Amongst the current melt down, crisis and crunch that we are all talking about at the moment, some companies and business sectors continue to flourish. Q. Learning, a successful management consultancy, is one of them; when speaking to the MD, Lesley Gosling, she reported that in the first half of this year, Q. Learning has had its most profitable year to date with record bookings ahead. The company has been running for 11 years and each year it has grown from strength to strength.

When times are tight, smart companies focus on the learning and development interventions that are demonstrably going to make a difference and that have lasting results. Q. Learning is a major change management provider and when Hodder and Stoughton published a series of books five years ago written by Q. Learning, it became viewed as one of the pioneering companies in its field. So what is Q. Learning’s secret?

The company is highly skilled in developing leading edge programmers that meet client requirements. And, recently, it has released new coaching courses that are Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) certified. These new coaching courses, run by qualified and practising coaches, range from introductory to the highest executive level, which only a handful of companies are currently competent enough to deliver.

It is clear to Q. Learning that their client companies are asking them to create coaches in their organizations, for staff at all levels, which means providing different coaching courses for those different levels. So, maybe it is the coaching courses themselves which are the secret to Q. Learning’s successful year - or perhaps it is Q. Learning’s ability to be flexible and pioneering in their thinking which enables them to adapt and flow with today’s market.

Either way, client companies quickly see the financial benefit from installing Q. Learning’s coaching courses; as they do not need to hire external coaches (with an on-going financial benefit) and yet have the lasting effects of mentoring. The courses are also proven to increase levels of staff retention, another money saver, as well as staff productivity, happiness and success rates.

So crunch, crunch, crunch, yet Q. Learning continues to be pioneering, to grow and to flourish.