Product Quality with Kingswood

For 40 years, residential and outdoor activity provider Kingswood have been delivering transformative trips to adventurers. Operating 11 centres in the UK, their resilience-building activities are designed to inspire confidence through entertaining and valuable outdoor adventure learning. Not only that, but their programmes also deliver tangible learning outcomes that measure impact on confidence through curriculum-linked and educational-based programmes.

Operating such an impactful product across multiple locations means consistency across the centres is key to Kingswood. Establishing the essential values and behaviours of the brand is imperative, along with ensuring all team members have the confidence to harness these ideals and provide these life-changing adventures year-round. In2action worked with Kingswood to really focus on these important qualities of their product and devise a system to ensure these were consistently delivered across all sites.

At the start of the project, we conducted various visits in order to audit the overall product and assess any strengths and potential challenges ahead. Ultimately, we implemented a blueprint of the customer journey and key touchpoints to allow an understanding of how to meet the necessary standards with every customer experience. Kingswood staff also attended team training workshops across each and every centre, so there would be a cohesive delivery of services and adventures across the UK.

Values & Behaviours

To meet this consistency, we at In2action embedded the culture and values of Kingswood into our training sessions, allowing them to be have maximum impact and be highly personal to the internal Kingswood messaging. Training was delivered to every Kingswood centre to arm each staff member with the drive, confidence and competency to deliver exceptional experiences to guests nationwide. Two key training programmes were delivered; Values & Behaviours, and Train the Trainer.

The Values & Behaviours training was delivered through both informative and practical sessions which ultimately gave each team member the confidence to represent the Kingswood name. This was also a perfect opportunity for the team to bond and understand the importance of one another’s roles in the company. The Train the Trainer course gave select team members the skills and abilities to train other staff themselves. These workshops provided the underpinning qualities and skills required to deliver high quality internal training and maintain the standards we initially proposed to the sites.

Customer Journey

For the customer journey, the focus was on mapping out the key touchpoints, from the initial sales process and first impressions, through to post-adventure. This highlighted the importance of communication and cohesion between every part of the trip - providing a positive and professional introduction to set the tone of a Kingswood experience, safe and successful team participation on site activities, and ensuring the best delivery of a residential or day trip. We defined what ‘great’ truly meant at each step, then set the precedent for reaching that high standard of delivery along the way.

The redesigned customer journey was then produced as an asset to be provided at every Kingswood site, so each of the staff teams would know how to define a life-changing adventure for their guests.

Feedback

At the Dearne Valley centre, where the first round of training and support for Kingswood, was provided, the team worked closely with general manager Kaylei Millea who wanted support on not only providing great customer service but instilling the essential company values and behaviours to all of the centre team members. Kaylei wished to ensure that the team understood the parameter of each other’s roles, the influence they have on one another as a team, and the impact the team has on guests that arrive at the centre as a result. That consistency ensures that positive and professional energy was shared amongst the staff and reflected back to the adventurers.

“The main thing I wanted gained from the training was consistency. I wanted the team to understand the Kingswood message, the Kingswood experience, understand the impact in the difference between good and bad customer service, and understand each other as a team! Instilling good company values and behaviours to the team meant that the team could then represent those values and reflect those behaviours back to our guests. I sensed a great amount of positive energy from the team following In2action’s work, and a lot more pride in what they do. They immediately seemed more comfortable and confident on a day-to-day basis. I’d love to continue working with In2action on an advisory basis. They enabled the team with a great amount of confidence and understanding of the Kingswood service, and I’d like to develop and maintain those qualities with them down the line.

For those looking to work with In2action, don’t be afraid to be transparent. I was honest with Chris and the team about what our potential challenges were. Being truthful about the message you want to deliver and the strengths and consistencies you want that you may not have or may need improvement on, means they can wholly support you in reaching those goals.” - Kaylei Millea, General Manager of Kingswood Dearne Valley