People
4-consulting helps companies to realise their potential through creative organisational and people development and the principles of lifelong learning.
We will help you to take a strategic view of how your learning and development activities can contribute to your success and enable you to implement new business objectives.
Managing Change
Almost every organisation is going through change on a daily basis. The successful ones are those who recognise it and are able to manage their human and material assets to accommodate that change.
We help people and organisations to transform their view of the outside world and “the way we do things around here”.
We design and implement change programmes in both public and private sectors, with particular emphasis on improving the performance of restructured organisations and teams.
Through our change programmes we have enabled organisations to cope positively with a wide range of change situations involving people, work patterns and environments as well as the impact of technology on working practices.
New Ways of Working & Work-Life Balance
More flexible working arrangements for the employee can contribute to greater productivity and less time off work.
The Institute for Employment Studies has estimated that a small business may save up to £250K on its budgets by using family friendly policies (reducing sickness and absence cover and cutting recruitment costs).
Today’s employers need to concentrate on capturing benefits for their organisation through flexible employment policies.
These benefits may include:
* Maximising scarce labour resources
* Gaining the reputation of being an employer of choice
* Retaining valued employees
* Attracting a wide range of candidates, such as older part-time workers and carers
* Increased productivity
* Reduced absenteeism
* A loyal and motivated workforce in a less stressful environment
Increasingly, employers are developing a wide range of Work-Life Balance options, covering flexible working arrangements and benefit packages which challenge traditional working practices and explore innovative workspace design.
To help employers make the business case for Work-Life Balance, the DTI launched the Challenge Fund in 2000 to help employers develop the right Work-Life Balance strategies for their companies.
4-consulting helps organisations develop and introduce new flexible working arrangements and can advise on applications for DTI funding in 2003.
Career Counselling
We offer a wide range of career and personal development counselling services including personality profiling, one-to-one interviews, confidential personal development feedback and mentoring.
We are licensed to use the Myers Briggs Type Inventory – the most highly validated self-report personality profiling instrument in the world.
We can help you get the right people in the right position.
Training & Development
We can deliver leadership and management development support through consultancy, training events and coaching programmes.
Our consultants can provide specialist training in many areas, such as:
* Strategy formulation
* Sales and marketing
* Personal interaction from interpersonal skills to presentation techniques
* Ideas generation and communication courses
* Development and delivery of e-commerce training programmes
* Professional development programme for business advisers
* Personal coaching providing advice, support and training, from accompanied client visits to one-to-one meetings
* Developing a CPD programme
* Project management
Coaching & Mentoring
We can provide a support mechanism to a range of people in senior positions, enabling them to assess their decisions and actions in a safe environment and to review their performance, ensuring their effective development.
We can also facilitate management teams at national and global levels to develop and build appropriate communication networks.
Key Contacts
* Ros Southcott
* Fiona Ballantyne
* Ken Marr
* Ralph Leishman
Examples of how our clients have benefited
* Managing change
Using staff attitude surveys to identify staff concerns, we have assisted the development of effective communication and change strategies.
* Identifying and solving problems
We have facilitated workshops to develop staff-inspired solutions to problems and issues.
* Creating the workplace of the future
Changes in the workplace have enabled organisations to improve productivity, motivation and customer services.
* Attracting and keeping the best staff
The re-design of the working environment and the adoption of flexible working practices encourages individuals to develop a
healthy Work-Life Balance.
* Improving quality for staff and customers
We have prepared complex organisations for assessment as Investors in People, assisting them to achieve the national standard, and helped others achieve successful re-assessments.
* Implementing new practices
Through training programmes we have helped clients to increase their use of leading edge technology, achieve outstanding productivity gains, and enhanced sales and marketing performance.
Sample Clients
* Providing a series of workshops on development and strategy to senior management at Wales Tourist Board which facilitated the prioritisation of projects and activities through the Impact Matrix™.
* On behalf of Scottish Enterprise completing the second phase of the EU funded Premiere Advisor Programme through delivering the Economic Development module to business advisors in Scotland.
* Delivering a course on E-government to the management team of Communities Scotland.
* Mentoring and coaching senior staff in national and global positions for Andersen (formerly Arthur Anderson). Coaching and developing prospective partners to be able to fill the role, requiring the development of a number of different skills.
* Working with a wide range of people within KPMG to assist them to improve all aspects of their interpersonal, negotiation and presentation skills as well as their overall business development activities.
* Working with Scottish Enterprise on their Workplace of the Future project, which challenges traditional working practices and explores innovative workspace design.
* Assisting a variety of companies to achieve the Investors in People national standard including Schlumberger Industries, Crieff Hydro Hotel, Edinburgh Petroleum Services, Wren and Bell (Consulting Civil Engineers), Scottish Business Services, and Cairellot Day Nursery.
* Facilitating staff attitude surveys for Lothian Region Council, Scottish Sport, Dumfries and Galloway College and Barony College during times of considerable cultural change.
* Assisting Scottish Airports Ltd and
Glasgow Airport Ltd (part of international airport operators BAA plc) to shape
career development, performance management and training policy to meet the
challenges of the 21st century.
* Designing and running sales training courses tailored to the client's specific industry and brief for professional companies, including accountants, solicitors, engineers and management consultants.
* Facilitating and managing change seminars
for the Byre Theatre, Dance Base, MacRobert Arts Centre, AnLantair, Scottish
Youth Theatre and others.
* Developing and delivering an e-commerce training programme under the BITT initiative in partnership with Glasgow City Council. The grant funded programme targeted companies with the desire and need to bring up a fully functioning Internet e-commerce site.
* Assisting the Scottish Police College to prepare training and information systems strategies.
* Providing confidential personal development feedback to senior executives within Scottish Enterprise and local enterprise companies.
* Leading a team of consultants to develop and deliver a customised programme of training for Martin Currie plc.
* Developing and delivering a series of marketing, sales, strategy, and idea generation training programmes to individual clients in the
not-for-profit sector, on behalf of organisations including Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.