People Development at Dyson
The Dyson Story
Dyson's design philosophy lies in questioning everything, looking at everyday objects but thinking different. In 1978, frustrated with his traditional bagged vacuum cleaner constantly clogging and failing to pick up dust and dirt, James Dyson was determined to develop the first vacuum cleaner with constant suction.
Fifteen years, over 5000 prototypes and numerous rejections from short-sighted multinationals later, he launched the Dyson DCO1 Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner.
In just 11 years, Dyson has grown from a team of five engineers working in James Dyson's garden workshop, to a company which employs 1200 people, 350 of which are engineers and scientists in its Malmesbury headquarters.
Dyson machines are available in 37 countries all over the world, but despite its rapid growth the focus remains exactly the same as when James began solving problems by developing new and better technology.
Dyson has sold 12 million machines since 1993. From the very first vacuum cleaner, the 'G Force' which became a Japanese status symbol back in 1991, to the latest compact DCO8 Telescope model, Dyson continues to challenge conventional wisdom with the 2-drums washing machine and the Dyson Digital Motor.
The Challenge
"We place a huge importance on our people. We want them to feel important and proud of their achievements," says Martin McCourt, CEO of Dyson.
"We set the bar very high and everyone responds. We want our people to feel they are driving our success and sharing in it. In some respects Dyson is like a set of building blocks. Every block represents a different department. If one of the blocks is removed, then the whole thing will come crumbling down."
At Dyson, people are encouraged to be creative and try new things. Everyone is given the freedom to do so, even if this means learning from mistakes.
Martin adds, "We are trying to create an environment where no-one is tied to a desk, where we talk to each other rather than sending emails. Dyson is more ambitious than anywhere else that I have ever worked."
Dyson and Academee developed a tailor-made programme that covers management theory, motivation, communication, leadership, coaching, counselling and conflict management. Participants are asked to do some preparatory work before each workshop so that the thinking begins outside the training room. As the programme has evolved, Academee's approach has become increasingly practical, activity-based and creative - always seeking to transfer any theory into practice.
Academee's Sam Golden: "Dyson is a very intelligent organisation and values practical application over theory. Dyson did not want to distract people from their everyday work for too long, so that is why we designed the series of flexible half-day workshops for all the people managers throughout the business."
Martin explains: "To develop and promote ongoing training for managers and directors, we decided to join up with Academee so people will have the opportunity to take part in regular and relevant training workshops. The Leadership Development programme was launched at the end of 2003 and has seen 200 managers taking part, including our European managing directors. Six modules have also been rolled out to cover Paris and Cologne."
The Benefits
The workshops are attended by people from all areas of Dyson including research development and design, IT, HR and customer care. This creates an excellent environment to integrate, network and provides an ideal forum for discussion. Feedback to date has been extremely positive:
"It has given me a great opportunity to reflect on my leadership style," said one participant. "It's a great reflection on how the business is valuing its leaders," added another.
Delivery Style
Academee adopted a delivery style precisely tailored to Dyson's needs, based on:
- Grounding learning in reality with lots of opportunity for managers to talk about their challenges and how learning can help them be more effective
- Striving for sense of management ownership of the learning
- Using proven and highly practical tools to build the concept of a 'management kitbag'
- Using theoretical input sparingly and thoughtfully and always delivered in a practical way
- Challenging managers to really think about what Dyson stands for when considering the practical application of the learning - 'What kind of working environment do we want to be?'
- 'Short bursts' of input on a regular basis which managers can immediately use for positive impact
- Creating a sense of community in the sessions, where people are coming together often and will draw support from each other
An innovative management development programme at Dyson has created an excellent environment for managers to integrate, network and learn. Feedback has been extremely positive.
