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Talent Development Programme 2026

Talent Development Programme 2026  The Talent Development Programme (TDP) includes a range of training courses, working in partnership with the ICAEW, HCR, as well as internal and other external trainers.  By investing in you, you will have the opportunity to achieve your full potential.  The TDP supports and enables career development for all employees (excluding apprentices).

 A variety of one day and half day courses have been selected to help you grow your business development skills; hone your coaching ability; learn to influence with maximum effect; tackle difficult conversations; confidently lead your team and much more.  These workshops will be highly interactive, engaging and will provide you with tangible outcomes.

TDP 2026 PLEASE NOTE:  Your manager’s approval is required before booking yourself onto a course.  Please make every effort to attend your chosen course(s).  Cancellations will only be agreed for exceptional circumstances and with your manager’s approval.  If you are in your notice period, you will not be able to attend.

NEW MANAGERS’ WORKSHOP

Emma Flanagan and Kristina Delahaye 3 February / 13 May / 24 September

RECRUITMENT WORKSHOP

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS Julia Jones

Joy Elkins and Nikki Thornton 17 March / 3 June / 10 September

March / Oct ½ day (TBC)

COACHING SKILLS

ESSENTIALS OF EMPLOYMENT LAW

Peter Kane

9 June 1 day

29 June

BECOMING A TRUSTED ADVISER

LEADING YOUR TEAM PERFORMANCE

SPEAK TO THE ROOM

7 July 1 day

16 September 1 day

6 October 1 day

HOW TO BUILD VALUABLE RELATIONSHIPS 7 May 1 day

Peter Kane

Julia Robinson

Rachel Roberts (HCR)

Eve Tomlinson

MANAGING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

IMPACTING AND INFLUENCING

5 November 1 day

2 December 1 day

Julia Robinson

Eve Tomlinson

eLearning 2026 PLEASE NOTE:  The courses detailed here are examples of what is offered in our MBL subscription.  View more here.  All ‘Learn Live’ booking requests must be emailed to Training with your manager’s approval.  To watch a prerecorded webinar, create your own My MBL account to view on demand courses.  All courses can be charged to CPD.

Delegation skills for managers & team leaders – leading & delivering success

Developing your personal effectiveness – practical tips & strategies live at your desk

Time management for accountants and lawyers putting it into practice

Business etiquette for junior in professional practice – a bite sized guide

Managing client expectations & handling complaints – for professional service firms

Time management essentials – practical strategies for support staff

Learn Live 5 February 14.00-15.30 / 10 June 10.00-11.30

Available to view on demand

Learn Live 18 and 19 March 09.30-12.30

Learn Live 29 April 09.30-12.30

Available to view on demand

Conducting effective appraisals & PD reviews – a guide for Managers

How to perform under pressure – tools & techniques

Delegation skills for Managers – the art of empowering talent

Available to view on demand

NEW MANAGERS’ WORKSHOP 3 February / 13 May / 24 September CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Our New Managers’ Workshop is targeted at managers who are new to people management, have recently been promoted to manager, or would like to refresh their knowledge on the fundamentals of managing people.

The course will:

We know there is often a gap in upskilling when people get promoted from technical roles in to people manager roles, and that this can be a daunting task for some. This course will bridge this gap, helping our managers become more confident and capable to undertake their new responsibilities.

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Help you to understand the role of a being a Manager

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Give you an overview of UK employment rights

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Explain Hazlewoods’ key policies and procedures.

Emma Flanagan

Kristina Delayhaye

RECRUITMENT WORKSHOP 17 March / 3 June / 10 September CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

New for 2026, our Recruitment Workshop is designed to equip hiring managers and interviewers with the knowledge and practical skills needed to attract, assess and select the best talent fairly and effectively.

The course will:

Recruiting the right talent is critical for our business, yet many managers step into hiring responsibilities without formal training.

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Equip hiring managers and interviewers with best practices for recruitment. Improve consistency and fairness in interviews. Ensure compliance with employment law and company policies. Enhance candidate experience and employer branding.

This course provides practical tools, techniques and confidence to conduct effective interviews and make informed hiring decisions, whilst adhering to UK employment law legislation. Joy Elkins

Nikki Thornton

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS March /October (TBC) CONTENT Managing both stakeholder and client expectations is an important tool we often forget to use when dealing with the dayto-day pressures of workload.

Julia has a passion for developing others to reach their full potential and has designed and delivered many training programmes both inhouse and public.

LEARNING OUTCOMES  The course will help you understand how you work.

Julia’s courses have a particular focus on developing people and those wanting to be more efficient in their current role.

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Learning to say no effectively using the right body language and expressing yourself.

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Use the four Ds: Do – Delegate – Diarise – Dump.

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Know yourself and plan your day appropriately.

Julia Jones

HOW TO BUILD VALUABLE RELATIONSHIPS 7 May

CONTENT The workshop will provide the skills and structure for you to select where to focus your time and how to be effective at winning work and developing profitable relationships. LEARNING OUTCOMES  Analyse and explore the key components for effective BD.  Understand the importance of networking internally and externally to create new opportunities.  Develop a relationship strategy and understand the techniques for building a credible and effective online presence.  Overcome client resistance and objections.  Improve confidence in closing and commitment gaining techniques.

