Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have important business and personal goals but achieving them is becoming elusive?
• Do you have a vision of the future and are grappling with achieving it with existing resources, people and time?
• Are you concerned about retaining your best people?
• Do you need to more closely align your senior managers’ motivation to drive the company mission?
• Do you strive to get the best out of your people?
• Are you preparing for a change in role or joining the board?
• Do you at times feel isolated?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you and your organisation could benefit from impact4’s Executive Coaching service.

Our view is that our clients have the resources within them to achieve personal and leadership potential and our task lies assisting them to access those resources and apply them.

Who we Coach

Executive Coaching is designed for Directors, Senior Executives and Leaders who would appreciate one-to-one sessions with a Coach who is outside of the business, yet understands the challenges within business. Those interested in development and personal career growth will particularly benefit.

What we do

We understand that many people who have reached senior positions through technical competency or hard work are now pondering as to how they can achieve new levels of performance for themselves and their organisations.

Coaching can cover a wide range of issues and concerns but in our experience it can help executives improve their abilities in six main areas:

• Strategy and politics
• Determining priorities
• Leadership style
• Rethinking the future
• Developing Key relationships
• Personal Issues

We focus on:

• Results
• How to align one’s own preferences, style and actions to achieve behavioural and organisational changes that work
• How to sustain them

How we do it – The Coaching Process

Operating with the context of the business, but committed to the individual, we help explore situations, identify options, set action plans and achieve outcomes.

• Initial Contact A confidential discussion to establish if and how coaching can assist
• Introductory Session A meeting between the coach and client to develop an understanding of both business and individual contexts.
• Coaching Undertaking and agreed number of sessions, typically over approximately two to three months.
• Progress Review Formally reviewing and evaluating progress, at the conclusion of the process. Agreeing the way forward.

Fees

The main investment is the participant’s time. Fees are charged per session (excluding VAT, any training materials and expenses).

Workshop Summary
Performance appraisal is an integral part of the manager’s role. Correctly handled, it is a powerful tool to develop, motivate and retain staff and, through them, enhance business performance. Yet the appraisal interview is a process with which many people feel uncomfortable and this can have a detrimental impact on the outcome. This Workshop develops skills and understanding of the appraisal process and interview. It is highly participative and practical and is designed to meet the needs of both the appraiser and the appraisee.

Who Should Attend
All those involved in the assessment and improvement of performance.

Benefits to You and Your Organisation
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Assess performance strengths and weaknesses
• Prepare and conduct a structured appraisal interview with confidence
• Handle non-performers
• Set objectives and agree a staff development plan
• Use the appraisal interview to improve business performance
• Formulate a personal development plan

Workshop Contents

• Performance management; purpose, indicators
• Objectives of the appraisal and benefits to the manager, individual and organisation
• Common problems associated with appraisals; under performance, dealing with “old” friends
• Preparing for an appraisal – documentation, defining what the organisation and the individual expects
• Structuring the Interview; agreeing the agenda and outcomes, giving recognition, encouraging discussion, progressing the issues, setting targets
• Practical exercise in Interviewing Techniques: questioning and listening; giving and receiving positive feedback; encouraging self-appraisal
• Agreeing goals / objectives / targets
• Agreeing a Development Plan
• Appraisal Case Study – Skills practice
• Personal Action Plan

Please note the above Workshop requires minimum attendance numbers.

Workshop Summary
The interview is frequently perceived simply as a selection device but, in actual fact, the successful interview is a vital tool of management, which requires both good people management skills and substantial preparation. To this end, while the Workshop gives an insight into the skills common to most interviews its particular focus is on recruitment and selection. It also addresses the considerations that are necessary in the process of recruitment – identifying the vacancy, making the right choices, etc – and shows how the outcome of the interview can directly impact on business performance. The programme includes a series of case studies and also role-plays.

Who Should Attend
Anyone likely to take part in recruitment and selection; those new to the personnel function; anyone concerned with the management of staff.

