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Sports
Best of Africa – A Night To Remember

Akin Thomas , Founder and CEO of AKD and Ladi Ajayi, Head of Sport Division at AKD attended the Best in Africa awards last week. Best of Africa was founded in 2011 aspiring to challenge us to go beyond stereotypes, prejudices and preconceptions. It was founded to support and celebrate African-owned philanthropic endeavours as well as to draw attention to the remarkable contribution of Africans in the United Kingdom. 

Ladi Ajayi adds; “Akin and I were invited and attended the Best of Africa Awards at The Londoner Hotel Leicester Square. These awards are to recognise and celebrate the philanthropic endeavours of individuals and organisations from the sports and business world who support and champion causes from healthcare to education to environmental causes and gender equality.

We were fortunate to see recipients such as Patrick Vieira, Charlene White,Anthony Joshua and Danielle Carter to name but a few collect awards. Just as important was the opportunity to meet contemporaries, network with sports and business people and connect with young talented entrepreneurs and people wanting to shift the dial and show Africa and it’s sons and daughters how brilliant they are and the significant contribution they add to the world.”

AKD Sport Division believe these events such as Best of Africa shine the light on the work and positive influence those from underrepresented communities are having in the sport industry. We are passionate about changing the narrative and ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion is part of sport organisations DNA.

Want to know more? Read our pioneering #TellYourStory report. Sign up to ACE, our leadership workshop for those in sport, visit our Sport page to find out more.

AKD Sport Division work with the leading sport and grassroot sport organisations to disrupt to create greater visit our Sport page.


Case Study - Leadership
Leadership Development Case Study – MTR Elizabeth Line

We love working with clients who are inspiring and who challenge convention.  MTR Elizabeth line tick these boxes.  You will be familiar with the Crossrail construction project – MTR Elizabeth line is the company that will operate this new railway on behalf of Transport for London.  When fully operational the Elizabeth line will transform travel across the capital, serving an estimated 200 million passengers annually and increasing central London’s rail capacity by 10%.

MTR Elizabeth line (MTREL) are industry-leading and are determined to rethink and reshape how a railway company operates. Their vision to set a new transport standard for the UK requires leaders who are aligned and equipped to deliver this aspiration.

We were commissioned to create a programme for their senior leadership team by Richard Wilde, MTREL’s Head of Learning and Development.  Regarding their ‘Empower’ programme, Richard said: “We required a development programme that engaged and inspired our experienced senior leaders. AKD Solutions worked collaboratively with us to gain a deep understanding of both our wider business objectives and our specific learning objectives. This enabled them to design and deliver a bespoke experiential  programme that stood out from other leadership programmes. AKD Solutions have proved to be the perfect partner and have successfully delivered our vision for Empower.”

The Challenge
We spent time understanding the aspirations and the challenges, to enable us to design the right programme.  
• Some of the drivers included:    
• Increasing strategic capacity    
• Improving political and other stakeholder management      
Developing a cohort that would continue to work closely together and draw on the leadership skills developed to add value to MTREL long after the programme had finished

Empower
One of our fundamental beliefs is valuing the uniqueness of every organisation and reflecting this in how we design and deliver any learning experience. The programme is disruptive, experiential and challenging.  
We deliberately didn’t involve normal rail-based content.  Instead, we worked with several partners including DB Schenker, Metrobank and Warner Brothers to shape and deliver the 1 year programme.  Monthly modules were wide in focus and scope ranging from “I’m only as good as my team” working with UK Athletics at their Elite Athletes Centre at Loughborough University, to “We make the difference,” a customer experience workshop hosted by the Harry Potter Studios.

The Impact
This programme has had a profound impact on individuals and the organisation.  There has been a tangible change in the self-awareness and confidence of participants.  There has also been increased engagement and ownership of their role in leading the organisation.  Alison Bell, HR Director said:
‍“What Akin and his team offer is very different to what many experience as part of a leadership development programme.  Their focus is on experiential learning rather than typical theory and classroom-based training.  AKD have partnered with us to challenge our approach and push the boundaries of our thinking to create and deliver a bespoke, innovative development programme for our leadership team.  The results have been truly inspirational and have left a lasting impact on all participants.”
‍

The feedback from the participants include:      
“I’m clearer on the environment I want to work in and the environment I want to create for my team.”  


