“CMI resources elevate you as someone who really knows their stuff”

There are plenty of benefits to working at a large organisation, but it’s not the only option. Other paths are out there. Sometimes, it just takes a little help to see them. 

In 2008, Chris Clayton CMgr FCMI began working as a salesperson at Hilti, the global power tool manufacturer. He moved through a variety of leadership roles there, but eventually felt his career ambitions butt up against a brick wall. 

“When you’re one of 30,000 people in a global company, there’s only so much influence you can have,” he says.

• “Parts of my job have already been replaced – this is why personal growth is so important”

Not that Hilti was without opportunity. While there, Chris pursued an MBA at the nearby University of Chichester, through a CMI-backed degree apprenticeship. There, he gained new skills, accessed powerful resources and became a Chartered Manager. 

His experiences with the Chartered process showed him just how much of his skill set he wasn’t able to use at work. So, he decided to look for a new challenge at a smaller company.

From power tools to management tools

“It got me thinking: at an SME, my skills would be invaluable,” he says. “I could do a lot more, have more influence and make more changes. I could develop.”

Chris soon found BPH Attachments, a supplier of hydraulic excavator attachments for the construction industry. The company had grown to over 100 employees in just a few years and was still expanding. And Chris, who became its head of sales and marketing, felt it could be a perfect fit for him.  

“When we spoke about what they wanted to do, I realised there were a lot of tools CMI had given me, including from the Knowledge and Insights hub, that could help,” he says. 

“And while they said the degree helped me in my application, they really liked the fact that I was a Chartered Manager, too. This was a senior leadership position, and they wanted a person with experience who’d gone above and beyond in their development.”

I still come in early every day, even though I don’t need to. I feel so much more fulfilled in my role

Chris recalls how, as part of the Chartered Manager process, he’d devised a project that he would soon turn into a live proposition at Hilti. This was a first foray for him into strategic marketing, designed to expand Hilti’s presence on LinkedIn – growing its follower base, creating more awareness and making the company more of an industry thought leader. 

• “Checking in, not checking up”: long-term sickness at work

The project involved creating a team of ambassadors to post selected LinkedIn content, so they could test its reach against equivalent posts from the company’s main account. The outcome was insightful: the posts gained more reach from five individuals with 4,000 followers each, than among the 20,000 followers of Hilti’s main presence.