Private equity is a complex and demanding sector where a skilled, knowledgeable, confident and collegiate team is more likely to outperform. That’s why, for the past three years, our human resources team has had an increased focus on training. Our Learning & Development (L&D) Manager is dedicated to spotting gaps in knowledge and skills and working out how best to fill them.

The idea is to feed our colleagues a diet of workshops, videos, away days, talks and courses that fulfils their needs and helps them in their day-to-day roles – from junior recruits right up to senior Partners. Last year 90% of our colleagues attended at least one course.

The result is a learning culture that is driving our performance. Here’s how we do it.

1. Make it relevant

Continuous learning is not simply a string of courses, but a culture where people seek out learning as a means to achieve their ambition of high performance. It is about being clear on the development need, structuring the learning, ensuring there is practical application and a commitment to action. We’ve found that a workshop, for example, is more effective when an attendee prepares, attends the workshop, then does some follow-up learning exercises.

We know our people are smart, quick to understand new concepts and hungry to learn. And we know they have packed agendas, so we must be confident that when we schedule training, there is real benefit to be gained. By listening to colleagues – senior and junior – we carefully tailor courses to need and constantly adapt their content.

2. Make it practical

At Cinven, we train to meet existing skills gaps and projected career development needs. Junior staff are more likely to attend courses on technical aspects of their job, while principals and directors instead benefit from improving managerial skills. For Partners, we offer leadership development, encompassing self-awareness, being a role model, building commitment and driving strategy. 

Similarly, we ensure the right people are giving the training. At Cinven our Partners spend time sharing their experience – these are often the most popular sessions. But sometimes an external provider is more appropriate. When this is the case, that provider needs to understand our sector and culture, using language that will help them gain our colleagues’ trust and build rapport quickly. We’ve found it worthwhile to invest in building relationships over time with our preferred providers.

3. Make it an investment

We always present training as an investment in the individual, to help them become better at their job and enhance their, and in turn, our performance. The questions we ask ourselves are: how will this help us accelerate the achievement of our strategic goals? And how does it enhance our culture of high performance? This helps create trust and maximises attendance. It’s not about what you don’t know, but about what you can learn and how you can contribute even more.

Training is also a great opportunity for people to come together, spend time away from their busy roles to reflect and learn from each other. There is a strong bond built when people learn together – it helps form deeper connections between cohorts and teams. In turn this helps with participants holding each other to account for putting their learning into effect.

Because we apply these principles, the training we provide is popular and valued by our colleagues. They make time to prepare, attend, engage and respond. And importantly, the culture of learning it has engendered makes people more open to asking for help or sharing sometimes very personal stories to help others in similar situations. This makes everyone more resilient, empathetic and knowledgeable. 

Feedback shows overwhelmingly that our colleagues enjoy and benefit from our continuous learning programme. And when we don’t get it right, we learn, too – and adapt accordingly. Continuous learning isn’t just for the teams we serve; it provides lessons for the human resources team, too. And that’s part of what makes Cinven such a dynamic and rewarding place to work.

Caroline Rawes – Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer