News
Tuesday 15th November 2011
Compass Group and ProfitAbility

Compass Group and ProfitAbility have been working together for over five years, and have developed and rolled out two important bespoke programmes to support Compass’ business performance framework called MAP. The training programmes - Mapping for Value™ and Mapping for Action™ - have a distinct goal: to empower every individual Compass employee to make a positive impact on business profitability. Compass and ProfitAbility have recently extended this arrangement for a further three years in order to drive these successful programmes deeper and wider across its global business, confident that investment in this training will ensure that Compass Group maintains a competitive advantage in the global market.
Focus on the bottom line:
When Richard Cousins took over as CEO of Compass Group in 2006, he launched MAP so that Compass managers would have a common language across the international business. Mapping for Value is a bespoke programme for business leaders across the Group in all its countries. The programme gives managers a common language, and enables the rapid spread of best practices across the Group. It also speeds the integration of acquisitions by creating rapid business alignment. The programme was so successful with senior managers, giving them line-of-sight training in managing the business drivers that they control, that it was subsequently adapted to be applicable for operational managers across the Group and so Mapping for Action was born.
More than 7,000 Compass employees in 25 countries have participated in the MAP training programmes during the past four years. Richard Cousins is certain of the effectiveness of the learning process. “ProfitAbility developed a unique programme which is highly effective because of its direct application to the real issues facing each manager. This has played a key role in taking MAP to all our managers. It has taught them to speak the same language of business improvement and to work in a co-ordinated way to improve results right across the company”.
Achieving global effectiveness through a unique way of learning:
The first phase of MAP saw managers from around the world participating in an intensive two-day business simulation, run by experienced ProfitAbility facilitators. Richard Cousins says:
“ProfitAbility created a highly effective learning tool. The power of their experiential learning methodology has certainly contributed to the business results we have achieved as a Group”.
Compass Group has provided localised versions of the two business simulation programmes in various languages, adapted to reflect the drivers of success in each local market. Businesses may also choose to split the programme into smaller standalone modules, giving flexibility to meet local and cultural business needs. Compass has also used a shorter version at Compass leadership conferences, introducing the programme to as many as 300 managers at one time.


