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Oaklands Resource Management Ltd
Recognising the skills and knowledge of business advisers.
Size: Two employees plus associates
Sector: Business Support
Locations: Westbury, Wiltshire
Status: SFEDI accreditation, February 2007
“My SFEDI accreditation gives me recognition and credibility. It is a mark of quality for the genuine Business Support professional that sets a standard across the industry. It will help to make my business more successful and stand out from the crowd, reassuring clients that they are in good hands.”
Jeanette Howells, Managing Director, Oaklands Resource Management
With 15 years in management, marketing and consultancy, Jeanette Howells set up her own business in September 1997 in Wiltshire.
“I listed all my strengths and skills,” Jeanette says, “and that provided me with the motivation to set up Oaklands.”
The consultancy offers Small and Medium sized Enterprises a full range of professional business advice and guidance, while specialising in organisational leadership and management development through building continuous learning environments.
In January 1998, Jeanette was joined by her husband Richard who closed his own typesetting and printing business to become part of the newly incorporated Oaklands Resource Management Ltd.
“We provide business support in terms of strategic planning delivered through the development of a Strategy Map to help organisations to grow and expand,” Jeanette says.
“We show organisations how to use `strategy maps` to communicate their aims and aspirations – making business achievement a reality.
“As an organisation grows, they go through a ‘change culture’ and we’re the ones that help them to go forward, linking people and the business together to make a successful transition by teaching them how to use strategy mapping effectively.
“Even more than a business plan, it’s an effective working tool that businesses can relate to.”
Based for the past five years at an office in Westbury, Oaklands draws its client base from small to medium sized businesses across the south and west of England, in sectors such as construction, retail and distribution, hotel and catering, the care industry, printing and media. Oaklands also works with ‘hard to reach’ organizations and rural businesses.
“Our main clients have around 10-50 employees,” Jeanette says.
“For many businesses, this is the stage of greatest change. They’re no longer just family businesses, there are now employees involved, and the organisation will have outgrown the original base of skills that they came in with. So whole new strategies need to be put into place.
“You go in and provide them with advice and guidance, working with them for a while to identify realistic solutions. When you return six months later you can see how they have changed and moved forward. Seeing businesses grow and become successful is what drives me.”
With an expanding client base, Jeanette Howells found herself facing the same dilemmas as many of her clients.
“We were bringing in associates to help us deliver our contracts, but as their numbers increased, we found the personal service difficult to maintain. Exceeding customer expectations through providing quality service has always been my number one priority.”
Oaklands Resource Management also needed to maintain the base of knowledge and experience, on which its reputation depended.
In January 2007, Jeanette was engaged by Quality South West to assess business advisers against the SFEDI Business Support Standards. As part of her own development and to enhance her credibility with SFEDI candidates, Jeanette Howells was ready to be independently assessed against the same prestigious benchmark.
Jeanette was unequivocal about the issues surrounding the early rapid growth of her business.
“As a consultancy, our main priority has always been to provide a professional and personal consultancy service that is tailored to individual business requirements. That`s always the challenge.”
Jeanette expanded her knowledge of the business life of the south and west of England by networking at every opportunity.
“The more people you talk to on an informal basis, the better,” Jeanette says.
Jeanette also belongs to a range of business organisations, including the Institute of Leadership and Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Wiltshire Business Mentoring Network, as well as being the Wiltshire Network Leader for Women in Rural Enterprise.
“Consultants and Business Advisors in this industry sometimes get locked into one area or direction. But the wider your network, the more you understand business as a whole.”
Jeanette also had no hesitation in applying for SFEDI assessment.
The process took about two to three months and involved a self assessment against the Standards followed by a planning meeting with her assessor. Jeanette was observed with a range of clients and finally undertook a professional discussion to check that her knowledge was current and up to date for the business support community.
“The assessor observed me working with a client, taking him through one of the strategy maps which we’d designed – and actually getting him to talk through it. Sometimes consultants either look in a detached way at the business, or in a detached way at the people – but they don’t blend the two together. I will always look at the business and the way people impact upon each other.”
Jeanette achieved SFEDI accreditation at the first attempt, with the assessor reporting that the witnessed session with the Oaklands client was “…exemplary in as much as it was skillfully managed to take in all aspects of business planning, while being fully client inclusive…
“Jeanette demonstrated preparation skills, client empathy and session management, questioning and listening skills and clarification and action planning initiatives.”
Jeanette is now able to market herself as someone who has achieved SFEDI accreditation and is on the national directory of Business Support Advisers.
“The standards that are laid down by SFEDI are what I believe in and what I do. And the SFEDI process was confirmation of that,” says Jeanette.
“To be independently assessed by someone who says, `You`re actually providing a good business support service` gave me considerable satisfaction.
“I can now say to my own SFEDI candidates, `This isn’t just something that I assess. I’ve been through the process. I totally understand what you`re going through.”
