progress training systems

who are we?

our principles, our values, our processes,

our delivery options

Progress Training Systems Pty Limited was incorporated in 1988 with the specific purpose of providing products and services to enhance the progress and performance of organisations and their people.

Our Managing Director is human performance expert Janelle Nisbet. Janelle has a background in managing and leading highly successful teams in three highly competitive industries. Throughout her corporate career working with teams in the banking and finance, stock broking and telecommunications areas, Janelle was known as someone who could bring out the best in her people. Her corporate experience includes nine years in the fast paced, ever changing call and contact centre industry where Janelle and her teams were recognised with 10 industry awards for excellence.

Janelle regularly consults and speaks to industry groups. She specialises in the areas of coaching, creating and leading high performing teams. Her award winning people development skills have created great demand for her in many organisations as a trainer of leaders and coaches, as well as a motivator and inspirer of service excellence.

Progress Training Systems was founded by Catherine Palin-Brinkworth FAIM, M.AppSci (Social Ecology), CSP, business consultant and professional presenter. In her corporate background, she built several successful organisations and their teams in the financial services industry as well as hospitality and consumer goods. The BEST((R) Training programs are all based on her practical proven experience and continuing research. Catherine now consults, mentors and speaks on leadership, change and business development issues world-wide.

Progress has a number of accredited associates and facilitators who are expert service providers covering the range of topics we offer. It is a requirement that our facilitators are subject matter experts with outstanding track records in the fields in which they deliver, and we will always ensure they work with you to understand your own specific culture, objectives and values.

How we do business

Progress provides a range of options for delivery of our skills development and behavioural change programs to our clients:

We undertake extensive briefings and orientation activities to ensure we are familiar with your corporate culture, terminology and procedures. We conduct diagnostic evaluations to enable us, in partnership with you, to tailor and customise the programs to fit in completely with your organisation’s style, services and other development activities.
We often recommend a selected Pilot Program with measurement criteria agreed in advance, after which we can undertake any necessary changes to the program and deliver a more extensive rollout .
Once the value of the programs has been established and the cultural fit ensured, we can continue to deliver the programs using our own highly skilled facilitators.
Or, if you prefer we can arrange for your own in-house use of our programs under a Licence Agreement, by training and accrediting your own suitable people as Accredited Facilitators
The most preferred option is that which combines the lowest cost with the greatest potential for results.
We will always customise our programs for you to ensure the highest possible relevance, effectiveness and cultural congruence. They can be customised from our extensive range of existing programs or can be designed and branded specifically for you.
We deliver our services nationally and internationally, co-ordinated by our Sydney Head Office.

What makes our work so effective?

In our own experience, a lot of time and money can be wasted on development programs that don’t work. We want to achieve results, for our clients primarily - but also for our own satisfaction, reputation and referral business!
We know that the only effective behavioural change occurs over time, with good on-the-job coaching and support. We work hard to create clarity of role and purpose, to define and impart skills through practical and memorable systems, and to ensure a lasting legacy that continues to achieve results long after we have left. Our programs are driven wherever possible through your own managers, supervisors and team leaders, using spaced repetition, coaching, and as much internal expertise as possible to ensure seamlessness and cultural integrity.

Within client parameters, we build our programs on our own four fundamental Progress Training Systems principles and philosophies:

Spaced Learning:

It is well established that spaced repetition is the key to absorbing information, translating it to conscious knowledge and implementing behavioural change – we create optimal behavioural change by blending massed learning with spaced learning in our program design

On the Job Learning:

Research studies have demonstrated that people learn most willingly and effectively on the job, rather than in an artificial classroom environment. We prefer to encourage real play rather than role play, and build that in to our systems implementation.

Peer Group Learning:

There is also a noted preference for learning from peer group ‘champions’, to ensure the knowledge is proven and relevant. Our program structure maximizes the value of the expertise held by your more experienced team members.

Management Involvement:

The most important of all – where management demonstrates not only their support of the program, but their actual ownership of it, by their committed attendance, and their ability to facilitate, coach and debrief on the content. Only then does the new knowledge become effective behavioural change and eventually part of the organisational culture.

Our risk management strategy

We are aware that our clients are often concerned with the risk involved in appointing consultants or contractors, particularly if there has been a previous unsatisfactory experience. It is our concern to ensure that risk is minimised as much as possible, for both our sakes.

