The “Next Gen” of Peel L&P talent

We are delighted to share the news that Peel L&P’s innovative “Next Gen” programme has completed a hugely successful pilot year and the programme has been given the go ahead for 2022.

Led by the People Team’s Chrissie Bramhall, the programme has been created with Peel L&P’s future leaders in mind.

The Next Gen programme aims to nurture Peel L&P’s early career professionals, to retain talent, and support our Peel family ensuring our heritage, skills and knowledge are passed on to the next generation of innovators, disrupters and decision makers.

Laura Atkinson, Emma Green, Aaron Jackson and Fred Kamstra were selected for the programme’s pilot year and played a crucial role in designing the programme with Chrissie.

The group managed to get together in person for a planning session back in autumn 2020. The group first had to identify what skills and attributes made a good leader which then flowed into what skills the group wanted to develop to help shape them to be future leaders who will continue to make a positive difference.

These ideas then formed the course outline, covering a wide range of modules including: emotional intelligence; negotiation skills; assertiveness & confidence; presentation skills; report writing; meeting facilitation; communication; individual coaching and how to keep motivated. The programme saw Aaron, Emma, Fred and Laura receive 100 hours of training, from three different trainers over the 12-month duration.

A very unique part of the Next Gen programme was the business awareness module. This module focused on Peel L&P’s rich history and heritage, something that sets us apart from many other businesses. This module was led by ELT directors, Myles Kitcher, Stephen Wild, Phil Wilson and James and Mark Whittaker, each of whom shared the history of their business area, how they got into Peel L&P and where they hope their business will successfully be in the future. Each member of ELT delivered incredibly honest and enthusiastic sessions, and that wasn’t their only involvement with the Next Gen course… but more on that later!

We spoke to Aaron, Emma, Fred and Laura about their thoughts on the Next Gen programme and they had this to say.

Aaron Jackson, Development Management, Land and Communities:

“Next Gen is an innovative and bold training programme which has equipped me with the confidence and ability to perform as I progress in my career. The diverse training, I received has allowed me to adopt a growth-mindset and has been extremely impactful on myself and colleagues! As a proud ambassador of the course, I am really looking forward to passing on to the next cohort. Thanks to all those involved for the opportunity.”

Emma Green, Communications Manager:

“From start to finish, I have felt so proud to be part of the Next Gen programme. It is fantastic to see Peel L&P continuing to think about future proofing the business in innovative new ways and how important securing a talent pipeline and retaining talent within the business is. I love that the programme has developed relationships and brought different business areas together. It also showcases how committed Peel L&P are to developing their people and investing in their talent.”

Fred Kamstra, Development Manager, Peel NRE:

“I really enjoyed my year on the programme. I learned so much throughout the year, both about myself and how I could better perform in my everyday job. I particularly enjoyed the Negotiation Skills module and the feedback and conflict module. These two modules give an example of the versatility of the course that focuses on both the practical and personal growth elements of training. it was a great experience and I feel that I have come out the other side a much more rounded individual, with the necessary skills required to progress at Peel and excel in my role.”

Laura Atkinson, Sustainability Manager:

“The Next Gen programme has been fantastic opportunity for us to develop our abilities, share our experiences, support each other and understand more about our personalities in relation to those we work with. The variety of the modules covered during the 12-month programme have provided us with a great foundation of skills we are utilising each day within our roles.”

Running alongside the Next Gen programme, four members of ELT agreed to take part in reverse mentoring. Emma Green who pitched the reverse mentoring idea during the planning day admits it was a bit of a “wild card” for the Next Gen programme, adding:

“Before joining Peel L&P I was an apprentice at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership – a board made up of some of the biggest businesses in the North. One of our board members was Professor Juergen Maier MBE, the former CEO of Siemens. I was blown away how Juergen would always land the message but would do it in such a cool, engaging and inspiring way, he knew how to speak to every level. I spoke to his advisor to ask how Juergen did this, and he revealed that every year, Juergen would be “reverse-mentored” by an apprentice from the factory floor. This allowed Juergen to gain a completely different perspective on projects, ideas and always stay grounded and in touch with new talent. I put the case forward for us to give it a go, but it was crucial ELT said yes, and I wasn’t sure if they would, give that it was a bit of a wildcard; but luckily they did!”

Each member of the Next Gen programme was matched anonymously with a member of ELT based on the skills the ELT director wanted to develop. Laura got matched with Phil Wilson, Fred got matched with James Whittaker, Aaron with Stephen Wild and Emma with Mark Whittaker.

The programme culminated with a presentation created by the Next Gen about the course and their personal journeys in front of the ELT and line managers.

Chrissie, who has produced the programme, sat in every session and was in the room for the final presentation said:

I'm extremely proud of how Aaron, Emma, Fred and Laura fully embraced the programme, they have been completely dedicated and passionate about the course and have now become complete ambassadors of the programme. This development initiative has embedded itself within the business and has proved to be a successful investment for our people and the business.  It has been a joy to watch their relationships flourish as a team and their confidence increase throughout the programme, all four of them have grown and developed so much over the past year. I feel truly privileged and honoured to have worked with such talented early career professionals.  I look forward to watching their career journeys at Peel L&P.

We can also reveal that the Next Gen 2022 cohort are:

• Ella Dunham, Social Media and Digital Marketing Executive, Peel L&P
• Sophie Halls, Company Secretarial Assistant, Peel L&P
• Rachael Beresford, Accounts Assistant, Peel L&P
• Josh McAllister, Assistant Operations Manager, MediaCity
• Rebekah Beere, Arrive Community Manager, MediaCity
• Pete Hadfield, Property Manager, Outlets
• Sophie Doyle, Development Planner, Land and Communities
• Ben Canning, Architectural Technologist, Northstone
• Richard Holt, Assistant Site Manager Silkash, Northstone
• Thomas Chapman, Asset Manager, Peel NRE