Sector: Business Support
Locations: Westbury, Wiltshire
Status: SFEDI accreditation, February 2007
Overall impact
“My SFEDI accreditation gives me recognition and credibility. It is a mark of quality for the genuine Business Support professional that sets a standard across the industry. It will help to make my business more successful and stand out from the crowd, reassuring clients that they are in good hands.”
Jeanette Howells, Managing Director, Oaklands Resource Management
Jeanette Howells profile
With 15 years in management, marketing and consultancy, Jeanette Howells set up her own business in September 1997 in Wiltshire.
“I listed all my strengths and skills,” Jeanette says, “and that provided me with the motivation to set up Oaklands.”
The consultancy offers Small and Medium sized Enterprises a full range of professional business advice and guidance, while specialising in organisational leadership and management development through building continuous learning environments.
In January 1998, Jeanette was joined by her husband Richard who closed his own typesetting and printing business to become part of the newly incorporated Oaklands Resource Management Ltd.
“We provide business support in terms of strategic planning delivered through the development of a Strategy Map to help organisations to grow and expand,” Jeanette says.
“We show organisations how to use `strategy maps` to communicate their aims and aspirations – making business achievement a reality.
“As an organisation grows, they go through a ‘change culture’ and we’re the ones that help them to go forward, linking people and the business together to make a successful transition by teaching them how to use strategy mapping effectively.
“Even more than a business plan, it’s an effective working tool that businesses can relate to.”
Based for the past five years at an office in Westbury, Oaklands draws its client base from small to medium sized businesses across the south and west of England, in sectors such as construction, retail and distribution, hotel and catering, the care industry, printing and media. Oaklands also works with ‘hard to reach’ organizations and rural businesses.
“Our main clients have around 10-50 employees,” Jeanette says.
“For many businesses, this is the stage of greatest change. They’re no longer just family businesses, there are now employees involved, and the organisation will have outgrown the original base of skills that they came in with. So whole new strategies need to be put into place.
“You go in and provide them with advice and guidance, working with them for a while to identify realistic solutions. When you return six months later you can see how they have changed and moved forward. Seeing businesses grow and become successful is what drives me.”
The challenge
With an expanding client base, Jeanette Howells found herself facing the same dilemmas as many of her clients.
“We were bringing in associates to help us deliver our contracts, but as their numbers increased, we found the personal service difficult to maintain. Exceeding customer expectations through providing quality service has always been my number one priority.”
Oaklands Resource Management also needed to maintain the base of knowledge and experience, on which its reputation depended.
In January 2007, Jeanette was engaged by Quality South West to assess business advisers against the SFEDI Business Support Standards. As part of her own development and to enhance her credibility with SFEDI candidates, Jeanette Howells was ready to be independently assessed against the same prestigious benchmark.
The strategy
Jeanette was unequivocal about the issues surrounding the early rapid growth of her business.
“As a consultancy, our main priority has always been to provide a professional and personal consultancy service that is tailored to individual business requirements. That`s always the challenge.”
Jeanette expanded her knowledge of the business life of the south and west of England by networking at every opportunity.
“The more people you talk to on an informal basis, the better,” Jeanette says.
Jeanette also belongs to a range of business organisations, including the Institute of Leadership and Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and the Wiltshire Business Mentoring Network, as well as being the Wiltshire Network Leader for Women in Rural Enterprise.
“Consultants and Business Advisors in this industry sometimes get locked into one area or direction. But the wider your network, the more you understand business as a whole.”
Jeanette also had no hesitation in applying for SFEDI assessment.
The process took about two to three months and involved a self assessment against the Standards followed by a planning meeting with her assessor. Jeanette was observed with a range of clients and finally undertook a professional discussion to check that her knowledge was current and up to date for the business support community.
“The assessor observed me working with a client, taking him through one of the strategy maps which we’d designed – and actually getting him to talk through it. Sometimes consultants either look in a detached way at the business, or in a detached way at the people – but they don’t blend the two together. I will always look at the business and the way people impact upon each other.”
The results
Jeanette achieved SFEDI accreditation at the first attempt, with the assessor reporting that the witnessed session with the Oaklands client was “…exemplary in as much as it was skillfully managed to take in all aspects of business planning, while being fully client inclusive…
“Jeanette demonstrated preparation skills, client empathy and session management, questioning and listening skills and clarification and action planning initiatives.”
Jeanette is now able to market herself as someone who has achieved SFEDI accreditation and is on the national directory of Business Support Advisers.
“The standards that are laid down by SFEDI are what I believe in and what I do. And the SFEDI process was confirmation of that,” says Jeanette.
“To be independently assessed by someone who says, `You`re actually providing a good business support service` gave me considerable satisfaction.
“I can now say to my own SFEDI candidates, `This isn’t just something that I assess. I’ve been through the process. I totally understand what you`re going through.”
