Nicola Morris
September 25, 2025
When businesses face issues like rising employee turnover, slow onboarding, or dissatisfied customers, leaders often sense the problem but struggle to pinpoint its cause. That’s where Paul Morgan comes in. With over 30 years in Learning & Development and senior leadership roles at organisations like Microsoft, O2 and ForHousing, Paul has built a reputation for helping companies turn challenges into measurable outcomes.
For this edition of PeopleRevealed, we sat down with Paul to explore his 6-Step Capability Review - a proven framework that helps businesses understand their true capability gaps and implement lasting change.
Paul says - "A Capability Review isn’t about pointing out flaws, it’s about helping businesses unlock their potential."
At its core, a Capability Review is about clarity. Businesses know when something isn’t working, maybe churn is high, productivity is low, or customers are unhappy. Leaders often have a gut feel but no hard evidence. My role is to dig deep, work alongside teams, and provide an objective assessment of what’s happening and why.
The structure is clear and collaborative. At every stage, stakeholders sign off so they’re confident about the direction.
1. Meeting to Discuss the Business Issue – We agree on the outcomes. For example: reducing churn by 10%, improving onboarding speed, or boosting engagement.
2. Discovery – I embed myself in the business, meeting HR, managers, leaders, staff, and sometimes customers. It’s about understanding the whole system and collecting data to map cause and effect.
3. Report Write-Up – I provide a comprehensive report with findings, recommendations, costs, and timescales.
4. Stakeholder Run-Through – We walk through the report together, refine it if needed, and align on next steps.
5. Implementation – The business begins executing on the agreed plan, often starting with a priority area.
6. Post-Implementation Review – We measure results against the original goals set in Step 1, so leaders can see tangible impact.
Many businesses jump to solutions without fully diagnosing the problem. My process ensures we see the whole picture first.
Q: What makes your approach different?
It’s collaborative and transparent. Staff know why I’m there, stakeholders are involved at every step, and the recommendations are practical, not generic. It builds trust, and trust is essential if you want people to open up about what’s really happening.
Paul’s track record speaks volumes. At O2, he led a transformation that doubled engagement and efficiency, cut £1 million in costs, and boosted digital learning adoption from 20% to 80%. At ForHousing, he delivered a full L&OD and digital transformation in just 18 months.
Start with the “why.” If you feel something isn’t working, whether that’s retention, customer experience, or productivity, that’s enough to begin. From there, the six-step process provides structure, transparency, and measurable outcomes.
With the right insights, leaders can make changes that truly stick.
Paul’s 6-Step Capability Review is more than a process. It’s a roadmap for businesses ready to face their challenges head-on with clarity, collaboration, and measurable impact.
You can connect with Paul, and follow him for great insights, and the chance to attend some of his complimentary events by visiting his Linkedin profile here.
