Vivien Long & Dawn Turner

Dawn Turner and Vivien Long, founders of OutsideTheBox (OTB) are experienced workforce development trainers from the HR and teaching sectors.  They joined forces in 2005 and set up OTB after working together at Coventry University on a Management and Training Programme designed for small to medium sized businesses. 

OutsideTheBox has successfully developed a proven, re-usable training method that empowers anyone within an organisation to deliver meaningful and behaviour changing training, via a user friendly, step-by-step training manual.

Training workshops that OTB have designed and written include – How to Appraise Efficiently and Effectively, How to Manage Volunteers, Equality and Diversity, Time Management, Managing Performance, Customer Care, Dealing with Difficult People, Being an Effective Manager and How to Attract and Retain Staff.

Personal Background

• Dawn began her career in insurance, working her way up to HR Executive Manager.  Dawn was responsible for putting together robust HR strategies, policies and procedures to fit in with the sudden implementation of HR legislation and also managed in excess of 1,000 members of staff across the UK.
• In 2002 Dawn made a move and went to work for Coventry University, where her role was to show businesses the much needed importance of Training and Development. This in turn highlighted the need for accessible, cost-effective and user-friendly training and from this experience the OTB concept was born.
• Vivien began her career teaching business studies, business law, HRM and organisational politics.  She then moved into the cost-recovery side of education, where she learnt the difference between teaching and training, and was soon designing bespoke training courses for both the public and private sectors. In 2001 Vivien became involved with Coventry University where she was responsible for recruitment, development and support of contract trainers and the design and development of training material.  Vivien is also an accomplished trainer and has worked for many blue chip companies.

NEWS RELEASE

Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Implement Quality Training        

Seven National Health Service (NHS) Trusts across Coventry and Warwickshire have implemented a unique training and development strategy to improve the quality and productivity of its staff – after introducing a new and innovative learning method, developed by fellow Coventry based training experts, OutsideTheBox (OTB) Ltd.

Coventry and Warwickshire Leadership & Management Group commissioned OTB to design a new training toolbox, specifically targeted for use in the National Health Service – this initiative came after the successful execution of initial OTB training implemented throughout the seven Trusts.

OutsideTheBox has now introduced “All Things Being Equal – NHS” the ‘Equality and Diversity’ training toolkit, thanks to the support of the Leadership & Management Group – who believed the training tool, was desperately required within the health sector to provide quality training on key equality and diversity areas to team members.

The initial OTB training that the seven Trust partners implemented prior to investing in the new equality and diversity toolbox included – Management Skills, Priority and Time Management, Performance Management and Dealing with Difficult People, amounting to 21 individual boxed solutions.

The trusts sourced the flexible and cost-effective training method as a way of continuing their ‘in house’ team development programme despite the sector’s rapidly reducing training and development budget allocation – due to the current economical climate.

Jan Spalding, Chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire Leadership & Management Group said, “OTB has provided us with quality training, specifically written for non-trainers. This means we can empower our managers to take responsibility for their own team’s progression and ensure that their team’s full potential is reached in terms of individual development and performance.

“The concept fits in also in terms of time – the training method allows us to deliver training without the need for employees to attend external workshops and be away from the workplace too long.

“We are able to run training in small chunks or as one session, and as we own the training ‘box’, it means we can go back to the training and re-deliver, if necessary”.  

The training kits are now being utilised successfully throughout Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trusts.  The OutsideTheBox training workshops enable anyone within any organisation to deliver meaningful and behaviour changing training ‘in house’; managers, non-experts, non-trainers are given the confidence and expertise to make real changes for people and, ultimately, the whole organisation.

This is possible via the aid of the specially designed OTB ‘toolkits’ – that simply and clearly guide any designated employee through the delivery of each training session. 

Vivien Long, Co-Director of OutsideTheBox, said, “With the success of the training toolkits in Coventry and Warwickshire, we would like other NHS Trusts across the Country to also consider this innovative approach to training and development. Training should always be an essential part of every organisation; enabling employees to keep motivated and up to speed with current issues is vital. 

“The Equality and Diversity toolkit is specifically written for the NHS, therefore we are keen for it to serve its purpose, to help improve and educate workforces across the UK”.

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