How can leadership development improve commercial performance across a large national branch network?
Wolseley, the UK’s largest heating and plumbing supplier, faced declining financial performance during the 2015–2016 financial year.
With 730 merchant branches across the UK, first-line branch managers played a critical role in customer experience, team performance, and commercial results. Wolseley therefore needed a leadership development solution that could drive meaningful behavioral change while remaining scalable and sustainable across the organization.
Working with Insights, Wolseley co-developed the Leading Yourself program to help newly appointed managers understand their leadership preferences, adapt their behavior, and build stronger relationships with employees and customers.
This case study was created by Insights, DEVELOR’s strategic partner.
The joint journey included:
- Co-developing the Leading Yourself leadership program
- Using Insights Discovery to build self-awareness among newly appointed branch managers
- Helping managers understand how their behavioral preferences influence their leadership style
- Connecting leadership behaviors with Wolseley’s RESPECT values
- Supporting managers in adapting their style to the needs of employees and stakeholders
- Strengthening relationships with customers to support sales and retention
- Encouraging managers to take ownership of their ongoing development
- Training internal Wolseley employees to facilitate Insights Discovery sessions
- Using a scalable accreditation model to expand delivery across the branch network
- Measuring learning transfer, financial impact, and return on investment throughout the program
The results:
- £172,000 return from an initial pilot investment of £29,440
- 484% return on investment from the first ten-manager pilot
- £60,000 increase in branch revenue through improved customer service and retention
- £30,000 reduction in branch expenditure over a 12-month period
- £50,000 increase linked to improved branch efficiency and profit margin
- A 2% increase in Net Promoter Score, contributing £12,000 in additional annual revenue
- An “at-risk” branch moving to “top-performing” status
- Approximately 200 branch managers completing the program after the pilot
- Growth from three internal Insights facilitators to 35
- Increased senior leadership support and investment in learning and development
- Learning and development gaining greater influence in strategic planning conversations
“Working with Insights on this project has been great. It is so refreshing to work with an organisation that thinks commercially and demonstrates ROI.”
— Martin Mason, Head of Learning and Development, Wolseley
Why download this case study?
- To see how leadership development can contribute directly to commercial outcomes
- To explore how self-awareness can improve management and customer relationships
- To understand how learning impact and financial ROI can be measured
- To learn how an internal accreditation model can support large-scale delivery
- To discover how a successful pilot can build board-level support for further investment
- To gain inspiration for connecting leadership behaviors with organizational values
Who is this case study for?
- HR and L&D leaders are responsible for leadership development programs
- Retail and branch-network organizations seeking scalable learning solutions
- Senior leaders looking for measurable returns from people development
- Managers responsible for customer experience and commercial performance
- Organizational development professionals seeking stronger strategic influence
- Businesses looking to build internal facilitation capability
Download the full case study to discover how Wolseley used Insights Discovery to develop more self-aware branch managers, improve financial performance, and reposition learning as an enabler of business results.