Case Study
The Gap Partnership: Building a leadership pipeline to enable business growth
The Gap Partnership
The Gap Partnership is a management consultancy specialising in negotiation. Renowned for helping organisations drive profitability, increase efficiency, and reduce costs, The Gap Partnership plays a pivotal role in today’s rapidly changing global landscape. Whether navigating mergers, managing trade union agreements, repairing disrupted supply chains, or adapting to new commercial realities, their expertise in negotiation is essential for achieving sustained success.
The client
The Gap Partnership (TGP) is a mid-sized global professional services group specialising in negotiation consultancy within a dynamic B2B sales environment. With ambitious plans to double in size, TGP recognised the need for its people strategy to evolve in tandem with its commercial goals. The challenge was to build leadership and HR capability that would not only support this growth but also maximise the talents of TGP’s sales consultants, the company’s greatest asset.
The brief
As TGP set its sights on significant expansion, it became clear that a strong leadership pipeline and an effective HR strategy were essential. TGP required a comprehensive approach to attract, develop, and retain top talent, ensuring that its people agenda kept pace with the company’s stretching commercial targets. The goal was to embed leadership capability at all levels of the organisation and establish a sustainable pipeline for future leaders.
What we did
Process review
ig partnered with TGP to address these challenges through a multi-faceted approach. We conducted an in-depth analysis of TGP’s recruitment and coaching strategies. This involved assessing how the company attracted, selected, and developed talent, leading to several strategic recommendations.
Bespoke coaching programs
Based on our findings, we designed and implemented tailored coaching programs aimed at building leadership capability at three critical levels: future leaders, business unit leaders, and the senior leadership team.
Extensive coaching delivery
We delivered over 250 coaching hours across multiple regions, including the UK, Germany, Russia, the US, Australia, and China. These sessions were instrumental in nurturing leadership skills and aligning them with the company’s growth objectives.
The results
Positive impact on future leaders
Participants in the future leaders program reported feeling “stretched and challenged,” with 40% receiving promotions before the program had even concluded.
Continued demand
Members of the senior leadership team requested ongoing coaching, citing its significant impact on their performance and contribution to the company’s success.
Sustainable leadership development
ig’s tailored approach is set to continue, further developing TGP’s leadership capability and strengthening the talent pipeline needed to support the company’s ambitious growth targets.
What our client had to say
To hit our growth targets, we realised we needed to recruit the right new people and improve our future leadership capability and talent pipeline. The ig team are doing a great job in helping us address these areas – and I’m looking forward to seeing more positive results in 2017 and beyond.
Rachel Langley
Chief Talent Officer
TGP
In summary
ig’s partnership with TGP has been pivotal in aligning the organisation’s people strategy with its ambitious growth goals. By focusing on leadership development and talent management, we have helped TGP build the internal capability required to achieve its commercial targets. The positive feedback and continued demand for our services underscore the impact of our tailored approach on TGP’s ongoing success.