“I’m not frightened to challenge more (in the right way).”    


“I lead based on my values, being focused and purposeful, developing myself others, being reliable, and inspiring others.”
MTR Elizabeth Line – Global Leadership Assessment Centre


Sports  ·  Team building
Our first time at the London Marathon

Sunday 4:45am my alarm goes off, yes it was my wake up call! Why was I awake at this time you ask? I was getting ready to participate in the London Marathon, I hadn’t trained for the marathon at all so you can imagine how I was feeling… thank goodness I was only volunteering as part of the AKD Sport division and NOT actually running.  

This was my first time at the London Marathon, I was excited to be part of this historical event which I had watched a few times on TV. I couldn’t believe I was going to be there, live. I arrived at the Start location in South East London at 6:45am and instantly appreciated the magnitude of being part of this amazing event. Even my taxi driver wow-ed and oo-ed as we drove into the location. The signage set, the number of people stationed at entries, security, multimedia equipment set up, lavish decorations at the Start line – everything was spectacular.  

Once I finally located my team (I got lost, as the grounds were huge!) I was given a London Marathon: badge, T-shirt, light jacket and a New Balance hat along with some much-needed chocolate and water.  

Team AKD getting ready to welcome London Marathon participants

It was great to meet the other volunteers who were from all walks of life, which inherently is a reflection of the London Marathon. The volunteers we met shared their stories, from those who had been volunteering for the past 10 years to a gentleman who shared how he took part in his first marathon at 52 (with a pacemaker) and now is 66!  We also met a young 19-year-old woman who was so happy to have started volunteering at the London Marathon last year and chose to do so again this year.  

At around 8:55am we were briefed again by our team leader and stationed at our post to direct the participants around the course. As we waited for the runners to begin we met some locals who shared their excitement about having the marathon at their doorstep. We also got to hear the stories of friends and family of runners who shared their stories, a lady shared how she had lost her husband last year and was motivated to begin running, we listened to stories of a man who was simply looking for a new challenge and decided to run and was now on his 10th marathon, to a friend of a runner who shared the story of her friend running after having long-Covid albeit this was her second marathon.  

Akin Thomas (AKD CEO) directing runners around the course during the London Marathon

As the marathon began we knew our role was important, even though it felt small. My colleague Shola and I worked together as volunteers on the day, she adds: “Though it may not have been the biggest role, directing people through the course and cheering them along made me feel a part of something big. Seeing the joy on people’s faces when you called out their names was heartwarming”. 

One of the many exciting activities for the local residents was spotting the creative outfits.

The great thing about the London Marathon is that it is truly accommodating to all, we saw Paralympians, elite runners to those simply walking, lest we forget those attempting to break world records. We saw young and those older, black, white, abled and disabled.  

“…no matter how small you feel the role you are playing, do it with excellence and passion as it is truly adding value.”

Faith.A , Marketing and Comms Manager, AKD.

What stood out to me is a life lesson – we all start this race in life, each person’s race will look different however all we have to do is to show up and take part. And no matter how small you feel the role you are playing do it with excellence with passion as it is truly adding value. Shola adds; “This was the first time I had interacted with the London Marathon and it was such an amazing experience. Knowing I was giving someone that extra push they needed because someone was rooting for them was an amazing feeling and I will definitely be volunteering again!” I too echo this sentiment.  

Thank you to the amazing London Marathon Events team.  

Written by Faith.A and Shola Thomas. 

AKD Solutions has worked with London Marathon Events and other Sport organisations helping them maintain a competitive edge in areas of; research, a vision of inclusivity, ACE and much more. We’d love to spark brilliance with you, contact us to discuss how we can disrupt to create something greater.


Case Study - Bespoke
Culture Change Programme DB Schenker

Increasingly we are working with clients who are seeking innovative ways to embed values and get meaningful cultural change. DB Schenker is one of the world’s leading logistics companies, specialising in air, land and sea freight. They employ over 73,000 staff in 2000 locations across approximately 140 countries. Much of their of growth has come through acquisition. 2017/18 was a great financial year but senior leaders recognising the need for change, have created their own burning platform.   They understand that we live in rapidly changing times and that they must future-proof the organisation.  A key prerequisite is the need for real cultural change, ensuring that the values truly underpin how everyone in the company behaves.

