The Client
Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries

In 2005, Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries (MPDN) launched its first nursery franchise, the first in the sector. Now, with over 60 successful franchised nursery settings nationwide, plus their own 5 nursery settings, Monkey Puzzle is the UK’s largest childcare franchise network, managed by a dedicated team from their Head Offices in Berkhampsted, Hertfordshire employing around 1,500 people nationwide.

 


The Brief

Having worked with MPDN for nearly 3 years, SYLO | Beyond HR. were approached to both design and deliver a Franchise Development programme, designed especially for the MPDN franchisees and Nursery Managers. The aim of this was to build a common understanding of key management activities, from which the franchise could further assist the development of the nurseries.


Our Approach

To start with, we:

  • Helped define the subject matter for the development programmes that would add value to the business.
  • Built programmes based on the knowledge levels and needs of the franchisee directors and managers.
  • Delivered them in an inclusive, motivational manner.

We split the programme into different targeted modules, starting with an understanding of who MPDN are, their vision, mission and values that can be shared through the businesses. We also helped encourage managers to share their learning with their teams, develop their perception of the MPDN brand and how it helps both customers and them develop.

Not only does the programme upskill existing franchisees, but it gives MPDN an option to bring onboard aspirational franchisees, which makes this a really unique offering. The breadth of the programme and modular design enables them to deliver such a wide range of development in manageable chunks that whilst are intrinsically related, the sense of achievement from completing each module works for the franchisees and gives MPDN the ability to be nimble with attendees for each module.

The long-lasting sustainable impact of this development programme is about equipping, and upskilling dedicated and committed business owners in their own right to cascade great practice and knowledge throughout their nursery teams and beyond. Ultimately, for MPDN this is all about giving children the opportunity to play, learn and grow; in order to have an impact on lives beyond our generation, we need to be sustainable in every sense of the word.

Client Contact

CEO Richard Blunden
The Outcome

We are absolutely delighted to work in partnership with SYLO | Beyond HR on this programme given the relationship we have built up over a number of years and SYLO’s ability to flex their approach and resource to support us with our journey. Specifically, on this project, we were able to tap into SYLO’s broader experience delivering people development and training to the franchisees of some of the biggest brands in the world.