Benefits to You and Your Organisation
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Prepare and conduct selection interviews with confidence
• Undertake a structured approach to interviewing
• Employ the skill that are essential for a good interview
• Use the interview to improve business performance

Workshop Contents

• Key Interview Skills: Rapport Building; Questioning and Listening; Probing and following up promising answers; Pacing and Timing; Taking Notes
• The Recruitment and Selection Process – Before the Interview: Filling a Vacancy; Selection Rules and Regulations; Job Specifications: Attracting the Applicants
• The Interview: Why Interview? Short-Listing; Setting up the Interview; The Role of the Interviewer; Constructive Questioning ; Recording what you hear at Interview
• After the Interview; Assessing candidates against Selection Criteria; Who to Employ?
• Understanding the Law
• Interview Practice
• Personal Action Planning

Please note the above Workshop requires minimum attendance numbers

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have important business and personal goals but achieving them is becoming elusive?
• Do you have a vision of the future and are grappling with achieving it with existing resources, people and time?
• Are you concerned about retaining your best people?
• Do you need to more closely align your senior managers’ motivation to drive the company mission?
• Do you strive to get the best out of your people?
• Are you preparing for a change in role or joining the board?
• Do you at times feel isolated?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you and your organisation could benefit from impact4’s Executive Coaching service.

Our view is that our clients have the resources within them to achieve personal and leadership potential and our task lies in assisting them to access those resources and apply them.

Who we Coach
Executive Coaching is designed for Directors, Senior Executives and Leaders who would appreciate one-to-one sessions with a Coach who is outside of the business, yet understands the challenges within business. Those interested in development and personal career growth will particularly benefit.

What we do
We understand that many people who have reached senior positions through technical competency or hard work are now pondering as to how they can achieve new levels of performance for themselves and their organisations. impact4’s Executive Coaching is about helping individuals achieve higher levels of excellence. It is about the future: discovering one’s inner potential and achieving it – fast. It is on-the-job experiential Action learning, which can be applied, and integrated back in the workplace. For this reason we focus on Performance, Development and Career issues.

Coaching can cover a wide range of issues and concerns but in our experience it can help executives improve their abilities in six main areas:

• Strategy and politics
• Determining priorities
• Leadership style
• Rethinking the future
• Developing Key relationships
• Personal Issues

We focus on:

• Results
• How to align one’s own preferences, style and actions to achieve Behavioural and organisational changes that work
• How to sustain them

How we do it – The Coaching Process
Operating with the context of the business, but committed to the individual, we help explore situations, identify options, set action plans and achieve outcomes.

Initial Contact
A confidential discussion to establish if and how coaching can assist

Introductory Session
A maximum two hour meeting between the coach and client to develop an understanding of both business and individual contexts. Creating a learning contract with the client, including defining goals measures to monitor progress and creating action plans.

Coaching
Undertaking a programme of two-hour sessions, typically over approximately six months, meeting once a month.

Progress Review
Formally reviewing and evaluating progress within the confines of confidentiality, debriefing with the client and organisation at the conclusion process. Agreeing the way forward.

High performance teams are vital to the success of organisations in today’s dynamic environment.
Top teams include chief executives, managing directors, whole board of directors, heads of departments and teams of senior executives. Team members may have alot to offer when working in their operational areas ofexpertise. Each is effective and efficient and busy running their departments. However, a “silo” mentality can develop and unwittingly detract from each individual pulling together as the “Top Team”. This can lead to a lack of clarity around the overall direction, goals and objectives. The collective dynamics necessary for success simply are not there.

impact4’s Top Team Effectiveness Programme is about our consultant facilitating your senior team to work together and really perform. It is about you taking time out to take stock of your common and collective purpose.

