Testimonials

I wasn't sure whether doing this online would work but the course was well constructed and the presenter handled the topics sensitively. The use of breakout rooms was well utilised and helped to open up real conversations as opposed to text in the chat forum.

I am now more aware of potential risks associated with lone working and how to assess and manage those risks.

It addressed all the factors that I would not have naturally looked out for, eg. the risks that are present when working from home, the likelihood of falls/accidents in 'innocent' circumstances when I had really only considered the potential dangers for me as a female working alone in people's homes. The added awareness of what situations might arise and what steps I can take to mitigate any potential problems will go a long way to making me feel more secure.

Helen presented an interesting and thoughtful perspective throughout - would recommend.

It was interesting and informative and thought provoking.

Opens your mind to think about how to communicate with people with all different types of disabilities. Having an understanding of a conversation with an interpreter present is really useful information.

It gave me a good overview of the processes of project management and the confidence to find out more - i.e. where to find more information. It has been an extremely helpful course. I'll use these new skills in my work life and my home life.

The course was very interesting and the teaching was carried out very well kept you engaged the whole day and explained in good detail how to tackle different situations in the work place and difficult staff.
How better to tackle different situations that may arise in the work place while remaining positive and confident in my delivery.

Brilliant - achieved everything I wanted to know, thank you! Now being able to use spreadsheets more readily as it has given me the confidence to perform meaningful tasks now that I can remember how to use formulas. I will be signing up for the next level of the course later in the year.

We got through a lot of material trainer was very good - answered questions and was patient.

I now feel more confident and competent using Excel.

It taught a lot of new things that I have been doing differently showing great short cuts and formulae usage. It was a very well structured course. I would love to attend the advanced course by the same trainer!
It was very well structured, and just the right amount of information imparted perfectly!

The Trainer was fabulous! It has given me an insight in to management and will help me plan my career progression. I have identified areas I can work on gaining experience.

Taught me Advanced Excel skills and formulae to use in my work day and further.

The trainer explains things in a really easy to understand way.

Helped me to solidify my existing knowledge of excel functions and has given me the confidence to implement it in my day-to-day work at the council.

Gave an insight to areas of Excel I did not know existed, or was afraid to ask!!

The trainer was excellent, and made a totally new area of work for me totally achievable. Really would recommend to others.

As ever Andrew is an absolute delight as a trainer. XLookup will be very useful, a few of the other things showed me different ways of doing things that I already do, eg. instead of using =UNIQUE I might just go to data tab and click delete duplicates, or I might hide columns rather than group them but it's good to have alternatives and learn new ways. It was also good to get a refresher on pivot tables as it's been a while since I made one and definitely should use them more!

I am brand new to being a team leader and therefore the whole course was really helpful. It was great to have Sue's expertise and knowledge, as well as meeting a leader who gave her real examples of positive and negative experiences. I gained a lot of practical knowledge.

As a new Manager this course helped me understand a number of concepts about people management that I did not think there was guidance available for!

Gave a really good insight into what work life will be like after LGR vesting day (from a Borough Council). Reassuring that not much will change in the immediate future allowing plenty of opportunities and time for transition. To look out for new opportunities in the new authority and keeping an open, positive mind about the transition to a unitary authority.

Yes. It was exactly what I had wanted from the course - the focus was on looking and understanding how we feel about/ react to changes and managing that to get the best outcomes rather than what the changes will be (which are still unknowns!)

Exceeded expectations as was full of useful information and tools to help cope with the worries of change. Would highly recommend any authority facing LGR attend this course as we felt it calmed the sometimes unnecessary fears and concerns.
The trainer was extremely engaging and knowledgeable, kept us engaged the whole time. Course content was perfect, understood our needs i.e. not having to introduce ourselves but also invited comments and thoughts throughout the session. 10/10

This is an excellent course and I think it should be a go to course for all staff. I would recommend it being promoted within authorities. Please put on more dates! I will be recommending it to my colleagues.

I learned more than I thought I would! Particularly around the strategic and mayoral authorities. I also found it very reassuring and helped to put things in perspective.

I didn't know anything about Power BI before I attended the course and now I have an understanding of how it could be used at place of my work.

Andrew is very knowledgeable, patient and teaches at a good pace.

It confirmed a few things I already knew, and gave me the basis for setting myself up better for the future. I have already started to organise and plan my day a lot more efficiently.

Excellent knowledgeable presenter who could answer questions and share her experiences.

Very helpful on a personal level which should follow through to my work.

It helped me to understand more about myself and how I can demonstrate more confidence and knowledge.

Lots of tools and techniques to help build skills for personal and career development and able to share ideas and experiences with like-minded women was hugely beneficial.

It was great to gain a supportive network from other authorities, it really enriched the content.

The clear and logical manner in which it was presented exceeded my expectation. It helped me get a more accurate self assessment of my own retirement and gave valuable points to consider in managing the future.

I was surprised that it got me thinking about retirement beyond just pensions. I learnt several things that I wasn't aware of, e.g. flexible retirement.

Really useful techniques for facilitating productive meetings and exploring the roles people play within making this happen. Really useful tips for how to lead/chair meetings and techniques to facilitate with a variety of challenges.

I understood what mentoring and the stages of it along with the tools and the techniques can be used to make it more effective.

To learn from each other's experiences, particularly relevant at the moment with LGR and how that is making us feel about our roles/careers etc.
I have already started wording emails differently and being generally more confident in my ability/knowledge.

I found the information very clear and thorough. I feel more ready for my retirement this year with better knowledge and a service I can contact for guidance and advice.

It was a relaxed course, with loads of practical information which is what I attended for.

This course has helped me have a different perspective on different situations in every day life both work and personal and a better understanding of how to cope with stressful situations.

The course gave some good tips on updating CV's , I also did not realise how Linkedin has become so popular and whilst I have a profile I need to update the information within it as Fran explained that 75% of people get their next job via Linkedin! I haven't attended this type of training in quite some time, I really enjoyed it as It revisited many things that I was familiar with in previous roles. It was for me a good refresher.

It was good to have the time to stop and properly think and consider our roles and our motivations towards them. I liked the content and how the trainer explained everything really well.

It gave me some useful tools and an 'action plan' in terms of the future of LGR and what is means for my current position. It was extremely beneficial hearing from other authorities and their concerns. It also gave me some ideas to bring back to branch that we could potentially implement here in the interim.

I learned a lot about how my pension can work for me and how it will fit my required retirement. Really enjoyed and helped me feel very confident and positive about retirement. The after care with advice and support is excellent.

The course provided a deeper understanding of the wide spectrum of the mental health issues in general and of the wealth of resources available to all including first aiders, families and friends who maybe impacted as result of dealing with stressful situations. The content was great, so is the way it was run, always allowed room for discussion, open scenarios and sharing experience. Very active, interesting and practical conversations made it easy to remember and relate to in real situations

My main objective was to learn more around carrying out PDR/1:1's and dealing with conflicts. The course did that but also much more. I found Sue thoroughly engaging and she made the course enjoyable for all.

My objective was to find benefits regarding mental clarity and communication both in professional and private life. With busy days and flexible working hours the lines between the 2 get blurred and not always easy to separate. Language used was easily understood with practical clear examples used. I particularly liked the trainer asking student to suggest a sentence which was then helpfully reframed . It did not feel like we were being criticised but helped to improve - all very positive

It was a good refresher on knowledge I'd learnt in a PRINCE2 course a few years ago. Creating some new documentation, such as a new project plan/gantt chart which will be really useful.

It was very useful, exceeded what I was expecting to learn and very engaging. I now feel more confident in setting boundaries.