esa guide to professional development (educ&training)

7/27/2019 ESA Guide to Professional Development (Educ&Training)

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ESA GUIDE TO

PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

USING EDUCATION

AND TRAINING EFFECTIVELY

Copyright 2013 The European Sponsorship AssociationAll rights reserved.

No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, includingphotocopying, without the written permission of ESA, any application for which should be addressed to ESA.

DisclaimerThis document has been prepared for general guidance. Whilst proper due care and diligence has beentaken in the preparation of this document, ESA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information contained.

ESA Publicationswww.sponsorship.org

Produced byESA Professional Development Group


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Education and Training for Sponsorship

Introduction

The sponsorship industry is now a large and mature industry dependent onthe talents, quality and skills of all those involved in the sector. The industry is,by its nature, at the leading edge of society, engaged in innovation, shapingand adapting to societal and economic change. Managing sponsorship iscomplex, requiring knowledge and skills across a range of disciplines fromstrategic planning, creative and project management, to legal and thoseinvolved in the industry must keep abreast of change.

Training and education is critical to the process of managing change. Itspurpose is two-fold as it supports both business objectives and the talent

within the business. It also contributes to ensuring that sponsorships arebuilt on quality, excellence and innovation. The creation of the ESA Diplomain 2012 recognised the need for dedicated professional standards insponsorship education and is the first academic qualification designed forthe sponsorship industry.

Training and professional development is prevalent, built to some degreein all organisations practices and individuals lives. However, circumstances

are ever changing and it is important for organisations to periodically reviewtheir education approach and assess whether it meets their needs and thoseof its people. The review can also include benchmarking how others areapproaching training and development. This ESA paper outlines a goodpractice approach to education for the sponsorship industry and providesdetails of resources and practical examples.


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What is education and training?

Education is strategic learning employees and partners acquire and generate

knowledge and capabilities such as creativity to help your organisation develop

and evolve

Training is task-focused learning Continuous professional development (CPD) is a process where employees recognise

the value of training and education and record their knowledge and capabilities on a

continuing basis to improve

Work experience is where the sponsorship organisation gives potential recruits to

the industry the opportunity to work within the industry for a short specified period,

usually before or during education. It both supports the industrys future supply of

recruits and is a contribution to society

The education and training cycle

Your organisation may have an extensive education programme, but is it formally

structured in a strategic way so that education and training can be applied to best

effect? The diagram below illustrates a continuous improvement cycle which can be

used by any organisation, regardless of size or role in the industry.

Assess:capabilities,

resourcesand needs

Plan: strategicand operational

education training

Review andimprove

Commit

Roll out/implement:

education, trainingand CPD

Promote

Monitor andevaluate

Report: internallyand externally


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The education and training cycle

Commit:This is fundamental as it means that your board or owners and management will

understand the value of education. They will be prepared to allocate your organisations

resources and time to education as a strategic, embedded activity

Assess:In this stage you review the skills and knowledge needs of your organisation.

You will identify the current and future needs to achieve business results and carry out an

assessment of the skills and capabilities of your people

Plan:This is the stage where you plan the education and training

Roll out/ Implementation:This is the delivery stage where the rationale is explained to

employees and the programme includes both your organisations formal and informal

education and training as well as the CPD efforts of employees

Monitor and evaluate:Education and training is an investment you need to know

how well you are doing measure the views of participants and trainers, appraise

performance before and after. Also assess the impact it is having on your business plan

Report:You need to inform all those involved as to how well the education and training

is doing. This will include reports to clients and sponsors as well as other stakeholders

Promote:Use your education and training to promote your organisation it is a mark of

leadership, quality and innovation

Review and improve:Learn from your experience and results and improve your strategy

and delivery of education and training


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ESA resources

ESA is continually developing new resources for education and training. Ourcurrent initiatives are:

Professional qualification

The ESA Diploma: The Diploma course runs annually from January to July and is the

first-ever academic qualification designed specifically for our industry.

It is regarded increasingly as a mandatory qualification for those wishing to practice in

the sponsorship industry. The seven-month course is structured to suit those working

full-time through use of distance learning supported by monthly seminars held in the

UK. The content is suitable for all levels, from those starting out in their careers to

senior management

Encouraging entrants to the industry

The ESA Work Experience Certificate:Work experience helps shape future candidates

for employment as well as fulfilling ESAs corporate responsibility commitment. TheESA Work Experience scheme provides ESA members with a programme to follow

when engaging work experience candidates/ interns. Available in the UK and Ireland, it

provides a clear, easy-to-follow framework in order to minimise interruption to the day-

to-day running of the business and enables both parties to get the most benefit from

the arrangement. The scheme comprises three levels of qualification Gold, Silver and

Bronze depending on the employers business structure and duration of the candidates

work experience period. The nuts and bolts of the scheme are laid out in easy-to-read

downloadable Guidelines for both employers and candidates. For employers, the

Guidelines also include, for example, a sample engagement letter, legal requirements

concerning payment levels, and a sample non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

Supporting sponsorship professionals throughout their career

ESA Skills Workshops:A series of workshop-based sessions designed to provide the

building blocks for a successful career as a sponsorship practitioner

ESA Insights Forums:Thought-provoking sessions for business leaders and senior

management

ESA Briefings:Updates on specific topics and issues such as the UK Bribery Act

ESA Publications:Guides and publications promoting best practice and raising

standards across the industry ESA Sponsorship Summit: An annual one-day conference debating industry issues

ESA Continuous Professional Development (CPD):Employees of ESA members

who record a minimum of 35 credits of approved activities are entitled to ESA CPD

Accreditation, and receive a certificate to demonstrate the achievement. ESA CPD

Accredited status can be used on professional records and CVs as evidence of

commitment to learning and professional development. Approved activities which

count towards ESA CPD include attendance at industry events, ESA Knowledge

events, the ESA Sponsorship Summit, in-house training events and knowledge-sharing

activities such as authorship of articles and speaking at conferences


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Recognising achievement

ESA Excellence Awards for Education and Training:The ESA Excellence Awards

started in 2005 and attract entries from those working in sponsorship from across

Europe. The ESA member Professional Development Award was launched for

Education and Training

Examples of good practice

ESA is building a library of examples of good practice. Here are someexamples of good practice by ESA members. This guidance is dynamic andmore will be added.