Image from DB Schenker website

 Over 4000 leaders had already completed an online cultural change learning programme. The quality of material and thinking was awe-inspiring. But there was still one burning question, how does DB Schenker genuinely embed the desired changes and make them relevant to everyone in the organisation, irrespective of job role or location?   When Yvonne Villinger, Head of Global Transformation, outlined the vision to AKD Solutions, it was an exciting proposition. We immediately saw the potential of applying our learning methodologies to meet this challenge.  We were commissioned to create a learning map that would be used globally, with three tiers of staff; Leaders and Managers, Office-based, and Frontline staff. 

Playfulness is key to designing and delivering our learning solutions because it comprises two crucial components: creativity and problem-solving. In recognising that people learn through experience, playfulness is at the heart of AKD’s approach, with every event offering learners an opportunity to be both active and reflective. In the classroom, we witnessed incredible energy, bundles of ideas and people actively identifying how things could change.   

Playfulness has greater human connectivity than other methods, and if you want real change, you need both an intellectual comprehension and a human connection to the subject. In the design and early rollout of the programme, we saw how play made the subject matter personal to the participants. They were able to see and feel how they can live the values.The messages stuck!   

For such large numbers of employees, a digital solution would be the obvious and’ efficient choice’. But Yvonne Villinger saw things differently: “I felt the importance of connecting the core of human behaviour to the learning; this included creating the sense of a community or tribe. Digital solutions are notable to provide this. They can be a platform to bring people together, but cannot connect feelings“.

We spent six months developing a learning map called ‘We AreSchenker’. Using the scenario of an unethical competitor stealing Schenker’s market share, this learning map brought to life the need for change. The way to win back their markets is for everyone to apply DM Schenker’s values to everything they do. The game appeared competitive, but the only way to win is to collaborate, demonstrating the value of ‘Win Together’. The lightbulb moments created were unforgettable.   

We ran pilots and trained 30 Super Trainers, and the feed back was overwhelmingly positive. Participants said they now really understood the values in practice and knew what they needed to do back in their regions. 

‍Can it work for everyone? We are confident that a learning map can be used globally. But we would say that wouldn’t we, so we asked DB Schenker to respond:  

“Because there is flexibility in a learning map, in terms of examples and languages and translations, every person can make it their own“. 
‍Yvonne Villinger, Head of Global Transformation


Uncategorized
Bespoke Training Course -Toyota

Toyota is the largest car manufacturer in the world. In the US over 70% of customer engagement was online. In Europe it was 5%. ‍Toyota Europe wanted to address this and make it easier for customers to engage with them online. They wanted to develop a comprehensive strategy that facilitated this, included a programme of learning and development that could be rolled out across all the European nations.“Kaiwa (the Japanese name of our programme) was an excellent and refreshing way for our national marketing & sales companies across Europe to experience the wide range of social media available on the internet, and to be challenged and learn the practical impacts of customer handling in a safe social media environment.”David Heming, Customer Relations Manager, Toyota

Our ApproachA Bespoke training course for Customer Relations and Marketing staffWe worked very closely with Toyota to develop Kaiwa (Kaiwa means conversation in Japanese). This was a 2-day course that was attended by customer relations and marketing staff. This equipped employees with the skills to communicate more consistently and clearly with customers online, optimise different channels, and work together more collaboratively. We delivered the programme across Europe to delegates from over 30 nations. ‍It has supported countries which had little or no social media presence, as well as providing a stimulating learning event for more mature markets

OutcomesContinuous development over the past four years. Our programme has now become an integral part of Toyota’s social business model and feedback received from Toyota reports that tangible improvements regarding customer experience have been made nationwide. The success of Kaiwa has meant that we were regular guests at their annual European conferences, where we deliver customer experience based workshops.


Uncategorized
Customer Experience Training Programmes

Mears is one of the UK’s leading housing repairs and care providers to both the public and private sector. With 6,500 employees looking after 13,000 people, customer satisfaction is a top priority. 

Mears goal was to put the customer at the heart of everything they do. They wanted to ensure that all colleagues had the awareness, understanding, and tools to do this. They asked AKD Solutions to help develop a programme to deliver significant improvements in customer satisfaction.

