Keeping corporate social responsibility at their heart – introducing Lattitude7

Contracted to deliver training, coaching and mentoring to businesses in West Yorkshire through Higher Performing Workplaces, Lattitude7 can offer a wide range of funded expertise and support to businesses in the Leeds City Region.

Consisting of three staff members and 17 associates, Lattitude7 offers training in four categories – Export and Innovation, Innovative Working, Empowering Leaders and Effective HR. Their courses can be complemented by coaching and mentoring, all of which are part-funded by the European Social Fund.

Their founder and owner, Dr Martin Haigh MBE, spoke to us about exactly how Lattitude7 supports businesses in the Leeds City Region and why corporate social responsibility is so important to them.

“Given our range of expertise, we are a ‘one-stop’ shop for learning and development. Particularly due to our experience in personal development, leadership and Six Sigma/Continuous Improvement, psycho-metrics, Appreciative Inquiry etc. This is extremely useful to clients as they can appreciate how these strands dovetail to provide holistic learning.

“Holistic learning is really important to us. We meet our clients and prospects up front and work together to scope out their requirements. Delegates on our courses are treated with the utmost respect and we ensure that we understand each individual learning style.”

Lattitude7 supporting local communities

In addition to their part-funded programmes, Lattitude7 has a strong belief in charitable causes and pro-bono work.

As well as winning 11 business awards Lattitude7 have raised thousands of pounds for charity. This includes a 937-mile cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats – raising (as a team), £150,000 and enabling them to put 25 apprentices into work in Calderdale.

“We also raised other sums of money for many local and national causes by completing Ironman Triathlons and other sporting events.Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy is very strong and about one third of our work is provided pro-bono.”

Lattitude7’s CSR policy is directly focused on helping disadvantaged individuals and groups. The aim being to create sustainable work forces through complementary programmes. Martin was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year's Honours list for his services to the community, charity work and changing the lives of young people in West Yorkshire.

For businesses looking for support and advice from Lattitude7, they often deliver free awareness seminars, create mini videos and write blogs.

Why businesses choose Lattitude7

“Our three-stage personal develop programmes are rated highly in the community. This is where delegates embark on a three-stage journey from personal development, through to teamwork and into leadership training. Our aim is to help individuals, teams and organisations to flourish by providing highly engaging learning and development interventions in personal development, teamwork and business process improvement. This means that our offers are non-sector specific and businesses really see the benefits of this.”

Lattitude7 has worked with food companies, solicitors, graphic design agencies, manufacturing and engineering businesses and many more. Their work has been local, national and international thanks to the huge range of expertise within their pool of associates.

You can search the courses Lattitude7 offer through the Higher Performing Workplaces project here. Eligible businesses could access 40% funding from the European Social Fund towards the cost of these courses. Higher Performing Workplaces is managed by the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges. Martin also provides coaching and mentoring services through this project.

Customer testimonial

“I attended a workshop run by Lattitude7 where those attending could learn, explore and sharpen their communication skills. Martin was enthusiastic, well prepared and engaging throughout. He has an ability to motivate and encourage improvement in others through creating a relaxed environment in which to learn, often using his sense of humour to good effect.

“By the end of the session, it was clear that the confidence and ability of those attending had improved significantly. I found the course caused me to think about and re-assess my presentation style, which is exactly what I was looking for. I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and would not hesitate to recommend Lattitude7 and Martin to others” - Richard Waddington, Sales Product Manager (EMEA) and Global Industry Manager Nord-Lock Group.