Progress guarantees that we will meet the brief agreed with our clients. Should there be any dissatisfaction with our services, we will not accept payment for the engagement. This has not occurred in one instance in the history of the company.
Our work with clients is 100% confidential, and we are willing to enter into whatever agreements are necessary for your security.
We will undertake an initial discussion at no cost or obligation.
We will where advisable undertake a pilot program with agreed pre and post measurements in order to ensure we are of genuine value to you.

Our business philosophy

For the last 20 years, most of our business has been generated by word-of-mouth and referral. Our reputation is important to us, and we work hard to protect it.

We are committed to the B.E.S.T. possible levels of service, providing well-researched, diligent professional partnering in the successful development of your organisation. We will do our absolute B.E.S.T. to achieve agreed results.

We look forward very much to the opportunity to be of value to you.

Janelle's Story

I had not long been appointed the Resource and Education Manager of a large call centre when the owner of the parent company sat and talked with me about my role and the vision for the business. It was a great discussion full of ideas and strategies. Then John suggested that I meet "this woman who was working with the sales teams and getting great results". He suggested I contact Catherine Palin-Brinkworth to discuss her training programs. So of course, I did.

Isn't it a wonderful feeling when you meet someone for the first time and you "just click". That was what it was like when I first met Catherine. I had my corporate manager's focus and she had her service-based consulting focus. We discussed people, their development, training and the buzz you feel when you know people just get it. Catherine described it as "helping people discover their own magnificence". It's when the lights go on in their eyes, the fire lights up inside, and they know they can do anything, if they set their mind to it. It's when the skill and the will come together!

Our meeting ended with an agreement to review one of the BEST programs to reflect the skills, knowledge and attitudes required in the fast paced ever changing call centre environment. We agreed to conduct a pilot program with one of my teams.

Well, the pilot was a huge success. Feedback from the staff included comments such as "it was so real", "finally a training program with practical tips, strategies and ideas I can use", "it was great because we discussed things that were relevant to our working environment". From a client perspective I was impressed. A service-focussed flexible training provider who was really committed to helping me grow and develop our people!

I now had a dilemma. The staff loved the program, I was extremely impressed with the pre and post training results and I wanted all of the existing teams and any new teams to be trained in the BEST Teleselling System program. The problem was.....................limited budget.

Being a creative manager and knowing the results that could be achieved from a consistent company-wide approach to telesales, I decided to ask Catherine if she would be willing to train my in-house trainers and myself in how to facilitate the BEST Teleselling program. To my delight she said yes!

I took the BEST programs to every single corporate role I was employed in from 1996-2001. I worked with brilliant people during those 5 years and have had the privilege of having individuals and teams collect 10 industry awards for excellence during this time. I truly believe that these awards were due to hard work, commitment, enjoying what you do and the result of having all my teams participate in a variety of BEST programs.

It was the 13th September 2001, just two days after the most horrific world event I have ever seen. I remember arriving at work feeling flat and sad about what was happening in the world. I had just switched on my computer when my boss approached me and told me to attend an important meeting -immediately. I had no idea what was coming. It was .......retrenchment. Leaving the meeting I was shell shocked. I was told I could have a three month secondment with our parent company if I wanted it, however after this period my services would no longer be required. I had the weekend to think about it.

Isn't it funny how the world throws people together? Earlier in that month, I had attended a breakfast where Catherine was the guest speaker. As I left the breakfast Catherine said "please keep in touch - and continued success".

I contacted my manager on the Monday and advised I would take the secondment offer. I then called Catherine to let her know what had happened and was doubly shocked to be told she had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I offered Catherine my love and support and told her that if there was anything I could do to please let me know. She told me about her need to get herself well and her obvious need to review her training business. I promised to stay in touch.

Once again my mind started ticking.......Catherine must get herself well and ......The BEST programs are too good to let sit on a shelf........

I debated with myself for a few weeks. At the end of my secondment, could I leave the so called safety of my corporate life and work for myself?.................I had access to a suite of training programs that I adored and I knew the results they could achieve. I could market and facilitate these.......mmmmmm.......excitement, doubt, fear, excitement, yes, no, yes, no and then it came to me like a blinding flash of the obvious (a BFO moment!), just do what you have done for every corporate you have worked for but now do it for yourself!

I called Catherine to tell her that I wanted to start my own business by marketing and facilitating the BEST programs.

And as they say the rest is history! I often explain to people that I am like the man from Remington (do you remember that advertisement?). I like the product so much I bought the company! After 8 years, I still love the BEST programs and so do our clients.

Every day, we have the joy of creating Progress with our clients and their people. How can we help you?

Janelle Nisbet

Managing Director, Progress Training Systems Pty Ltd