We worked with Mears to create the Customer Success Acceleration Programme. This was a five-month talent management initiative for Team Leaders and Managers in their Customer Service and Community team. ‍The programme covered a range of topics from; Communication Skills and Management Development to Social Value.

We developed a disruptively creative programme to stretch participants. Their collaborative challenges included designing a restaurant and project-managing the arrival of 4000 Paralympians to an Athletes’ Village at a global sporting event. Finally, delegates received an opportunity to demonstrate their learning by completing a project set by their senior managers. 

The programme was a great success with 92% of delegates saying they would recommend it. Mears
told us that our work had enabled employees to better connect with both their customers and colleagues, instilling a more collaborative culture within
the company.


Uncategorized
The influence of women in Sport

AKD and BWB making Basketball more inclusive and diverse.

We are really proud to announce our newest client, British Wheelchair Basketball.  We are working with them to explore how to make the sport even more diverse and inclusive.  

Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced and fast-growing sport that allows non-disabled and disabled people to compete together in its domestic leagues and competition. British Wheelchair Basketball is the governing body for wheelchair basketball in the United Kingdom. Currently there are 17,000 people playing the sport with the hope of growing it to 70,000.

The first thing on our agenda was to watch a match and see this exciting sport in action, we were not disappointed! Ladi, Nana and Akin watched East London Phoenix win their opening match against the Cardiff Met Archers, one of the first matches in the Women’s Professional League, the first disabled professional league in the UK.  It was brilliant game and we were privileged to be part of this historic event.  

“We are really pleased to be working with British Wheelchair Basketball.It is a great organisation who recognize the challenges in diversifying their sport and we value their honesty and transparency in tackling these issues. We are at AKD are looking forward to working together with BWB.”

We are looking forward to working alongside British Wheelchair Basketball as they set out to make basketball more inclusive. We will be sharing with you the great work we are doing so do follow us on this journey.

Make sure you check out the fixtures and get to a British Wheelchair Basketball match, we promise you will be amazed and inspired!

British Wheelchair Basketball we are super excited to be working with you.  Signup to our FREE Sports ACE Leadership taster workshop, this disruptive workshop is designed for sport Leaders, find our more here.‍

Download our racial diversity report #tellyourstory here.

We are always adding to our free leadership and management courses and demos, to spark brilliance by designing and delivering stimulating, challenging and fun learning experiences and training programs. Our ACE free online Leadership Workshops can be found here. Contact Us for a FREE demo on 0345 034 1105 or email info@akdsolutions.com


Uncategorized
British Equestrian breakthrough research to make the equestrian industry more diverse and inclusive. #HorsesForAll
Image from Ebony Horse Club

British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and AKD Solution have launched a breakthrough research project, #HorsesForAll. This research will seek to better engage those from low socio-income backgrounds as well as those from ethnically diverse communities. The research project will survey 600 participants through a quantitative approach and further engage 140 participants in one-to-one forums done either face-to-face or virtually providing qualitative data, to understand the barriers faced from underrepresented groups.

The UK equestrian industry has taken strides in being inclusive when it comes to gender equality however as it relates to ethnically diverse representation there is a glaring obvious underrepresentation in the sport. Chief Executive of British Equestrian Jim Eyre said; “Equestrianism and the passion for horses is by its nature hugely diverse and open to all, regardless of age, gender, religion, ability or background.  However, we know ethnically diverse communities and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are under-represented across equestrianism and may not feel it is for them. If we are to thrive as an industry and open up participation for everyone to experience the unique joy horses bring, we have to do more to embrace our differences and recognise what can be possible when equality, diversity and inclusion is woven into our culture.”

Offchurch Bury Horse Trials (Unaffiliated) – Offchurch, Warwickshire, United Kingdom – 01 August 2020

AKD is committed to looking for ways to work with those in the Equestrian sport, the #HorsesForAll research project provides AKD with an opportunity to work with BEF to shift the dial. The research approach will capture the stories that illustrate the patterns and trends that affect participant engagement and involvement in sports, and in particular Equestrian activities. By identifying trends and patterns, AKD hopes to create long-lasting and effective solutions that can be implemented at the organisational level and throughout the sector.

