"I attended Focal Point's "Essential Management Skills" training which was designed for us to help new managers get the best out of their teams.  Having only received "in-house" training previously, I attended the course with a certain amount of scepticism.  I have to say that Focal Point completely blew away my preconceptions and delivered what I can only describe as an excellent course.  The course content was very thorough and addressed a wide variety of situations that can crop up for managers and was delivered excellently.  However, the key thing for me was the focus on the core skills and procedures required to excel as a manager and maximise team capability.  This was conveyed in such a way as to give a thorough understanding of what is required and more importantly why it is required.  We could then see that as long as the process and procedures are followed that the majority of issues that crop up for managers either simply do not arise or can be dealt with quickly and painlessly.
To sum up, this is a truly excellent course which has completely changed (for the better!) the way I manage my team."  Mark Stuart - AndersElite

 

"I had always dismissed management positions as I thought I was the wrong type of person. One-to-one sessions with Focal Point Training gave me the confidence to believe I could do it and they were right. The sessions helped me assess the importance of my management problems and gave me the belief I could solve them. The result of this training is a much happier and more effective team'."  Madeleine French - Financial Accounting Manager at Gearbulk (UK) Ltd

  

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your advice, encouragement and support throughout the course I took - I am very happy in my role and my team feedback is that they are too! I learned so much in those sessions, and have directly applied my new knowledge to managing my team with great results!”  Katy Fear - AndersElite  

 

Clients

City Commons Open Spaces

"Focal Point have run a number of team building and coaching sessions for us which have greatly helped the team gel together and become more effective. Having a coach and sounding board provided  opportunities to try out new ideas in a totally confidential environment, which in turn gave team members the confidence to produce innovative solutions to some challenging  issues".  Bob Warnock - Superindentent

The Barbican Centre

"We have just had a great team building day with Focal Point Training. The session they designed and facilitated for us created the right atmosphere from the start and allowed the team to feel comfortable enough to open up quite quickly and discuss things honestly with each other. As a result we were able to agree some very helpful and meaningful actions which the whole team have bought into and we are already implementing." Steve Donald - Customer Experience Manager

Greensleeves Homes Trust

“We have used Focal Point to train both our Senior team in key management skills and to do some team building with the team as a whole. The training has been fantastic! It was pitched at just the right level, delivered in a friendly way, but also got everyone thinking. They all now show more consideration for each other and support each other more. It has helped me to empower my staff more and as a result they are more motivated and confident to tackle tasks. I used to pick up everyone’s problems for them, but I have learned to help my team tackle the issues themselves, but with support from me. It has really benefitted everyone involved.” Janet Fox - Grosvenor House


City of London Corporatation

“Focal Point have worked with us on a consultancy project to improve communication at all levels within the department. There had been real challenges in getting communication to work smoothly across a number of remote teams. But the series of workshops that Focal Point have run with us have made a huge difference.  Regular one to ones now provide a focus and quality time that might otherwise not happen and team meetings are being run with very positive outcomes. A real measure of success for me in an HR role is that managers are now stepping up to the plate and dealing with issues.  They are still bringing HR issues to me, but for guidance and support, rather than trying to  "pass on their monkey" or not dealing with issues at all. One of the key things that Focal Point do which has made this so successful is the continual review and support throughout the programme to ensure actions actually get implemented and make a difference.”  Yvette  Hughes - Resources Manager North London Open Spaces

The Barbican Centre

“At the Barbican Centre, we identified a variety of shared training needs among the PAs and administrators working across several departments.  Focal Point took the time to understand the common needs of this staff group and proposed a modular programme.  The benefit of this approach was that each delegate could pick and choose modules with their manager to put together their own unique programme.  Each module stood alone so that delegates could attend just one or a few modules.  The real success of this programme lay in Focal Point providing over-arching links between the modules as well as pre and post course support for each delegate.  The result was that delegates felt fully supported and engaged throughout the programme.  The staff also realized the opportunity to establish its own support network to continually discuss its practice which we can now develop.  Furthermore, Focal Point naturally draws links between the content and our company policies (such as our competencies framework), reinforcing our values which they have taken time to understand.  The approach that Focal Point developed in consultation with us made the entire programme incredibly cost effective and meant that we could service the development needs of a large team in a way which treated delegates as individuals. “  Xander Hough - HR advisor 

 
City of London Corporation

 “Focal Point Training gets to the heart of the problem and delivers everyday solutions.”  Ray Austin 
 

University of Portsmouth Business School

"You always know when some one has done a good job - you invite them back to do it again! This is the case with Focal Point who have delivered Appraisal workshop sessions for postgraduate students, particularly those studying HR and our MBA programmes, at the University of Portsmouth Business School. The sessions brought alive the theory and practice of holding an effective appraisal meeting. Each year, those attending, including many experienced course members, felt it had been a valuable session, enjoying and benefiting from the wealth of experience demonstrated by the trainer.” Rob Thomas, Principal Lecturer

 

WH Marks Sattin

“Focal Point have worked with us to create a number of modules to support the development of our senior consultants and managers. It can be a challenge to engage a group of very bright, confident and demanding people but Focal Point have always achieved this at WH Marks Sattin and the delegates have always walked away with specific plans of action that they have been able to apply straight away. Focal Point’s knowledge of the recruitment industry and their understanding of the demands of managing a sales orientated team, have meant that all the modules have been highly relevant and credible”  Steve Shears, HR & Training Manager

Southampton & Fareham Chamber of Commerce

"The Chamber has been using the services of Focal Point Training for over 4 years, and as one of our preferred training partners I have to say that their professionalism and quality of training is second to none. We always receive 100% positive feedback from our delegates for delivery from trainer, content of course and materials.

The Focal Point team are always friendly, helpful and quick to respond to any enquiries." Laura Lawrence, Events & Training Co-ordinator

To read about our latest venture working with Southampton Chamber to develop skills in a local secondary school, click on this link and scroll down to pages 15 and 16.
http://www.soton-chamber.co.uk/uploads/File/C%20of%20C%20New%20Issue_36_August09_72dpi.pdf