Develop-meant Training Consultants has worked with The Rickter Company for a number of years. Manager Adrian Pitt talks about his relationship with the organisation and The Rickter Scale® assessment tool.
My association with “the brilliant blue board” goes back well over a decade. I’m never far from The Rickter Scale®! There’s a demonstration board in my car, a couple under my bed and one in my office, where inquiring minds often ask: “What on Earth is that?!”
I was fortunate to be put forward by Black Country Connexions as a fully-fledged Rickter Scale® trainer almost 12 years ago. I’ve never looked back. I’ve lost count of the number of training sessions I’ve facilitated, however, one thing’s for certain, those all-important feedback forms suggest that practitioners instantly fall in love with the super Scale.
Before I tell delegates about the power behind the plastic, they say: “It’s very colourful and easy on the eye…It looks like an abacus…It’s extremely tactile…” and, the strangest comment yet: “It smells like celery!” Cue 16 participants with the Rickter board glued to their noses.
I became hooked on The Rickter Scale® (not the smell of celery!) during my time as an Adviser working in schools and community bases. The young people on my caseload had never seen anything like the board. Most of them had been assessed, assessed and assessed again. Endless forms, meaningless questions, very few solutions.
Then, I’d come along with my “secret weapon”. I’d leave a Rickter board on my desk and curiosity would get the better of them. A great technique for getting clients to engage. People ask me: “What do you like most about the Rickter Scale®?” I always say, what appears to be quite a simple tool at face value is underpinned by a range of fascinating theories and concepts around motivation, learning styles, solution-focused work, to name but a few.
I love the fact that the Rickter Scale® instigates what I call “Light Bulb Moments”. Suddenly, when clients realise how different aspects of their lives impact on each other, it’s like a switch is flicked. They see the bigger picture and are motivated to change.
The Rickter Company has a lot to celebrate! Everywhere I go people talk about the Rickter Scale® with the utmost respect. I’m sure the team will have loads to tell you on The Rickter Company website how the board continues to change lives in this country and beyond.
On a scale of 0 to 10, how happy am I being a Rickter Associate? I’d say “9”. How can I get from a 9 to 10 – well; that would be telling!
To find out more information and to book a place on the next Rickter Scale training course, click here: Course information
Adrian Pitt is the Manager of Develop-meant Training Consultants – learning and development how it’s MEANT to be! Accredited training for staff in the Advice and Guidance, Careers Guidance, Education and Training, Children and Young People workforce sectors. Find him and the team at www.develop-meant.com
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