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Will Haynes from Grove Automation

Founded in 2021, Grove Automation initially became established as an automation company with a focus on software. Recent development has seen the business take on bigger projects, where they supply everything from mechanical procurement and install to electrical install design, software and commissioning. Will Haynes became Managing Director of Grove during his time on the Help to Grow: Management Course and puts much of the business’s recent growth, and his ability to successfully transition into his new role, down to the benefits derived from the course.

Will Haynes1

Background

The Help to Grow: Management Course appealed to Will as it covered such a wide area of business. Marketing, strategy and finance were topics of particular interest. Will’s nine years working at Toyota highlighted a need to implement more processes into Grove and his inexperience of people management was something he needed to develop quickly to support his transition to Managing Director.

Impact

Not long after Will had embarked on the Help to Grow: Management Course, he found the learning on conflict management and the peer discussion about real life experiences, influential for handling tough business decisions. Grove progressed and Will successfully put himself forward as Managing Director. His new role requires an understanding of running a business and the course has provided him with confidence to tackle new challenges. Marketing, strategy and finance are now areas he has a solid understanding of — which has inspired ideas to push these areas forward. The guidance from Will’s course mentor was instrumental for fresh thinking, as he recalls regularly having lightbulb moments during their sessions.

A project tracking process has helped to inform future decisions. As a small and relatively new team, Will identified this as an area for development at Grove and is in the process of implementing an app, integrated with finance, to assist with scheduling and improve efficiency.

Since taking over as Managing Director, Will has faced challenges with recruitment diversity. A face-to-face workshop on how to write more generic and inclusive job adverts proved timely during Will’s recruitment process, and he was able to reword the adverts, leading to wider interest from a range of applicants.

Since Will completed the Help to Grow: Management Course, Grove have landed their two biggest projects to date, costing over £650,000 combined, with more in the pipeline as Will aims to generate over £1M turnover within this financial year. As the business continues to rapidly grow, Will is in the process of recruiting a graduate student and intern from Nottingham Trent University.

Would you recommend the course?

100%. I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s given me the confidence to run a business and understand all the aspects of it. The combination of face-to-face and online learning was perfect for me as it meant I could attend all the sessions around my working schedule.

Help to Grow: Management Course

Join 30,000 senior leaders taking part in a practical management training course, a scheme delivered by world-class business schools, accredited by the Small Business Charter.

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