Surrey County Council serves over 1.2 million residents and businesses in Surrey, operating under its strategic framework, The Surrey Way. This framework outlines the Council’s ambitions and objectives, providing clear guidance on achieving a more transparent, cohesive approach across three key areas: Our Purpose, Our Organization, and Our People.

The Transformation PMO plays a crucial role in delivering the Council’s strategic priorities through its portfolio of projects and programs. Collaborating with Wellingtone, the Transformation PMO developed a bespoke training program tailored to align with The Surrey Way and the Council’s PPM Academy methodology. This program includes a two-day course on Delivering Successful Projects and Programs and a half-day masterclass for SROs and sponsors on Sponsoring Successful Projects and Programs.

Samantha Cunningham, Consultancy Team Leader, and Melissa McGill, Transformation PMO Lead, share insights into Wellingtone’s effectiveness as a training provider, the training objectives, and the positive impact on Surrey’s staff and leadership.

Overview

Customer

Surrey County Council

Products and Services

Customized project management training program

Industry

Local Government

Key Highlights

• Developed a fully customized program tailored to the Council’s PPM Academy and The Surrey Way
• Delivered two courses designed to meet the unique needs of project managers, program managers, SROs, and sponsors
• Trained over 450 stakeholders, with eight additional courses planned for 2024
• Received positive feedback from delegates, highlighting the training’s effectiveness across all levels of delivery and seniority

“In 2021, we conducted an internal review of our project and program maturity,” Melissa recalls. “The Transformation PMO was originally set up in 2018 and had already done considerable work to rationalize and prioritize the change portfolio. However, the internal review confirmed that we lacked a consistent approach to initiating, managing, and delivering projects and programs. We have successful PMOs and project teams working across the council. Still, they were each using a range of methodologies and tools, meaning that programs were not always managed with a consistent mindset, culture, and standards.”

To enhance project management maturity, the Transformation PMO established Surrey County Council’s PPM Academy and Community of Practice, incorporating diverse colleagues from across the Council. “The Academy provides a methodology and structure for how we want to select, initiate, deliver, and sponsor projects, in alignment with best practice, APM, and Prince2® methodologies and The Surrey Way, to ensure we are doing the right programs and projects, as well as doing them in the right way,” Sam explains. “It was a big step in maturing our PPM approach. So, of course, we needed to ensure that people were trained to support the change further. While we wanted the training to align with recognized best practices, it was also vital. The agenda was bespoke to Surrey to guide our staff in real-world project delivery and give sponsors the support they need to steer projects, programs, and portfolios. Understanding The Surrey Way is particularly significant for those working and supporting our key programs and projects, as it is important for us as a Council to ensure that our limited resources are focused on the right things. Through a competitive tender process, we chose Wellingtone as their response conveyed a flexible mindset. They were willing to adapt their approach to our needs so that we could deliver appropriate and meaningful training not just to The Surrey Way but also for the different levels of seniority we needed to engage with, from project and program managers to SROs and sponsors.”

The feedback has been extremely positive. Delegates have commented on the trainers’ fast-paced, engaging approaches, their ability to bring examples to life in the context of Surrey County Council, and their level of expert project management knowledge.

Samantha Cunningham, Consultancy Team Leader

Tailored Course Content to Address Diverse Student Needs

Wellingtone initiated the project with a P3M3 assessment to establish a baseline for future activities. They then partnered with the Transformation PMO to customize two specialized courses for project managers and sponsors. Each course was meticulously piloted to ensure alignment with project needs and objectives. “Wellingtone’s lead consultant was fantastic to work with,” says Melissa. “At every step, she was practical, accommodating, and adaptable, but also willing to push back positively when she felt what we were trying to do wasn’t quite right. She fully understood The Surrey Way and its importance to our roadmap. The pilot sessions were extremely helpful in collecting feedback from a cross-section of delegates to refine the content and ensure it was right.”

The comprehensive training program, launched in June 2023, was led by Wellingtone’s lead consultant and a dedicated team of trainers. To date, 304 project and program managers have completed the delivery training, and 159 SROs and sponsors have participated in the masterclass. According to Samantha, both training offerings have been highly successful and well-received. “Wellingtone’s team handled the training skillfully, adapting to the broad cross-section of delegates they were engaging with,” says Samantha. “They brought the subject matter to life, using an informal, approachable style to ensure that everyone felt included in the delivery training, plus the right level of knowledge and gravitas to resonate with our SRO and sponsor audience in the masterclass sessions. The feedback has been highly positive. Delegates have commented on the trainers’ fast-paced, engaging approaches, their ability to bring examples to life in the context of Surrey County Council, and their level of expert project management knowledge.

Regarding The Surrey Way, Wellingtone’s lead consultant spent a lot of time exploring how we prioritize and deliver our portfolio to ensure that every project and program, and their benefits and outcomes, align with our overarching vision that no one in Surrey should be left behind. In terms of SROs and sponsors, she was articulate in illustrating exactly where key responsibilities lie and demonstrating credibility and value with our senior managerial and C-suite audience. Many trainers just come in and work to a script, but Welingtone’s lead consultant and training team were ready and able to adapt effectively to the needs of whoever was in the session at any time.”

Melissa agrees. “The success of both training programs is evident in the high level of uptake and the excellent feedback we continue to see. We have already trained more than 450 people, and in 2024, we announced eight courses to meet continuing demand. From a PMO perspective, although it is too early to quantify fully measurable benefits and outcomes, we certainly see a positive impact. People are engaging with the PPM Academy, applying what they have learned to their work, and using the appropriate frameworks, documentation, and templates. SROs and sponsors tell us that the masterclass has equipped them to execute their roles better.

Most importantly, the training will support us in doing suitable projects correctly and delivering our vision to benefit Surrey’s residents and businesses. We have achieved an enormous amount over the past five years, but we don’t want to stop there. We’re embarking on an ambitious roadmap to transform our future operating models–for instance, across our core functions. The skills and knowledge we are embedding will support our transformation and maturity journey. Wellingtone went above and beyond to give us a bespoke training program that adds genuine value to how we lead and run our projects and programs to ensure that we deliver for the people of Surrey.”

Wellingtone went above and beyond to give us a bespoke training programme that adds genuine value to how we lead and run our projects and programmes, ensuring that we deliver for the people of Surrey.

Melissa McGill, Transformation PMO Lead