The Embryo Development Programmes 2021

Towards the end of the year, before the launch of our re-brand, I was thinking about what my goals were going to be for 2021. One of which I knew was that I wanted to invest more time into working closely with our head of departments within the business. As the team had grown so much throughout 2020, each of our digital marketing departments had now at least three people within each (PPC, Social Media, SEO, Content, Web, Digital PR). This, therefore, became clear to me that the faster we grow, the more important it will be to make sure that our managers and the teams within are A) continually learning and working towards improving themselves, B) reflecting on their performance, and C) working towards the future for both theirs and Embryo’s progression. 

It was then that I decided to create two programmes to specifically aid both the managers and our delivery team for the next year ahead. 

The Manager Development Programme

The programme includes 3 parts and each session is to be carried out monthly during a 1-1 session. Part 1 focuses on ‘Myself as Manager’ and includes workshops that cover leadership skills, strengths and weaknesses, setting personal and professional goals, and out of hours learning. Each manager will read a minimum of five management books and will reflect on these at the end of part 1  to show if and how they have benefited from it. Each team member has to successfully pass each part of the programme before progressing to the next. 

Part 2 looks at ‘My Department & Its Progression’, this goes into further detail of their own unique department. Session one of part 2 allows the manager to create their own department standards to deliver to their team and ensure that these are upheld. We then focus on any processes that the manager has implemented within their teams that have had a positive impact on the business. The idea of this part of the programme is to evidence as much as possible of how each manager has successfully contributed to their department and its progression. 

We then move to the final part of the programme which covers Human Resources and provides the managers with the opportunity to identify areas that they would like to learn more about so that together, we can cover those within the final part of the programme. 

The Executive & Account Manager Development Programme

Whilst the managers carry out their programmes with me, they will also be delivering their own executive and account manager programme with their own team on a monthly 1-1 basis. This will be completely adaptable throughout, in order for it to be unique to each digital marketing department within the business. 

The managers will set out five out of hours learning topics, whether these are books, articles, podcasts, or webinars. In the same format as the manager programme, they will reflect on these at the end of part 1, to outline if and how this has helped them within their roles. Part 1 for this programme focuses on ‘My Development’ and covers learning experiences that they need to improve on, personal and professional goals, strengths and weaknesses and lastly, reflection time. Once each team member has successfully completed part 1, they will then progress to part 2 ‘My Department & Campaign Delivery’. Part 2 includes the department standards set out by the line manager, campaign results, internal administration, analytical skills, communication, amongst a range of other skills that they apply day- to-day for their role.  

Once each team member has successfully completed and passed the programme, they will receive a certificate of achievement and either progress to the management course or an ‘intro to management’ programme, preparing them for the final manager development programme. The aim of the two programmes is to ensure that as a team, we are all consistently learning and going above and beyond to progress ourselves as individuals which in turn, aids the growth of the business. The programme very much supports our company values that are ‘together, curious, innovative, and focused’. We are an extremely talented team at Embryo and aim to set the bar for all new members that join us, showing a clear supportive pathway to progression for everyone in the team. 

If you would like more information on the above or would be interested in working with our team or implementing your own unique learning and development programme, please contact us either by email [email protected] or by telephone 0161 327 2635 and a member of the team will be happy to help.