DriveSpeed Group provide tailored vehicle solutions to clients across a range of industries from a base in North Yorkshire. The business has grown significantly since its incorporation in 2011, and has doubled in size in the last three years, with over 20 staff at their office on Fishergate in York.
In 2020 the dental industry was shut down for a couple of months, but Swallow Dental Supplies adapted its PPE product range and are now growing rapidly through their sales of bone regeneration material and other surgical dental supplies.
“Pro-Development have been nothing short of fabulous for our Charity. The Island, a mentoring charity supporting children and young people across York, recently underwent a significant shift in strategic direction. As part of this, we needed support to realign our vision, mission, and organisational values, ensuring we had a clear and shared understanding of our future direction. We worked with the wonderful Tracey, supported by the lovely Beth, through a series of consultancy sessions, bringing our team together to reflect on our existing vision and mission and collaboratively shape what comes next. The experience was incredibly supportive from start to finish. Tracey ensured that every member of the team was actively involved in discussions and activities, creating a space where everyone felt comfortable contributing. The sessions were engaging, thought-provoking, and genuinely enjoyable. On a personal level, as Charity Manager, the environment they created enabled me to hear fresh perspectives from across the team and ensured that every voice was heard as we developed our new strategic direction. As a result, we now have a clear and unified mission that the whole team understands and believes in. Whether we’re fundraising, delivering services, or measuring our impact, we are all working towards the same goals and have a much stronger sense of purpose and direction. The follow-up support has also been exceptional. The past few months have been a busy and capacity-stretching period for The Island as we’ve implemented our new strategic direction, and the regular check-ins, ongoing guidance, and connections to other relevant services and support have been hugely appreciated. Throughout the process, we’ve felt genuinely valued and supported by the entire Pro-Development team. Thank you to everyone involved in making these sessions possible. The impact on our organisation has been significant, and we’re excited about the future.”
“We’ve been working closely with Pro-Development, who recently delivered our latest cohort of the Art of Inspiring Leadership Programme for future leaders across GMI.
The feedback from our learners has been excellent, with attendees really valuing the quality, practical approach and relevance of the sessions. We’ve also worked with Pro-Development on other soft skills and development programmes, all receiving great feedback. Joanne and Lee have both been excellent throughout, very professional, engaging and great at getting the best out of our people. We’re really pleased with the partnership and look forward to continuing to work with Pro-Development to develop the next generation of leaders across GMI.”
“I recently attended an employee engagement workshop hosted by Pro-Development. It was wonderfully led, and resonated with one of my core business beliefs, as a people-first agency. It has given me invaluable insight, practical takeaways to ensure continuous improvement for the near term, and the awareness to help build this focus into our business forecasting and planning. Thank you Michelle, Nicola & team for putting together a fantastic workshop.”
“As a growing business, we recognised that our team needed a stronger foundation both in terms of understanding each other and working together more cohesively. We wanted to invest in our people and create a culture where everyone understood our company values and how to work effectively together. We engaged with Tracey at Pro-Development to help us achieve this through a structured team training day.
We took part in a team training day delivered by Tracey, which covered five key areas: getting to know each other on a deeper level; exploring and embedding our company values; developing team effectiveness; using the DiSC Birds model to understand individual working styles; and creative thinking. It was a rich, full day of learning and engagement. The experience was excellent from start to finish.
Tracey created an environment where everyone felt comfortable, engaged, and energised throughout the day. The sessions were thoughtfully structured, highly interactive, and struck exactly the right balance between enjoyment and genuine learning. It was clear that a great deal of care and expertise went into the design of the day. On a personal level, the day gave me a real appreciation for the importance of taking time out to invest in the team. It was a reminder that understanding how people think, communicate, and contribute is fundamental to good leadership. The DiSC Birds model gave me new insight into how I can adapt my own style to get the best from the people around me.
The impact on our business has been tangible and lasting. Three key outcomes stand out:
1. Stronger team relationships — the team now has a much deeper understanding of each other, which has improved communication, collaboration, and overall morale.
2. Clarity on company values — our values are no longer just words on a wall. The team genuinely understands what they mean and how they show up in the way we work day to day.
