60 second interview:
Capable People
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Capable People is an IRCA accredited training organization focused on helping organizations to improve their management systems. We talk to its founder and director about the importance of culture in organizations |
What does Capable People do?
We specialize in the improvement and the implementation of effective ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 systems. We run a number of training courses around quality, environment and health and safety related issues. We also help organizations with operational challenges such as trying to achieve certification to a particular standard or implementing a management system. As part of that we offer IRCA registered training.
How do you help organizations implement and improve their effective management systems?
We try to give very specific solutions. The most important element is to listen very carefully to the organization and what its people have to say. We get lots of information about them, their problems, their objectives and then work on a proposal that takes them in the direction that they want to go. It’s also about being very honest with people about the limits of what you can do. I think people value that honesty.
How important is the culture of an organization to what you do?
Culture is very important because it affects the way people behave and act. In my experience culture sets the tone for how people will react to new things. If there’s something wrong within the culture, if it’s too oppressive, for example, then it generally makes your job more difficult. You can usually tell whether you’re going to have a difficult job within the first 15 minutes.
How do you change a negative culture in an organization?
You have to be realistic about how much you can change and how far you can take them. A consultant can’t change a culture from the outside, there has to be an internal will to change. If the culture has been engrained for a number of years, you must be realistic about how quickly you can turn that around. If you go in with a consultancy solution, you’ve got to manage your own expectations and theirs and understand what the first step is going to be. You might have an idea that this culture’s no good and I want it to be like this. But if perfection is miles away it’s not usually very helpful talking about it because you disassociate people from the process. They will see the task as unachievable. You have to give something close to aim for and then in three months’ time see where you are, and move on.
Capable People was formed in the UK but you now work in India, Pakistan, the Middle East, India and, most recently, Nigeria. How did you get involved with working overseas?
All of our overseas partners originally approached us with a proposal for joint working. We receive a lot of emails from organizations saying they want to work with us, but the vast majority are looking for a cheap and quick way of running auditing courses. When I reply saying we do things properly and maintain standards more often than not you don’t hear anything more. When an overseas organization does come back to us, we start talking and try to assess whether they’ve got the capabilities, the skills, and the infrastructure to support what we are trying to do.
In March you visited Nigeria to sign a memorandum of understanding with your newest partner TCL. What does that mean for your partnership?
The memorandum of understanding formalizes our partnership. it was important to TCL because in Nigeria a lot of companies make false claims. When we were visiting Nigeria we ran some training courses for their tutors and I’m pleased to say that the TCL partnership will be a lot broader than some of the overseas partnerships we have formed in the past. I say too much about it at the moment, but we’ve got plans to develop a number of projects over there that incorporate IRCA training
What does the future hold for Capable People?
In the next year we will be looking to expand further in Africa. There is real potential there because the people want to do things properly. Particularly in Nigeria some people and organizations have played fast and loose with standards and a lot of companies have made false claims. Everyone on our training courses in Lagos want to do things absolutely by the book, probably because people are sick and tired of the fraud, the false claims and the general failure to respect standards. Outside Africa, our Pakistan office is working very hard at the moment and we’re moving into Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and possibly Kuwait too.
For more information about Capable People visit www.capablepeople.co.uk
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