Clients & Testimonials

Our clients include

Client Testimonials

Northern Rail

Northern Rail is the UK's largest passenger train company. We have 4,800 staff and run over 2,500 train services every day across the whole of the north of England. We used the Dolphin Index across our Executive and Management teams to gain greater insight on the innovation climate within the business so that we could work towards improving it still further.

'The Dolphin Index is a really useful tool for clearly identifying our strengths and areas for improvement. It also helped us to benchmark ourselves against other organisations in the UK. The online completion method was easy and efficient, but most importantly the customer service we received was superb. Mark and the team provided fantastic support throughout and helped us to ensure that we really got most from the Dolphin Index. Highly recommended!'

Jo North, Commercial Director, Northern Rail, UK

Nestle Rowntree

'The Dolphin Index has been an important tool in Nestle Rowntree’s strategy to develop a broad innovation culture across the business and to remove the mystique that so often surrounds creativity and innovation. There have been three big advantages with the Dolphin Index.

Firstly, and from a purely practical angle, it is easy to administer; the ability to complete the questionnaire either online or on paper and the fact that no more than 15 minutes are needed has made it very accessible across different functions and sites.

Secondly, the fact that the data can be cut in different dimensions and the findings compared with national or peer-group norms through the Dolphin Index data bank adds power to the local picture.

And finally, the dimensions of the Dolphin Index – which have a respectable pedigree and avoid folksy nomenclature – gives some very usable vocabulary to support other aspects of developing an innovation culture. Customer service levels, particularly around IT support and data analysis, have always been first class.'

Creativity Development Manager, Nestle Rowntree

Bristol City Council

'My job is to inspire, guide and help run a large, highly complex, and very valuable public service.  In a world of constant change and ever increasing demands on limited human and financial resources, we have to be smarter and more innovative than ever.

The Dolphin Index is the ideal tool for assessing your climate and so for understanding the levers to pull so as to make the enterprise more dynamic, innovative and successful.

I therefore strongly endorse the Questionnaire's research integrity and its value in the real and busy world.'

Nick Gurney, former Chief Executive, Bristol City Council, Chairman of the North Bristol NHS Trust

Universities and Business Schools like the Dolphin Index

'The great thing about the Dolphin Index is the opportunity to benchmark your climate against the world outside - and get feedback that says 'It doesn't have to be like that!'. Only by accepting that things could be different, and then beginning to investigate the levers that might be employed to change things for the better, can you begin to build a more innovative, more effective organisation.'
David Mayle, Head of the Open University Business School's Centre for Innovation, Knowledge & Enterprise

Inno-barometer in Finland

'Gearshift Group worked closely with the Dolphin Index Organization using the Dolphin Index as a fundamental part of a 2 year national measurement program for 'innovativeness' in Finland.

The response from the participating companies and those responsible for innovation was excellent. The Dolphin Index is very easy to understand, takes only 10 minutes to complete and the results have been very informative and eye-opening.  Also HR has appreciated new findings which both support and give more in-depth insight than other climate and work environment surveys.

We found Mark and the whole team to be very positive, helpful and find that they have great integrity.'

Markku Nurmela, Managing Partner of Gearshift Group, Finland

Ideas into Action teams

'The Ideas into Action teams that you helped set up in London Underground Engineering greatly accelerated cost savings and helped create a much more successful organization of over 5000 people'.

Beverley Shears - Head of HR Engineering London Underground