Michael shows you can have a global business and still enjoy being a family man .
Michael Costello set up Workplace Evolution 5 years ago and is based in Lancaster.
It is a management consultancy specialising in Assessment Services, Change Management and Talent Development.
Working across the UK, Europe, the US and Africa they have impressive client names under their belt such as Nike, KPMG, Liverpool FC, the Co-Op, the British Red Cross, Lancaster University, Onica, NSK, O C Tanner, Rain Carbon and Capita.
Their services include Leadership programmes, change management systems, assessment and Development centres, psychometric testing, and skill development workshops.
Michael’s business has come a long way in the past 5 years and he believes that finding great people to work in the business has been his biggest struggle, yet also his greatest reward.
Moving from being a businessman to owning a business has been a rewarding challenge and finding the right people to work around him has made him able to delegate confidently and letting client work for their customers be done by others who would once have been used to him delivering the work.
The most satisfying part of the business for Michael is knowing that when someone completes a leadership programme, or that we implement a change, that we have impacted lives and businesses positively. This can be. a shift in confidence, a new skill developed, significant cost saving or an improved customer journey.
With their mission being to help companies adapt to change, the long term vision for his business is to continue to innovate best practice for their clients.
With this mission Michael works a lot with different cultures from across the world and enjoys the challenge of bringing them together. He even told me that in his spare time he is learning mandarin, And completed a trip to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing
His business may be global but Michael is very much a home bird, admitting that he is first a husband and father; with his wife, Caroline, running the business behind the scenes he has time to be the assistant coach for his son’s football team and driving his daughter to her dance classes when he can.
Having TI Accountancy doing the bookkeeping, accounts and payroll for Workspace Evolution means that both Michael and Caroline can concentrate on the things they are good at rather than the things they don’t know about or don’t delight in doing for themselves.
Michael said having TI Accountancy onside makes the financial side of the business simpler, quicker and smoother allowing him to spend time with his family.