3. More efficient meetings — as a direct result of the training, we restructured our weekly meetings. They are now far more focused and effective, ensuring we consistently cover the things that really matter as a business.
What I’ve valued most is the genuine care and professionalism that Tracey and the Pro-Development team bring to everything they do. The training didn’t feel off-the-shelf it felt tailored, considered, and relevant to us. The results speak for themselves, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Pro-Development to any business looking to develop their team.”
Over the past 6 months, I’ve worked with Michelle as I completed a management buyout of a company I’d worked at for 7 years, transitioning from employee to owner. Working with Michelle at Pro-Development has made a huge difference during that process. She’s supported me through some big changes, not just practically, but in how I’ve approached things day to day as well. We’ve worked through how to communicate effectively with the team, clients and external stakeholders, which has been invaluable during such a change. One of the biggest things has been navigating the move from employee to business owner. Michelle really helped me navigate the changing relationships that come with that and how to handle them in the right way. She’s also helped me work through the self-doubt that inevitably creeps in when you’re taking something like this on. Having that space to talk things through honestly has made a real difference to my confidence and decision making. I’d highly recommend Michelle to anyone going through a big career or business transition, her support has been invaluable to me.
On my first visit I had the term “imposter syndrome” and felt super nervous. When the course was completed I felt comfortable being in the company of the other attendees. A year on and I am managing my team and new projects with confidence and pride, and looking forward to starting the Remarkable leadership programme. I keep my first course folder on my desk and use it on a weekly basis. Pro Development gave me the confidence at work to grow and start exciting new projects.
The training didn’t just provide “theory”; it gave our team a common language and a renewed sense of purpose. We have seen a measurable shift in morale, with employees now more proactive, collaborative, and aligned with our core values. People are not just showing up; they’re truly invested. What sets them (Pro-Dev) apart is that they do not just “train and leave.” The ongoing support has been vital in making these changes stick. In particular, Michelle has been an absolute rock to our business. Her ability to understand our specific challenges and provide tailored, actionable advice has been invaluable. She feels less like an external consultant and more like a dedicated partner in our success.
Working with the team to create our Ultimate Manager Toolkit was a smooth process, from selecting the areas requiring development through to the delivery, I was confident that Sue understood what we wanted to achieve and the best way of succeeding in this. We’re already seeing how the team members are using the skills they’ve developed during the programme and look forward to their continued successes and progression.
In the last three years, we have gone through a period of financial instability, changes in leadership and a shift in our business model, while also preparing a five-year business plan and the next round of ACE funding. We engaged with Pro-Development to help support us through these challenges and provide opportunities for reflection, development and learning. We have very much enjoyed working with Pro-Development, as the insights and experience shared encouraged us to reflect on ourselves, be open to new perspectives and ways of working, and feel supported as we continue to move forward. The DiSC work helped our senior management team become more open to finding common ground and understanding each other’s strengths more effectively. The coaching provided valuable support for one of our team members, giving them a safe space to talk through challenges and issues away from the theatre environment. Those who attended the Essentials of Management training found it hugely beneficial and appreciated having dedicated time away from the office for management reflection and learning with colleagues. The work we have completed together will also support the launch of our new 1-2-1 and annual appraisal process from April 2026. Overall, the experience has been extremely positive and I would highly recommend Pro-Development to other businesses.
I engaged with Pro-Development because we recognised a gap between our stated values and the day-to-day behaviours we expected from the team. Although we had values in place, we did not have clearly defined behaviours that demonstrated what those values looked like in practice, so we needed support to translate and embed them into a structured leadership framework that clearly articulated what “living our values” means. My experience of working with Pro-Development was extremely positive, creating a space where the whole team felt involved, listened to and able to contribute meaningfully. The process brought us together around a shared goal and felt genuinely inclusive and energising. The framework has given everyone a clearer understanding of the behaviours that bring our values to life and created a shared set of expectations around how we lead ourselves, work with others and contribute to the organisation. Working together on the framework strengthened relationships, created a stronger sense of purpose and encouraged greater self-awareness and accountability across the team. Going forward, I believe the framework will continue to strengthen collaboration, team cohesion and personal ownership, while also supporting onboarding and development by giving both new and existing colleagues a clear and consistent foundation for how we work. I would highly recommend Pro-Development to other businesses.