Ask yourself:

• Is your team clear about the collective vision, mission and values?
• Are you making sufficient progress towards goals and objectives?
• Are there commonly understood metrics?
• Are you a cohesive team with everyone going in the same direction?
• Do you have clearly defined roles and responsibilities?
• Do you value each team member’s expertise and strengths?
• Is there a shared perception of each other’s behaviour, performance and interpersonal style?
• Is there a good utilisation of members’ abilities and knowledge?

In response, impact4 has developed a distinctive and powerful development process that allows top team members to reflect on and action these, some, or all of these issues – but more importantly to tackle the issues that are pertinent to them.

The Process
The process focuses specifically on each unique top team and addresses their specific business imperatives.
No two initiatives are alike, but typically there are five phases.

Phase One: Exploration
The internal sponsor (often the MD) introduces the concept of top team development to the target group and explores initial thoughts/feelings and seeks initial  buy-in for the initiative.

Phase 2: Pre-Briefing
The consultant meets with individual team members to set the content, surface the individual issues, concerns and challenges and explore what their goals, motivation and expectation of a “top Team” event would be. It is important that each team member is offered an opportunity to state and explain his/her view.

Phase 3: Design
Flowing from the information gleaned in Phase 2 an off-site event is designed.

Phase 4: The Off-Site Workshop
All issues raised in the context of the off-site objectives are collectively explored and an action plan for moving forward is developed. There is a clear emphasis on the need to transfer learning and action to the workplace and each team member’s responsibility to sustain progress made on action plans.

Phase 5: Review of Learning/ Progress
Some two or three months later the team evaluates progress to date and plans for future development. This ensures that the process is continued and reinforced in an organisational context.

Workshop Summary
Few management decisions can be made in isolation from financial considerations these days. Managers and Executives must have a fundamental appreciation of finance in order to contribute more effectively to the profitability of their department and their organisation. This Workshop gives participants an understanding of the fundamentals of how money works in business and how their endeavours can have an influence on company results. Case study work and practical exercises form an important part of this programme, reinforced by tutor-led discussions.

Who Should Attend
This Workshop will be of benefit to non-financial managers from a broad range of disciplines.

Benefits to You and Your Organisation
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Read, analyse and interpret key financial information
• Understand the difference between revenue and capital expenditure
• Understand how profit is achieved and what happens to it
• Use the practical tools of measurement in operational and financial performance
• Optimise the use of working capital
• Understand the importance of maximising cash flow
• Participate confidently in the budgeting process
• Use appropriate financial information to get results

Workshop Contents

• The Nature and Purpose of Accounting
• Understanding the Basics: Structure of the Trading; Profit and Loss Account; Balance Sheets
• Interpreting Financial Information and using it as a Management Tool
• Differentiation between Capital and Revenue Expenditure
• Using Ratios to learn powerful facts
• Capital Gearing
• Flow of funds; Statements
• Understanding Working Capital: why too much is bad for you and too little may be disastrous
• Cash Flow Forecasting
• Understanding Budgets
• Direct and Indirect Costs
• Calculating Break-Even
• Absorption and Marginal Costing / Pricing
• Ways of improving business profitability

Please note the above Workshop requires minimum attendance numbers

Workshop Summary
Every business, whatever its size, must have a clear strategy to deal with the very volatile market place, where competition and the pace of change are ever present pressures. Problems arise when managers are too involved at the tactical and operational level and allow little time for thinking how to move the business forward. The result is that their business lacks vision and direction and the competitive edge that will keep it one step ahead of their rivals. Therefore the ability to plan long-term whilst maximising performance is a must for managers, and strategic thinking will help them map out a route to success and build analytical and team planning skills.

Who should attend
This workshop is designed for those who make or have an input into strategic decisions and wish to develop their expertise in dealing with issues of major relevance to their businesses future well being.

