Succession planning and developing management talent to sustain and grow the business is the challenge facing nuclear decommissioning and waste management specialist NSG Environmental Ltd, and it has benefited from support provided by Acorn Coaching and Development.

Over more than 40 years, NSG Environmental has gained a unique understanding of radioactive waste management and decommissioning through its involvement in many challenging contracts for civil and defence authorities.

The company employs 250-500 people and is part of the NIS Group of companies. The business is based in Chorley in Lancashire but has teams operating in nuclear locations across the UK including Sellafield and Aldermaston.

NSG has been involved in supporting the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) both in safe transport of radioactive materials in the UK and following the incident at Fukushima Power Plant in Japan.

They have created a Consultancy Service to support the civil and defence nuclear decommissioning and waste management industry.

The company has built a skilled team of experienced scientists, engineers and decommissioning technicians, and has forged a reputation for solutions that embrace existing technologies while pushing the boundaries of innovation and invention.

NSG has built its business on delivering practical solutions that reduce costs and improve delivery.

The team within NSG includes managers, scientists and engineers who are expert in developing and delivering solutions for clients and partners. However, the business needed to grow the leaders of the future, to ensure continued success in increasingly competitive markets.

Acorn was engaged to develop the leadership capability within the company and improve the effectiveness of the senior management team.

Acorn initially provided team coaching to assist the directors to align their thinking in what was required both from themselves and the company’s prospective future leaders, whilst also identifying the leadership behaviours and competencies required to meet the longer-term needs of the business.

Acorn Director Keith Longney says: “Succession planning and focusing attention on strategic development while maintaining day to day performance of the business are two of the biggest challenges facing SME’s, and NSG Environmental recognised the need for a more structured approach to sustain its success.

Businesses that challenge themselves to ensure they are geared up for the future opportunities are looking at investing in their staff, not as a nice-to-have but to ensure they are capable of meeting the business needs of the future.

Focused, pragmatic input which gears the business up for the future challenges has been recognised by NSG as an appropriate investment which will pay dividends.