More than fifty of Scotland’s top lawyers have boosted their skillset thanks to a bespoke training programme designed and delivered by Edinburgh College.

Morton Fraser, the full service independent Scottish law firm based in Edinburgh and Glasgow, tasked the college with creating training workshops focusing on two key aspects of Performance Management – Coaching for Performance and Conversations for Delivery – to support managers and leaders when inspiring their teams.

The law firm, which employs more than 270 people, sent five cohorts of staff to two day-long workshop run by college trainers at Morton Fraser’s office in Edinburgh.

The first workshop, Coaching for Performance, saw college staff provide a series of theoretical and practical lessons to equip delegates with skills and tools to enable them to use coaching as a means of developing staff, ultimately optimising performance and boosting productivity.

Throughout the sessions, delegates covered: how to establish a collective understanding of what coaching is and key techniques involved in its use; how and when to identify coaching opportunities; establishing a framework for carrying out a coaching session; agreeing robust objectives and developing action plans; and exploring the communication skills essential to effective coaching.

Partner and solicitor advocate Jenny Dickson said: “The training delivered by Edinburgh College was outstanding. The trainer herself possessed exceptional knowledge of the subject area and delivered the courses in such a manner that it was accessible to the broad range of staff taking part, which made it easy to understand and to put into practice.”

Edinburgh College trainers returned to Morton Fraser for a second day of workshops, this time focused on helping delegates to engage colleagues in different types of conversations aimed at supporting team members to achieve challenging goals.

The workshop was broken down into five practical sessions where delegates covered different conversations leaders and managers can have with colleagues to boost their productivity.

Senior solicitor Jack Kerr said: “I really enjoyed the training. The group taking part was a mixture of people who had been managing teams for years and people like myself who are new to management and I thought the course catered really well to everyone involved.

“It was a really positive experience for everyone, we learned a lot, the practical application of the course content was at the forefront of the training which meant we all felt we took something away from it that can actively be applied in our teams and our different areas of the business.”

The Flexible Workplace Development Fund provides eligible employers with up to £15,000-worth of training from their local college to upskill and reskill their existing workforce. Morton Fraser has taken full advantage of the opportunity and funding to enhance the knowledge of lawyers who offer services to the business, commercial real estate, family and public sectors.

Edinburgh College head of commercial Jane Grant said: “It’s been fantastic to see such a thriving and well-established business like Morton Fraser tapping into the Flexible Workforce Development Fund to access bespoke training to upskill its staff.

“More than that, the fact that colleagues from across the firm’s portfolio took part – partners, senior solicitors and associates – shows that the training packages our team designs is fit for staff at varying levels of management.

“We’re delighted to have received such positive feedback from Morton Fraser and we look forward to working closely with them again as a result of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund being extended into 2018/19.”

For more information about the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, please visit our dedicated webpage: http://ow.ly/r9wT30k9LKS