CHC Helicopter Case Study:

A Global Frontline Leadership Programme for 350 Leaders Across 7 Countries

How Hemsley Fraser partnered with CHC Helicopter to co-create a bespoke frontline leadership programme, delivered face-to-face in seven languages to every leader in the business — from team leaders to the CEO.
“We’ve had feedback such as: I’ve been with CHC for 10 years — this is the best training programme I’ve ever been on. That, to myself and the team, is priceless.”
CHC Logo-1
Lesley Sim
Global Head of People, Culture & Capability

350+

leaders across the global business.

7

countries reached, delivered in native languages.

90%

of the leadership population trained to date.

CEO

and full senior team completed the same programme.

The organisation

CHC Helicopter has been operating for over 75 years as a global organisation serving the offshore industry, primarily transporting offshore workers to their assets. The business also runs a search-and-rescue function and provides base maintenance and external support across its sister companies.

CHC employs around 2,500 people globally, with operations spanning Australia, Canada, the US, Brazil and Europe — including Poland, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Its southern UK bases are increasingly moving into wind energy, supporting offshore wind operators as the business diversifies beyond oil and gas.
CHC-Helicopters

The challenge


Historically, CHC had approached leadership development by taking an off-the-shelf programme and delivering it to its senior leaders - an approach that was neither bespoke to the business nor sustained. As the Global Head of People, Culture and Capability put it, it was “very much an off-the-shelf package delivered and then put back on the shelf.”

Feedback surveys told a clearer story. The biggest capability gaps sat with CHC’s frontline leaders. As a highly technical organisation, CHC had always invested heavily in the regulatory and technical training its pilots and engineers need — but it had been promoting technical experts into leadership roles, then questioning why they weren’t thriving. The gap was in the softer, human skills of leadership.

CHC needed a partner who would build around what its leaders were actually asking for, rather than prescribing a solution. When the business went to market, most providers told CHC what they thought it needed. Hemsley Fraser took a different approach.

“Hemsley Fraser was completely different. They said, you tell us what you need and we will together build a programme that has been asked for what your leaders are telling you they need.”

Global Head of People, Culture and Capability CHC Helicopter

The solution

Working in close collaboration with CHC, Hemsley Fraser co-created a bespoke frontline leadership programme built entirely around what CHC’s leaders had said they needed.

Crucially, the programme secured commitment from the CEO that every leader in the organisation would go through it — from team leaders and supervisors right up to the senior leadership team and the Chief Executive Officer — so that everyone shared the same language, experience and toolkit.
Leadership development options
  • A single, consistent programme designed collectively with CHC and grounded in the capability gaps its leaders identified

  • Delivered face-to-face over a three-day period per cohort — a core requirement that came directly from leader feedback

  • Aligned to CHC’s core values and priority practices, so the messaging and content felt familiar and connected to the day job

  • A shared toolkit and consistent messaging for every participant, creating connectivity across the whole business

Early results

CHC launched its first training session in August 2025 and has now delivered into all seven countries, reaching approximately 360 of its just-under-400 leadership population — around 80–90% completion — with remaining sessions scheduled through the end of the year and into early 2027 to complete the first global cohort.

The response from participants has stood out most. After initial scepticism that this would be “just another training programme,” colleagues have been surprised and energised by its quality and relevance.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement came from the top. CHC’s senior leadership team, including the Chief Executive Officer, went through the same programme and walked away describing it as fantastic - the validation CHC needed that it had made the right decision.

What made this work

  • Starting from what CHC’s leaders actually asked for, rather than an off-the-shelf package — the programme was built for CHC, not adapted to fit it

     

  • A shared commitment that every leader, up to and including the CEO, would experience the same programme and speak the same language

     

  • Local facilitators delivering an identical three-day experience in each country’s native language, balancing consistency with genuine connection

     

  • Alignment to CHC’s core values and priority practices, making the content familiar and immediately applicable

     

  • A close, responsive partnership with weekly check-ins that made the programme simple to deliver into the business

Building a global leadership programme?

If you’re looking to build a consistent leadership capability programme across a global workforce, we’d love to talk. Get in touch to find out how we can design and deliver a programme built around your organisation’s specific challenges.
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Leadership development options

CHC Helicopter had previously used an off-the-shelf leadership programme delivered to senior leaders only, which was neither bespoke nor sustained. Feedback showed the biggest capability gaps sat with frontline leaders - technical experts who had been promoted into leadership roles without developing the human skills of leading people. CHC needed a consistent, tailored programme for leaders across its global business.
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