Case studies

Gressingham Foods: Empowered Teams, Million Pound Savings

Project: Bespoke Leadership & Management Development with Measurable Outputs

Gressingham Foods partnered with Jarrold Training to design a management development programme with live projects at its core. Rather than taking managers out of the business for a series of abstract workshops, the programme turned real operational problems into the learning journey.

“We initially engaged with Jarrold Training through recommendations to present at our annual management conference to highlight the importance of respect in the workplace. This led on to discussions around a bespoke leadership and Management programme designed for our needs.

The preparation work and quick understanding of the business led to a 6-month programme being written for over 150 of our key staff. Jarrold’s communication and clarity throughout the process, and the team delivering the sessions were excellent. There have been clear benefits that have been evident in behaviours and attitudes across the business, not only have we seen an improvement in general people skills we have also seen tangible financial benefits in staff feeling empowered to deliver projects for cost savings and efficiencies, many of which have been implemented. The response from our staff was extremely positive”

Chris Morley, Managing Director

As managers learnt, they were simultaneously diagnosing issues, co-creating solutions with their teams and delivering measurable results in the flow of work. The outcome was a more confident and impactful leadership population, with over £1 million in projected savings from live projects and significant gains in improvement and management capability.

The Goal

Equip 150 managers across multiple sites to:

Demonstrate a clear operational and financial return on investment from management development
Improve real processes and performance as part of their day job, not as an extra task
Lead people and change confidently in a high-pressure, highly regulated environment

The Challenge

Gressingham Foods operates in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment characterised by:

Constant production demands and limited time away from the line
Mixed confidence and literacy levels across the management population
Multiple sites, functions and generations
The need for a stronger, values-led leadership culture and continuous improvement mindset

Our Approach

At the heart of the design were three principles: learning anchored to live business projects, deliberate spacing between sessions to enable application, and essential theory always paired with practical tools and real-world use.

“It was an ambitious programme and we involved a large number of our staff. Many staff had not had the opportunity to be involved in training of this nature and I think it has encouraged staff to think about their development and many have a new taste for learning.”

Steve Harley, Chief Financial Officer

Managers were not just learning how to lead; they were leading real change in real time, with their teams, while the programme was running. They led at least one live improvement project using the bespoke DUCCK process, rather than working on hypothetical case studies, providing a clear, repeatable structure for turning everyday frustrations into measurable improvements:

D – Define the problem
Clarify the nature, scope and impact of the issue using real data and examples.
U – Understand the who, what, when and how
Carry out root cause analysis, exploring the people, processes, timings and behaviours involved, not just the symptoms.
C – Consider the possible options to solve the problem
Involve the team to generate ideas and alternative approaches, building engagement and ownership.
C – Choose the best option and make a plan
Use a quantifiable solution validation process and a decision matrix to select the strongest option and create a practical action plan.
K – Kick start your action plan and monitor progress
Implement the chosen solution, track results and adapt quickly based on evidence from the shop floor.

Spacing that enabled real impact

The programme was deliberately structured as six half-day training sessions across six months. That timing and spacing were critical to the impact. Each session became a checkpoint in the project journey; a place to test thinking, refine plans and share evidence, not just absorb more theory. This rhythm is what turned the programme from training into a live engine for improvement.

Between sessions, managers had time to:

Go back into their area to define and understand meaningful problems
Engage colleagues to consider options and choose the best route forward
Kick start their action plans, gather data and see what was actually changing

Human, adaptive delivery

Two experienced facilitators (Bryony and Matt) led all twelve cohorts, flexing language, tools and activities for different learning needs, roles and sites. Managers were treated as experts in their own world, with the programme positioning leadership and improvement as an extension of what they already did well, not as an academic exercise.

As trust grew, scepticism about “training” gave way to ownership of improvement. Managers increasingly brought live issues into the room and used the programme as a safe place to think, experiment and prepare to lead change back on the job.

Programme Focus

Across six sessions, managers explored and applied:

You as a leader
Self-awareness, communication styles, team dynamics and the impact of different leadership behaviours.
Values and behaviours
Translating Gressingham values into everyday leadership habits, including equality, diversity, inclusion, belonging and relevant legislation.
Performing under pressure
Stress responses, problem solving, decision making and the launch of DUCCK projects.
Motivation and delegation
Understanding what motivates people, using delegation and cross-skilling to unlock team capability and ownership.
Performance management
Setting clear expectations, giving feedback and holding effective, sometimes difficult, conversations.
Presenting impact
Project presentations, sharing outcomes and learning, plus a final command task bringing the learning together.

“Each training day brought new ideas and skills to use/ pass down to my own team. It’s about looking after our team as without them we aren’t going to succeed.”

Participant

The Impact

As the programme was built around practical application in the flow of work, rather than theory-only workshops, Gressingham saw a powerful combination of:

Real financial gains, directly attributable to manager-led projects
Sustained operational improvements, embedded in day-to-day practice rather than existing as “project work” on the side
Shifted leadership behaviour, with managers now treating problem solving, data-driven decision making and team involvement as core parts of their role

The programme delivered over £1 million in projected savings across five areas: technology and equipment, packaging and materials, transport and handling, operational efficiency and giveaway reduction.

Alongside the financial impact, operational gains included:

Annual water savings of 5.2 million litres through a £500 process change
Improved audit scores in hatchery environments
Reduced microbacteria levels across key sites
Stronger biosecurity and breakdown preparedness
Smoother production flow and improved staff readiness

Stronger leadership and culture

The programme was received extremely well by participants, achieving an eNPS score of 45. It also delivered:

Greater leadership confidence in handling people, performance and change
A shared language and standard of leadership across sites
Higher engagement as teams were involved in identifying and solving problems
A visible shift from “firefighting” to continuous improvement

Managers began to see themselves not just as custodians of daily operations, but as active shapers of how work is done.

The Legacy

The programme has established a clear, practical leadership standard at Gressingham Foods and proven the direct connection between leadership capability, efficiency, safety, culture and consumer value.

It has created an improvement-literate leadership population who:

Systematically identify and define problems
Engage their teams to understand causes and generate options
Make evidence-based decisions
Implement, track and share the impact of change

Larger-scale initiatives that require capital investment or strategic approval are now being actively considered at board level, signalling that innovation and continuous improvement are firmly on the leadership agenda.

The enduring legacy is a confident pipeline of managers who leave every process, team and site better than they found it and a leadership development model that proves learning can pay for itself when it is built around live work, not just the classroom.

“Jarrold Training designed a Leadership and Management programme tailored specifically to our needs and the challenges we currently face within the business. This began with a full profiling session and a tour of the site, enabling them to build the training around real issues and opportunities. Bryony and Matt played a key role in shaping the programme and truly captured what we were striving to achieve.

Our industry is not easy to navigate, with fast-paced production and the challenge of releasing people from the line to attend training. This was the largest project both myself and Gressingham have ever undertaken, and because the training was mandatory, flexibility from the provider was essential. Jarrolds offered exactly that—working closely with us every month to ensure everyone could attend. Over the six-month programme, Matt and Bryony genuinely became part of the Gressingham team.

The impact of the training has been remarkable. We have seen clear improvements in the behaviour and attitudes of our managers, as well as significant financial gains. The cost-saving and efficiency projects assigned to staff far exceeded our expectations.

I would highly recommend Jarrolds. Their trainers are among the best in the industry, consistently striving for better—for us, for our staff, and for our business. It is truly refreshing to work with a company that doesn’t just deliver training but cares deeply about the difference it can make. They are genuinely invested in Gressingham.”

Carrie Barrett, Learning & Development Manager

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