OUR STORY
Sara Ballinger and Christian Bennett first started working together on our parent company The Daisy Gray Partnership in 2016.
Sara comes from a background in learning & development spanning almost 20 years, 10 of those as director of her own training companies, and from 2014 until her return to the UK in 2016, as the Director of Talent Development for the Soneva Group of luxury resorts based out of the Maldives and Thailand.
Christian came to the business following his most recent role of co-founder and account director of a successful design and communications agency. Having sold his half of the business he was looking for a new channel for his client centric, creative and commercial talents and a project he could believe in.
After five years together successfully building The Daisy Gray Partnership, and launching two other, complimentary training companies, the partners curated Blooming Talent in order to better serve the needs of their hospitality and retail clients.
Blooming Talent is a training company with a vision and our brand represents how we view the world.
Each petal in this image is distinct and separate from the next and yet together they form a beautiful bloom… this is how the best teams are formed. And at its heart, a cell from a hive, the centre of industry and excellence.
These metaphors from nature guide our purpose.
Meet Sara, Co-Founder and Principal Consultant for Blooming Talent. Here is her story.
“I feel as if I have been destined to be a trainer since I was a little girl. The eldest of four children with the same parents growing up the same home, it always intrigued me that we could be so different. That was the start of a lifelong passion for understanding personality development and what makes people tick. Combine that with being the ‘big sister’ who taught her siblings all she knew, and you have a lifelong purpose right there!
Later in life I left the family home and started work very young and missed out on the college and university years. I started out in hospitality and retail jobs but was always frustrated that these roles weren’t taken seriously or given the respect I felt they deserved as career options, they were often referred to as ‘casual jobs’ but for me, they were incredible environments in which to develop so many important skills in team working, leadership and customer service.
I sometimes felt that I had been overlooked because I didn’t have a university education, it turns out that was more about the way I viewed myself than the way others saw me. With the support and encouragement of great managers, leaders and role-models in my life who recognised my inherent talents, I bloomed and developed into my potential.
That also opened up opportunities for me to study for vocational qualifications in order to have those certificates I’d always wished for…! I now hold a number of post graduate qualifications in adult learning and am a proud member of the Institute of Hospitality.
Leadership and personal skills development have been the making of me and provided me with a fulfilling career, a great business and a world of wonderful friends and adventures.
Blooming Talent is where purpose and passion meet for me, it’s about giving others the training, support and encouragement to bloom into their own potential and get the most from their careers, and as a result, from their lives”
Meet Christian, Co-Founder and Client Services Director for Blooming Talent. Here is his story.
“The customer journey has always been at the centre of everything that I have done professionally. I didn’t realise that this was an extension of my own personality until very much later in my career when I met Sara and learnt more about myself and my strengths.
After leaving school I thought that I wanted to ski for the rest of my life! I wasn’t a professional skier but through my lifelong love of skiing and my ability to speak French I had the opportunity to become a ski boot fitter in the Alps. Fitting the ski boots was a piece of cake, dealing with the customers was the real challenge. It turns out that the wrong colour boot can ruin a holiday just as much as discomfort from an ill fitting one! But with gentle persuasion and understanding what is important to people, there is always a way to make sure the customer gets what they need. Turns out it wasn’t skiing I loved most, it was providing great service and making people happy.
Throughout my career as a client services director I have worked in different industries, the one constant is people, different people. I wish I had learnt more about people earlier on rather than relying on my own intuition. But it is never too late, and I love that we get the opportunity to share our learning with others. I also love that it makes a difference to their lives, both professional and personal.
For me our task is simple, make a difference, surprise and delight. I want our clients to remain clients, become friends and be our biggest advocates. I want you to know that working with Blooming Talent will be a positive and enriching experience that will propel you, your team and your business to new heights. But I don’t want to have to tell you that myself, I want you to hear it from those who have and continue to work with us.
And just so you know, this isn’t about just being nice to people, it is understanding that happy, motivated teams and individuals perform better and stay together for longer. That can only lead to improved customer satisfaction and a positive result for your bottom line!