A Programme of Partnership

When a major UK retail brand established an internal creative agency, they partnered with The Industry School to enhance their project management capability.

Through tailored End-to-End Project Management training, their team improved efficiency, collaboration, and strategic planning, positively impacting stakeholder engagement and internal communications. 

Our Client

Our client is a leading UK retail brand, recognised nationwide for its extensive presence and innovative marketing strategies. In 2019, they established a dedicated in-house creative agency designed to streamline their marketing efforts and maintain consistent brand messaging across multiple channels, particularly in the evolving digital and social media landscape. 

This in-house model was crafted to enhance efficiency, improve turnaround times, facilitate deeper internal collaboration, and ensure cohesive, resonant communications that connect effectively with their diverse customer base.

Their Challenge

With the recent launch of their internal agency, our client assembled a project management (PM) team comprising individuals from varied professional backgrounds, including internal retail marketing teams and production departments.

As with any newly formed team, they encountered some startup challenges not uncommon to many brands establishing a completely new internal service business:

• An inconsistency in project briefs, preventing a cohesive approach to the project management process.
• Unrealistic deadlines being set, making effective project planning and resource management difficult.
  
• Lack of a unified process management system adding excessive time and workload overhead to project delivery.

Additionally, the diversity of backgrounds within the project management team led to skills gaps and inconsistencies in approach, notably:

• Clarity around the specific roles & responsibilities of the PM, leading to some team members inadvertently undertaking tasks outside their remit.
  
• Mixed interpretations of the process framework, creating difficulties in effective stakeholder and client expectation management.
  
• A ‘problem-solving’ rather than ‘risk-mitigation’ approach, preventing effective forward planning and strategic project management.

The client recognised the need for targeted training to address these skill gaps while embedding robust, practical PM practices.

The Consultancy (Our Proposal)

In response to these challenges, The Industry School proposed a training solution crafted for the client's internal PM team, based around our one-day End-to-End Project Management Workshop and designed to instil core project management principles through practical, relevant, and engaging sessions. 

This programme was specifically aligned to the client's unique organisational context and designed to directly address their immediate operational challenges and longer-term strategic objectives.

The Training Delivered

We shared our process framework and used a real case study and project documentation that covered each phase of the project lifecycle from scoping to evaluation.

The workshop agenda covered eight main topics:

• How to effectively manage each stage of the project lifecycle.
• Running a project kick-off and setting your project up for success.
• Project planning and assigning roles & responsibilities.
• Keeping your project on track with detailed timelines.
• Identifying and managing risk on your project.
• Project scoping and writing a statement of work.
• Agile vs Waterfall project process - which one is right for your project.
• Wrapping up and running a project evaluation.

The Results

Our Project Management training received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants. Project managers reported enhanced clarity about their roles and responsibilities, alongside improved capability in managing team dynamics and stakeholder relationships.

This led to noticeable immediate improvements, including:

• Increased collaboration and efficiency within project teams.
• Greater assertiveness and effectiveness in managing internal client expectations.
• Enhanced forward planning and strategic management, resulting in fewer reactive scenarios and smoother project deliveries.

Further Training

Building on the success and positive reception of the initial training, some team members elected to undertake further professional development through The Industry School’s Advanced Project Management Workshop, which we tailored to the unique needs of the client’s business and delivered in three distinct yet interconnected parts:

Part 1: Simplifying Project Management and Your Project Approach

• Participants explored key focus areas for project leaders, emphasising prioritisation, simplification, and strategic clarity.
• Covered foundational project management principles, including identifying priorities, understanding the ‘red line’ of value, and optimising project processes to minimise complications.

Part 2: Managing and Maximising Your Team

• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities were reinforced, establishing standards for accountability.
• Techniques introduced included coaching methods aimed at empowering team members, reducing micromanagement, and promoting self-sufficiency.
• Participants learned to use constructive "problem language" to improve team engagement and foster continuous improvement.

Part 3: Managing Stakeholder Expectations and Risks

• Our training provided proactive stakeholder communication strategies designed to preempt and resolve issues effectively.
• Emphasis was placed on strategic questioning and active engagement techniques to manage diverse stakeholder expectations and navigate complex interactions confidently.
• Scenario planning and risk management practices were introduced to strengthen project resilience and responsiveness.

These continued professional development efforts have further solidified the internal PM team’s capacity, significantly enhancing their ability to drive effective project outcomes and organisational success.

Find out more about our in-house recruitment & training services