Benefits to You and Your Organisation
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Define the difference between operational and strategic planning
• Understand the components of strategy
• Review alternative business strategies
• Analyse their own business’s strategic position
• Create a strategic plan for their business
• Implement a coherent strategy that leads to success
• Evaluate their strategic thinking

Workshop Contents

• Defining strategy
• Examining the process
• Short-term, long-term thinking
• Customer imperatives
• Identifying stakeholders
• Setting strategic boundaries
• Communication issues
• Making changes stick
• Performance review
• Tools of strategic thinking
• Creative thinking
• Contingency planning
• Evaluating strategies
• Complete a situation, decision and opportunity analysis

Please note the above Workshop requires minimum attendance numbers.

Who Should Attend
Those who are required to run and / or attend meetings and who wish to achieve success.

Benefits
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the purpose of different meetings and set specific objectives
• Organise and prepare for a meeting
• Demonstrate the skills of chairing a meeting effectively
• Develop communications skills and efficiently conduct professional meetings
• Encourage contributions from all participants
• Handle difficult situations or members within the meeting
• Participate effectively in meetings

Workshop Contents

• The Purpose of a Meeting: what type of Meetings Culture is required?  Who should attend?  Cost of meetings – do they all have to be there?
• Role and Responsibilities:  Chairing and Participating:; Chairing Skills; Generating Discussion
• Meeting Logistics: creating the right environment; meeting room preparation; visual aids
• Planning: the Agenda; Content and Format; preparing documentation
• Dealing with Group Dynamics: Interpersonal Skills; Handling Difficult Situations / People; Managing Conflict; Enabling Action; Gaining Commitment
• Closing the meeting: Summarising; points of Action; ways in which decisions will be implemented
• Dissemination of Information:  Minutes; Formats; Timing

• Gain greater control of time and resources
• Identify new ways of prioritising their workload
• Use assertiveness techniques to manage interruptions and procrastination
• Understand how to delegate to others so you can finish the jobs that really matter
• Develop a personal planning system for work and home

Workshop Contents

• Time as a valuable resource fro yourself, your team and your organisation
• Creating your own Personal Time Management System
• How to calculate the time you control; Identifying the things you do and do not control
• Staying focused –by beating the Time Stealers; Saying No Assertively
• Priority Setting and responsibilities – urgent versus important
• The best way to develop Plans and stay Planned: Yearly, Monthly, Weekly and Daily
• Delegation and how it works – giving yourself time and space
• Organizing and conducting effective Meetings

Workshop Summary
Of all the challenges that individuals face during the development of their career, one of the most demanding occurs when they first assume a Supervisory role. Not only does the Supervisor require strong technical know-how for planning and organisation but a key requisite will be the ability to achieve results through the team by virtue of demonstrating effective people management skills. In this Workshop, delegates will learn the fundamentals of people management and team motivation. Through exercises and case studies, they will practise using interpersonal skills and techniques to improve their assertiveness, their communication and their motivation.

Who Should Attend
Those who manage staff at first line level and need to enhance their people-handling

Benefits to You and Your Organisation
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:

• Develop the key People Management skills that ensure success in the Supervisory role
• Set appropriate work Performance Targets and ensure that the standards are achieved
• Delegate Tasks appropriately
• Motivate the Team and Individual team members
• Use Influencing Strategies
• Practise the skills of Assertiveness and Active Listening

Workshop Contents

• Review of Supervisory Responsibilities and Objectives
• Motivating Team Members: Using Delegation and Involvement to build the desire for results; Setting Goals to stimulate development; Delivering Appraisal information and Feedback
• Delegating Effectively: Answering the questions “To Whom?” “What?” “When?” “How?”
• Face-to-face Communication: Overcoming Barriers; Communicating with Confidence; Effective Briefing
• Influencing Others: Using a range of different strategies and techniques to get things done
• Handling Complex People and Situations: Assertive behaviour; practising the skills of Assertiveness; Working towards Positive Conclusions
• Future Development: Preparing a Personal Action Plan

Fee: £615 plus VAT

Please note the above Workshop requires minimum attendance numbers