Peter (LLB and Chartered Marketeer) has strong experience delivering training and business development advice for professional service firms. He has delivered training and coaching to five of the world's top 30 Professional firms.

Peter Kane

COACHING SKILLS 9 June

CONTENT Learn an approach to coaching based on the GROW model. There will be opportunities to practise using scenarios relevant to the firm’s environment.

Julia's approach is to focus on the learning insights and change which will have the maximum beneficial impact in the workplace and for the individual.

LEARNING OUTCOMES  Understand the premise of a coaching approach.  Understand the distinctions between giving feedback and coaching.  Learn the key features of the GROW model.  Learn how to improve your presence and listening skills.  Develop the ability to ask better questions.

Often this will involve experiential learning techniques such as rehearsal of workplace situations and Action Learning.

Julia Robinson

ESSENTIALS OF EMPLOYMENT LAW 29 June CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

To give managers an overview understanding of the issues covered and a recognition of the potential areas of difficulty.

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A grounding in the background to discrimination law, enabling identification of situations where inadvertent discrimination may occur and appropriate responses.

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Earlier identification of issues, including when to involve HR/legal and when to seek specialist medical advice.

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Earlier and more effective intervention in performance management, leading to more timely resolution and necessary groundwork for any formal disciplinary process.

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Increased confidence in recruitment, performance management and the handling of ill health.

This empowers managers to take decisive action, by also equipping them to seek support when required.

Rachel Roberts

BECOMING A TRUSTED ADVISER 7 July

CONTENT Every client wants ‘added value’. This programme offers you a new way to look at your client portfolio and to appreciate how to leverage your expertise when advising clients. The course will challenge your skills as an accountant and help participants understand a client’s commercial mindset. LEARNING OUTCOMES  Ask questions confidently and comfortably to clients that will challenge them to consider their wider business issues.  Understand the principles of building trusting relationships and build better rapport with clients, improving your personal impact.

Peter Kane

LEADING YOUR TEAM PERFORMANCE 16 September CONTENT

As a manager you are required to engage, enable and motivate your teams to high performance, balancing the delivery of excellent client service with meeting Hazlewoods’ business aspirations and targets, whilst attending to the needs of the team and its members. Leading This course will refine your people management skills that are required to build high performance in your teams.

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How to inspire your staff to deliver their best by:  creating a high performing team environment that enables your team members to develop their careers; and  understanding what motivates them. How to set motivational objectives, standards and targets that align with the business strategy. How to delegate work to increase independence in team members whilst leaving you feeling in control. How to give feedback that is motivational and promotes personal change to achieve high performance. How to handle difficult performance conversations - identifying and addressing underperformance promptly and holding team members to account

Julia's approach is to focus on the learning insights and change which will have the maximum beneficial impact in the workplace and for the individual. Often this will involve experiential learning techniques such as rehearsal of workplace situations and Action Learning.

Julia Robinson

SPEAK TO THE ROOM 6 October CONTENT

This course will help harness your strengths as a speaker and create fast moving, current presentations that create an empowering conversation with your audience rather than just speaking at them. Whatever the subject matter, this workshop shows you how to create a vision that your audience will respond to and remember.

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Get out of the presentation rut – stand out business speaking skills. The factors that get in the way. Spontaneous speaking. Presentation development and practice. Taking questions and dealing with difficult audience members.

Eve is a highly qualified facilitator, with a background in television. She offers a groundbreaking approach to creating stand out speakers and confident, inspiring communicators. Eve has worked across all broadcasters, with award winning production and entertainment talent ranging from Graham Norton to Chris Evans and Mel and Sue.

Eve Tomlinson

MANAGING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS 5 November

CONTENT Confronting difficult, emotionally charged issues whilst maintaining open dialogue is an uncomfortable experience for most managers. Managers can make things worse by avoiding these conversations or mishandling them. This workshop seeks to increase your confidence to not only have honest difficult conversations, but to develop your own influencing style to be challenging, yet partnering, and build credibility across stakeholders. LEARNING OUTCOMES  Know how to give challenging yet respectful feedback in a clear and concise way.  Know how to manage personal emotions, anxiety and maintain a calm and leading presence.  Be able to spot the signs of a conversation turning difficult and know how to get the conversation back to a constructive dialogue.  Know the difference between feedback and coaching and when to appropriately use each approach.  Know how to use listening and questions to overcome resistance and build a rich partnering relationship with people

Julia Robinson

IMPACTING AND INFLUENCING: Collaborating across the styles 2 December

CONTENT With four communication styles at play and five generations in the workplace, communicating and collaborating effectively can be quite a challenge. Impacting and influencing uses the Social Styles model which looks at personality traits and how people interact with each other. Participants will discover their style (Driver, Expressive, Amiable, Analytical) and then work to increase awareness of their personal style and how to recognise, collaborate and communicate with the styles around them. LEARNING OUTCOMES  Understand yourself better: strengths, challenges, motivations  Understand colleagues better: strengths, challenges, motivations  Learn how to communicate fluidly and professionally across the styles  Identify the blocks to creating cohesive teams  Identify the factors which influence opposite styles  Anticipate and resolve conflict.

Eve Tomlinson