Norton Group

	What have the Americans ever done for UK retail? October 2007 Earlier this year three of our directors undertook a hosted coast-to-coast study tour of the US. During the tour we discovered the real hero of North American retail and the compelling ingredients there for building an irresistible product proposition. We saw at first hand how US retailers closely engage with their employees and build a sense of real pride amongst their staff. How they are daring with formats and how stores successfully reflect the needs of local customers. We were impressed and we learnt a lot. To find out more about what US retailers can teach us and for a copy of our US Study Tour presentation, contact Steve Shutts at the Norton Group on s.shutts@thenortongroup.co.uk or 0870 890 0890.

	Employee engagement that goes right to the bottom line September 2007 Everyone talks about employee engagement, but only some companies manage to engage their people successfully. By successfully, we mean the sort of employee engagement that motivates staff, delights customers and goes straight to the bottom line. That kind of employee engagement. Many businesses do the fluffy, superficial things, but very few businesses make the leap beyond that and embed employee engagement in their processes, in their communications, even in their performance appraisals. Those are the businesses that see a massive positive impact on their bottom line. To find out more about how to embed employee engagement in the fabric of your business, contact Nick Green at the Norton Group on n.green@thenortongroup.co.uk or 0870 890 0890.

	Customer loyalty and cauliflower power June 2007 Recently we were asked by Microsoft Canada to provide a keynote speaker at a conference for their retail customers. The theme was successful customer loyalty and the impact on the bottom line. The presentation dispelled some commonly held myths about customer loyalty and focused in on the key issues that make or break a successful loyalty strategy. Fresh thinking is definitely what is required and there’s no better way to illustrate this than to take a look at a humble cauliflower. To find out how a cauliflower can teach us much about successful customer loyalty strategies, contact Steve Shutts at the Norton Group on s.shutts@thenortongroup.co.uk or 0870 890 0890.

	How to centralise and outsource L&D successfully March 2007 Whatever the sector, businesses are feeling the operational and competitive pressure to cut L&D budgets. Cutting budgets is easy. Reducing costs without negatively impacting training outcomes and the wider business is, of course, much more difficult. Efficiencies are generally sought through centralisation or outsourcing, or a combination of both. Issues are then raised about flexibility – how can a centralised training function respond swiftly to an urgent business need (e.g. compliance driven)? Then there’s quality. What will be the effect on sales and customer churn by outsourcing, say, product or customer service training? On the other side of the argument, just compare the upfront time of external trainers (100% by definition) versus internal teams (realistically 40-60%). Factor in a benchmark day rate and how can an internal training function justify its existence against such compelling efficiency gains? Striking this balance correctly is the key to profiting from the potential efficiencies and maintaining quality. To find out more about our experience of how organisations have struck this successful balance, contact Paul English at the Norton Group on p.english@thenortongroup.co.uk or 0870 890 0890.

	FSA review highlights training deficiencies February 2007 FSA review highlights training deficiencies The recent FSA inquiry into the quality of mortgage advice revealed a lack of proper procedures in some organisations and in others a failure to follow those that had been established. There are clearly learning and development requirements here that are not being fully met. In this kind of situation it can be difficult to deploy sufficient training resources to quickly tackle this kind of urgent need. Any organisation concerned would want to ramp up their training to achieve compliance rapidly as well as reassuring both customers and investors. A flexible resource that can provide additional trainers of an assured quality level can effectively meet such unplanned peaks in demand ensuring the organisation quickly achieves compliance. For more information, please contact Neil Fletcher at the Norton Group on n.fletcher@thenortongroup.co.uk or 0870 890 0890.

	Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) announces results of strategic repositioning review January 2007 Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) announces results of strategic repositioning review The CAF helps individual and company donors to give to charity individually and collectively, as well as helping charities to make the most of their resources. They have been facilitating charitable giving now for over 80 years. The charity sector has changed rapidly over the past few years, so the CAF asked Norton to come in and review their structures, processes and positioning. Further details about this project will be available soon. In the meantime, for more information, please contact Dave Radcliffe at the Norton Group on d.radcliffe@thenortongroup.co.uk 0870 890 0890.