AKD Solutions is an international learning and development consultancy. Their purpose is to stimulate brilliance in people and organisations. AKD sparks that brilliance by designing and delivering stimulating, challenging and fun learning experiences. Their Credo outlines their core beliefs which reflect very strongly in everything they do. With experience in creating a pioneering report with the Sports Council #TellYourStory campaign, sharing the experiences of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people across the sporting landscape, AKD Solutions is ideally placed to conduct this research. This collaboration with BEF will be long-lasting and will provide an effective way to make an impact. “We are excited to be working with BEF on this project. We are going to bring some creative ideas to how we design and deliver this project. We intend not just to deliver a great research project but also to build long-standing relationships between communities and equestrian sport, providing greater awareness, breaking down barriers, and bringing genuine opportunities for people.” Akin Thomas, CEO of AKD Solutions.

AKD and BEF would like everyone to get involved in driving this change in the Equestrian industry. “While this is a strategic imperative for the Federation, it’s more about working to break down those barriers and creating a community where everyone truly feels they belong. Today marks the start of our commitment to doing just that. We look forward to working with partners and stakeholders on a number of research projects which will bring a strategy and an action plan, which will help us collectively deliver on our pledges.” Chief Executive of British Equestrian Jim Eyre said.

To get more information on our #HorsesForAll campaign contact Faith Anyanwu at AKD Solutions via email, marketing@akdsolutions.com .


Equally Yours  ·  Organisation Development  ·  Team building
Equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) is not a FAD!

“When I was a Police Officer I beat up a group of black boys during the riots in an unprovoked attack.” “He called me and told me he was touching himself whilst on the phone to me”. “I feel I have nPot progressed in the company because of my race not because of ability.”

These are some of the shocking revelations that are born out of our Equally Yours workshops, which focuses on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Shocking yes, but liberating for those who feel they have finally found a safe space to unearth some of their horrifying experiences without judgement.

A national newspaper recently tried to smear us by undermining the need for organisations to have Equality, Diversity and Inclusion workshops, they mocked what we do and even described it as “woke”, not sure what that means and we do not care to find out! What cannot be denied is in the past 10years the landscape of our communities has changed and inadvertently it is impacting organisations, with 8.3million more people living in Britain the population has become older and international. However little progress has been made in the workplace as in 2018 less than 1% of CEO’s in the Fortune 500 list were black and women made up less than 5% of the list. Within the workplace employees see and feel this bias with 35% of LGBTQ+ individuals feeling the need to hide their sexuality for fear of discrimination according to the Equality Group.

A solution to this is not just a tick box training, nor hyper-focus on equality training as this can have an adverse effect. It is taking a holistic approach to understanding the EDI spectrum and what it entails and having an appropriate learning programme (workshop) that is tailored to the organisations needs, this leads to greater impact on individuals and the organisation at large. Our popular workshop Equally Yours takes this approach, fostering an environment in which participants can learn about the Equality Act, scenario-based EDI training and practical tools given to help deal with an ever evolving EDI topic. What we add to the conversation is widening the lens by sharing lived experiences where possible and allowing participants to ask tough questions without fear of judgment, with the added bonus of playfulness.

Our work has greatly impacted over 150 organisations like the City of London Council who engaged us to provide Equally Yours workshops for their staff. Between 2021 and 2022 we ran the workshop again and saw a 35% increase in participants at the City of London Council. The reality is, this matters to staff and it should matter to organisations. A participant shares their experience of attending the Equally Yours workshop, “Really enjoyed learning…learnt how to respond, extremely insightful!”

As organisations take this leap into the EDI space it can be scary, some may even be criticised for desiring to educate and equip their staff on the subject of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. It is not good enough for organisations to have their eyes wide shut, the reality is this is a topic which needs to be addressed and addressed openly. We must not wait for another George Floyd, Child Q incident to happen before organisations act. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion should be at the forefront of each organisations agenda. This is why we stand apologetic and remain resolute in what we do. We will not apologise for supporting people and organisations to become more diverse and inclusive. If any national newspapers ever feel the need to have a session on how to become more diverse and inclusive, we are here ready to support.

Faith Anyanwu


Equally Yours  ·  Leadership  ·  Organisation Development
Coaching Advisory Panel

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What we do
Sports
Sports
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What we do

  • Inclusion & Diversity
  • Bespoke Learning Solutions
  • Team building
  • Organisational Development 
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Data Protection
  • Induction
  • Customer Experience
  • Complaints
  • Made to Measure
  • Experience