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For the second year running, GCI Health’s award-winning Levelled-Up Learning makes the shortlist for Best Employee Development Programme. So, what is it about our approach that truly stands out? How do we demonstrate our commitment to learning and development in a way that goes beyond the norm?
Who we are
In 2013, GCI Health opened its doors in London with a headcount of one, to champion a Global vision of being the best healthcare agency in the world. One decade later, here we stand with a business built on reputation – a measure not only of success in numbers, but of our culture that puts our people firmly at the centre.
We are Inspired by People, a business philosophy that determines our approach and how we operate. For us, this starts at home. Ensuring our team is healthy and happy is our priority, knowing our ability to best serve clients and patient communities comes from a stable workforce.
Learning and development are key not only to brain health but to the overall happiness and motivation of our people.
That’s why we place so much emphasis on nurturing a workforce as happy and successful in our personal lives as in our professional ones.
In a year when agencies were cutting employee-centric programmes, we did the opposite and reinforced a robust suite of opportunities to spark curiosity and learning. These included our ‘Passion Plot,’ a proprietary tool to identify the types of work individuals care most about, and a ‘People Day,’ to discuss individual passions and development goals to aid career development.
Complementing this individualised approach, we completed the second year of Levelled-Up Learning – a standardised professional development package tailored to experience and designed for all employee levels.
Our core training focuses on three key skill areas:
1. GCI Health business tools – what we need to be able to do as a GCI Health employee. 2. Communications skills – the skills we need to work in communications.
3. Behaviours – how we behave as a colleague, manager, team player.
These courses not only support our employees’ development, but they also set out role expectations and their role within the business.
Our level-specific courses:
• “Incubator” programme ensures that all entry level staff receive all the necessary training needed to develop a credible foundation for a successful career in communications.
• “Learning to Lead” for all Account Managers and Senior Account Managers, setting out the skills and behaviours needed to be a future leader.
• “Accelerator” a year-long course for Account Directors which is based around the importance of emotional intelligence, strong leadership skills and brain savvy business preparing them for the next stage in their careers.
• “Leadership Academy” a six-month course for our leadership team to help build the mindset, behaviours and skills needed to take their leadership abilities to the next level to help drive our business forward.
In 2023 we conducted 37 learning and development sessions totalling 95 hours, with 17 internal and 7 external trainers, and 97% positive feedback from attendees:
“I thought the programme was really valuable and interesting.”
“I think the content was very useful and relevant to the stage in our careers.”
So, what does our team think about how we embed learning and development into the everyday?
Results from our 2023 engagement survey showed:
- 86% of employees said their manager encourages their growth and development.
- 96% of employees said they understand how their work contributes to the agency’s goals and objectives.
We are truly invested in growing and developing our people to help them become the best they can be. Whether our people stay with us for the entirety of their career or leave to pursue their careers elsewhere, we feel proud to have set every individual up for success. We are always on the look-out for great people to join our team. Email us for an informal chat at [email protected]. Find out more about GCI Health here:
Web: www.gcihealth.com
Insta: gci_health_eu
LinkedIn: GCI Health
