiring" Programme participant, Reuters

Travelex and Community Links

'KIDS SPORTS DAY'

A programme for a leadership team over 1 day

The Travelex leadership team was challenged to put on a competitive sports afternoon for teenagers from a deprived estate in Newham, east London, as part of the charity partner's work to tackle conflict in communities and provide meaningful activities to young people in the school holidays. As well as organising the event, the team had to participate themselves and put on a 'healthy tea' for the young people at the end of the afternoon. They also participated in a comprehensive learning review led by the Three Hands facilitator.

"A great day, to be recommended to all management teams and organisations looking to do something different from the usual training day... Stepping out of our own bubble to get a small glimpse into the 'real world' was both thought provoking and rewarding." Programme participant

Kroll and Place2Be

'PLACE2GROW — FUNDRAISING STRATEGY'

A skills development programme over 3 days

As part of its ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility and people development, Kroll (the leading risk management company, part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies) undertook a 3 day SRD programme with 11 employees from various offices across the UK. They wanted to focus their efforts on education and learning for children and teenagers, and they were keen that any partnership should have the potential to be sustainable. Three Hands linked Kroll with national children's charity Place2Be, which works in primary schools with children with emotional difficulties. Place2Be operates in regional 'hubs', and its need was to establish a new strategy to raise £100,000 for its Greenwhich hub, which could then be rolled out to other hubs. Working in a local school, the team's job was to bring their skills and experience in business re-structuring to develop this fundraising strategy, and to put on a fundraising event at the school.

"I wish to express my admiration and appreciation to you all for agreeing to take up the challenge and for preparing such a well thought out, comprehensive report, for the amazing effort that was clearly put into every aspect involved and for being such fantastic sports. I am deeply impressed on every level. You have captured the 'whole' story so completely including areas of weakness that we must address. It's taken us years to arrive at some of the conclusions you reached and I am so impressed by the team spirit." Founder, Place2Be

Compass Group and Pathways Community Interest Company

'THERAPEUTIC GARDEN'

A 3 day module of a nine month management development programme

To promote an appreciation for diversity, a drive for results, a 'can-do' attitude and other management behaviours, a group of managers from Compass Group worked alongside school pupils and wheelchair users to transform vacant allotment plots in Crewe into a therapeutic garden for disabled people. The programme was the last module of a nine-month management development programme, and gave participants an opportunity to demonstrate the behaviours and competencies they had learnt on the previous modules.

"This Community Challenge has proved to be a fitting climax to a concentrated nine-month programme bringing learning and leadership behaviours together while making a positive impact on our people professionally and personally." Management Development Manager, Compass Group

Direct Line and Mind in Croydon

'HORTICULTURAL PROJECT LAUNCH'

A team development programme over 2 days

The head of the Business Services team at insurer Direct Line wanted to encourage the 22 team members to work outside of their usual business environment to develop certain team and management competencies and to 'think the unthinkable'. Three Hands designed a project with mental health charity Mind in Croydon to plan and launch a brand new horticultural initiative for people with mental health problems.

"Launching the Horticultural Project with Mind in Croydon was a challenging but very rewarding SRD programme. The benefits to the charity were tangible and immediate and we all had fun and made new friends at the same time. The project also gave the team an opportunity to 'think the unthinkable' and challenge the status quo. We have taken away learnings that have been implemented and are enabling us to work more effectively as a team. A real win/win." Head of Business Services, Direct Line

Orange and Support for Living

'GARDEN PROJECT'

A team development programme over 1 day

A team of 30 project managers took on an intensive outdoor challenge with Support for Living's day centre for severely disabled people in Ealing, west London. They were asked to lay a concrete path and patio to enable wheelchair users to access the sunny parts of the garden. They also put on a tea party for the service-users to celebrate the new garden facilities, ensuring interaction between the team members and the service-users.

"The event was the best team development day that any of us had been on. It was well organised and a huge challenge for us. At the end of the day we agreed that we had achieved the task to time, the team felt more bonded, and we all had a huge sense of personal achievement far beyond what we had expected. I can thoroughly recommend the event to other managers wishing to build a new team or to reinforce an old one." Product Director, Orange Business Solutions, Orange

Department for Work & Pensions and Mind

'A GARDEN FOR MIND'

A senior management team programme over 3 days

Senior managers can be too removed from the day-to-day issues of their customers. The programme, for managers from the Benefits Agency, was designed to address team issues, challenge their perceptions and remind them of the realities of the people who make appeals against decisions affecting state benefits, some of whom have mental health issues and find the whole process very challenging. The project for the 12 managers was to convert a piece of derelict ground at the back of a MIND drop-in centre in Macclesfield for people with mental health problems. The area was to be turned into a relaxing patio with garden furniture, a barbecue, plants and flowers Ñ all in three days.

"I suppose a true testament to the value of this event was when one manager said to me ' I'd like everyone in my team to experience something like this, I'd like them to feel as proud as I do'. The team met their objectives, left feeling ready to manage the enormous changes facing our organisation and took with them a sense of personal and team achievement. I felt this event captured the hearts and minds of our senior staff like no other could have. I had been party to a memorable experience, one that I would never forget" Team Leader, Benefits Agency

Motorola and SOS Children's Villages

'AFRICAN VILLAGE RESOURCE CENTRE'

A leadership development programme over 3 days

Twenty 'emerging leaders' from Motorola undertook a three-day Socially Responsible Development™ (SRD) Programme in a community in Malawi, East Africa, decimated by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Their challenge, which was designed to "take them to the edge", was to work with the local community to renovate three derelict teachers' houses in a small village and to restore a resource centre for villagers.

"I can use a lot of these experiences within my future work as a team leader at Motorola. I cannot imagine anything more effective for personal and team development" Senior Executive, Motorola.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Prince's Trust

'ADOPT A TEAM'

A skills and competency development programme over 5 days

To tackle learning objectives such as enhanced personal development and collaborating for success, the RBS team worked alongside a group of young people on a Prince's Trust development programme. As a combined team they worked together to raise funds for the Prince's Trust, including staging a major fundraising event, to pay for future Prince's Trust programmes.

"...this type of initiative is almost like having several training courses rolled into one — it covers communication skills, team-building, time management, project planning, coaching, mentoring, giving and receiving feedback — whilst having fun at the same time — who could ask for more!" Programme participant

Pfizer and Action for Sick Children (Scotland)

'THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL PLAYBOX CHALLENGE'

A personal and team skills development programme over 5 days

A group of Pfizer sales people were asked to raise money and awareness on behalf of the charity Action for Sick Children, which produces 'Hospital Playboxes' for seriously ill children. The group, who had not been briefed before the project started, worked under pressure to demonstrate and develop the skills, competencies and initiatives that were being promoted as part of an internal learning & development campaign.

"Using this exceptional technique to develop team skills and to benefit the community was a revelation to me." Operations Manager, Pfizer