NEWS

Founded by a Chartered Organisational Psychologist with over 25 years’ experience in leadership and organisational development, The Deprogramming Company works with individuals and organisations to challenge ingrained behaviours and unlock potential, particularly among women in the workplace. Since its launch, the business has steadily built a reputation for delivering people development services across both the public and private sector.

More recently, the focus has evolved to centre on female leadership potential, providing coaching and support to senior and middle tier women to help them progress and succeed within a corporate environment.

As the business looked ahead, the Directors recognised that while there was clear momentum, the future direction lacked the level of focus and structure needed to support more ambitious growth. They were keen to sense check their thinking and develop a clearer, more robust plan for the next phase of the business.

To support this, the business engaged with RTC North through Durham Business Growth, a programme that provides tailored support to ambitious companies looking to scale. Through a combination of one-to-one advisory support, strategic challenge and practical guidance, the programme helps businesses step back from day-to-day operations and focus on long-term growth planning.

Although a significant amount of preliminary work had already been undertaken, the decision was made to step back and revisit the fundamentals. Starting again with a blank sheet of paper created space to explore the business without assumptions, allowing previous ideas to be reintroduced when and where they would add the most value.

This process focused on the Directors’ long-term aspirations, both for the business and personally, considering how these aligned over a five year period. Through this work, new opportunities began to emerge, particularly around the scale of growth that could be achieved.

The work also highlighted how the business could scale its delivery model. A simple financial model demonstrated that by adapting how additional delivery capacity was recruited and integrated into the business, significantly higher levels of growth could be achieved over the next five years.

With this potential clearly understood, the work moved towards building a structured strategic framework. Key development themes were identified and supported by annual performance indicators, providing both direction and a clear way to measure progress. This also enabled the creation of practical strategies and actions to guide the business through the first year of delivery.

Recent success with a multinational insurance organisation has demonstrated the effectiveness of the company’s Elevate programme in supporting senior and middle tier female managers. This and other case studies will now form part of a targeted marketing campaign as the business moves into its next phase of growth.

Reflecting on the work, the Advisor noted that while improving female representation and progression is widely supported, framing it as a business priority was key.

“Any business that has a significant portion of its workforce not understanding or working to their maximum potential is missing a significant operational opportunity. Looking at female potential in the context of growth and strategic planning puts the issue firmly in the boardroom and raises its profile from a nice to have to a business imperative.”

For the client, the value of stepping back and working on the business rather than in it has been transformational.

“When creating a company, it is very easy to fall into the trap of working in, rather than on, the business. The mentoring has clarified our vision, strategic plans and tactical actions, allowing us to set more ambitious goals for the next five years. Having that external perspective and accountability has been invaluable at a key stage in our growth.” Commented James, Director at The Deprogramming Company.

As a result, the business now has a clear and structured plan in place to guide its development, alongside defined targets, delivery strategies and financial projections to support both internal decision making and future funding conversations.

Building on this progress, additional support has been requested to develop a more ambitious business development plan, ensuring the company is well positioned to accelerate growth in the year ahead.