Assignment of responsibilities for education and training

A Board Director has responsibility for driving the Education and Training/ Learning

and Leadership agenda. A team is dedicated to this initiative as well as two dedicatedHR Contacts

Investment

In one year, each employee received on average ten days of training, equating to an

individual spend of about 700/ 600

Sharing of information

Conversations undertaken by the leadership in an Agency to plan and deliver a mix of

sessions where senior management shares its experiences

In-house training Best Brains in the Business: Taking the best brains in the sponsorship industry and

getting the best out of them. Monthly internal and external speakers on a variety of

interesting topics to stimulate debate, creativity and thought leadership

Academy: Giving employees the opportunity to be seconded to London for between

three weeks to two months. The objective of this is to:

accelerate the development of the agency within lesser developed markets

share ideas and best practice

fast track individual development of key talent

Immersion sessions for employees, clients and rights holders

A week-long sponsorship immersion session aimed to raise awareness and educate

about the many facets of Association Marketing. The week was open to all the

agencys employees, clients and rights holders and had over 200 attendees

Bespoke training centre: located away from the agencys offices so as to support

independent thinking. The centre provides an area for training, learning, and CPD-

related activities


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Employee scholarships

The company recognised that some development opportunities do not fit under

the core learning programme, so part of the training budget is allocated to allow

employees to engage and participate in learning activities that stretch minds and

promote creative thinking. Once a quarter, any employee can apply for a bursary of

up to 1000 to contribute to the cost of any Learning Experience. This can go to justone individual or be split between several depending on the application. The learning

experience does not have to be directly related to the employees work, but the

employee should be able to demonstrate the benefit

Induction

Sponsorship immersion sessions for new starters across the company focused solely

on the role of sponsorship as well as all new joiners being given a buddy to provide

additional support beyond the induction process from the line manager and client team

Leadership education programmes

High Potential Programme: Identifies the people who have the potential to becomeexcellent leaders, and gives them access to development opportunities that accelerate

their career development and personal growth

Future business leaders programme: Runs over two years, designed to fast track

the top talent from across different areas of the business who have been identified

as having strong leadership potential for leadership roles. Participants take part

in different training and development opportunities such as Commercial Training,

Leadership training and Group Strategic business projects

External events

An agency has a budget for attendance at industry conferences for employees atvarying levels of the organisation. This is not allocated per head and is dependent

on the number and relevance of opportunities. Attendees are nominated according

to qualifications, development needs and relevance to their business objectives. The

process is designed to be open and transparent to ensure the attendees maximise their

learning against their performance objectives and are able to transfer knowledge back

into the business

Internal knowledge management

An agency has a structured programme of knowledge sharing. This is often provided

through its online hub and community for the sharing of ideas and best practice. Thisis supplemented by region-wide communications such as internal thought pieces and

monthly bulletins with relevant news, insights and industry case studies. The agency

also runs weekly sessions to apply the latest industry thinking to existing and potential

client briefs

Measuring the value

The company surveys its staff. In the most recent survey undertaken it was found that

89% of employees felt that they had benefited from the training provided and that

their employer takes pro-active steps to ensure that their training is leading edge


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Leadership capabilities

The company has identified five key capabilities it requires of its leaders and all

leadership development initiatives are built around these capabilities:

Strategic focus

Mobilisation/ preparation Delivery Excellence

External Relationship Management

Commercial Edge

Informal education and training

Sponsorship Buddy Scheme: Having a Buddy can make a huge difference to an

employees happiness and productivity at work and the speed with which new recruits

manage to settle into a team. All new hires are automatically allocated a buddy and

existing team members can request to be part of the scheme. A Buddy is to act as

an informal point of contact for the team member to provide support and help themdevelop confidence in their role.

AcknowledgementsThanks go to the ESA Professional Development team and to lead author, Peter

Wilkinson of Peter Wilkinson Associates, for producing this publication.


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Checklist

This is a checklist of the key aspects of an education and training programme.

1. Has your organisation made an explicit commitment and policy for education,

training and continuous professional development?

2. Does the education and training policy commitment apply to board members

and all staff?

3. Does the commitment extend to critical partners?

4. Is responsibility for education and training assigned to a specific person?

5. Has your organisation assessed the skills and capabilities needed to achieve

operational and strategic objectives?

6. Do you assess the education and skills of your people?

7. Do you identify their personal education and skills ambitions?

8. Have you an education and training plan?

9. Do you appraise employees on education and training and develop individual

plans?

10. Does your board and do your employees contribute to industry education and

training such as speaking at external events?

11. Does your current education and training plan result from a strategic approach?

12. Do you know the quality and cost of your education and training, how users rate

it, how they benefit from it and the value to your organisation?13. Do you communicate internally and externally your commitment to education

and training and the results?

14. Do you promote your commitment to education and training to enhance your

organisations reputation?

15. Do you review periodically the progress of your education and training

programme and its results?

16. Do your board and senior management review regularly your educational

training?

17. Do you improve your educational training programme on a regular basis?

18. Are improvements informed by the results of systematic reviews?

19. Do you make full use of ESAs educational offerings?

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