Training

Amanda Murrell Associates Ltd (AMA Ltd) Training Prospectus

Working with you to help empower your workforce and increase productivity

AMA Ltd was founded in 2008, although our Associate Consultants have between them been in business for over 18 years. We
have established ourselves as experts in our field providing training, facilitation, coaching and consultancy services, our skilled group of Associates allow us to source the most appropriate trainers for the requirement of our clients.

We are a specialist learning and development consultancy that works with clients to encourage learning, build non- technical skills and align attitudes in order to attract and retain the right employees and increase the effectiveness and value of the organisation as a whole.

Working with you, we can identify skills gaps and training needs and help staff realise
the organisational vision by working with them to understand the importance of team work, behavioural preferences and good communication skills, which will reduce conflict, increase productivity and support you and your organisation moving forward.

The format for our training is very inclusive and hands on, our courses/workshops allow attendees to really be creative and inspired. We can deliver all of our training in-house

if that is your preference which means that this is a really cost effective way to have all staff trained at the same time. The timing of these sessions is flexible dependant on your business needs, however the most effective sessions last for a whole day. Not only will attendees benefit from the training but they will be able to network with each other and have some quality time to really think and discuss the various methodologies within the business.

We will share with you our top tips; enlighten you on industry tools, techniques and processes that guarantee a memorable training experience for all.

Our courses are normally suitable for 12 – 18 people for a full days training.

Each client is responsible for:

  • Organising a satisfactory venue
  • Enabling (as required) either U-shaped or cabaret style training room
  • Organising a flipchart and paper, a screen and an LCD projector with sound and speakers as some courses use DVD’s as part of the course material
  • Organising wifi and guest access for trainers
  • Organising lunch and tea/coffees

All courseware and documentation used in the course/workshop will remain the copyright of AMA Ltd. Participants, though welcome to use it for their own purposes, will not be allowed to make copies for sale or otherwise distributed to third parties.

With all projects of this nature we would expect clients to pay 50% of the project value payable at the time of confirmation of order and the remainder payable on completion.

It is important if you do want to proceed with in-house training that we have as much notice as possible to ensure that we can programme the dates into our timetable as many of our trainers (AMA Partners and Associates) get booked up well in advance.

Our Courses

An Introduction to Clarity4D

Clarity4D is an affordable, accessible, global, learning and development solution incorporating a behavioural model and psychometric tool based on the work of Carl Jung and uses colour to identify the four basic personality traits.

Personality profiling helps people to raise self-awareness, to understand their preferred style of communication and to recognise the personality and styles of communication of their friends, loved-ones and colleagues.

Clarity4D profiles are easy to understand and provide a good basis for a personal development plan and when used in conjunction with personal/professional coaching can maximise the potential of individuals and teams.

Clarity4D is used by many organisations in the following ways:

  • To improve teamwork and leadership
  • For management development
  • To understand how some behaviour could be perceived as “bullying”
  • To introduce the concept of diversity and inclusion into corporate cultures
  • For recruitment, appraisals and coaching
  • To help organisations through cultural change

So if you are involved with young people, teams, individuals, couples or appraisals then this training is for you, this learning can enhance what you already do, I can guarantee you will have fun and you will come away from the session with a greater understanding of how to avoid conflict.

Realising Your Potential programme

This 12 module programme will take participants on a journey from understanding their values and beliefs, improving wellbeing and resilience, confidence building, personal impact, effective communication, barriers to communication, building/maintaining relationships, goal setting and problem solving. They will have a better understanding about themselves and develop strategies to increase confidence and self- esteem and help in the transition between where they are now and where they want to be.

The programme is suitable for: offenders and ex- offenders; young people at school, college and university; jobseekers; small businesses and large corporations, it will help people of all ages and abilities to improve their skill sets, increase confidence levels and help to gain them employment.

We are confident that with support, everyone has the capacity and belief to make life changes for the better. We will support, challenge and inspire people to make changes to improve their lives.

The “Realising your Potential” programme will provide participants with:
• The opportunity to develop greater insight into their personal effectiveness
• The skills to feel confident in challenging situations
• The knowledge to enable them to develop effective communication skills
• The skills to build and maintain effective relationships
• A clearer understanding of what makes us feel confident as an individual
• A basic understanding of what impacts on confidence levels

Excellent Customer Service Skills

This is a series of 4 courses that will provide participants with a qualification at the end of the programme CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Level 3 Qualification in First Line Management – Meeting stakeholder needs – 3003V1 – The programme has been designed for small businesses, graduates or job seekers, to give them an insight into excellent customer service skills. It will help them to identify who their customers are and how they need to meet customer needs, also looking at behaviours, motivation, individual needs and team work.
This can also be a one day Masterclass without accreditation if required.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Identify who their customers are.
  • Identify what is customer service.
  • Understand customer needs and how to meet expectations.
  • Understand the importance of valuing and empowering staff/individuals.
  • See the benefits of respect & loyalty.
  • Know how to develop ongoing working relationships
  • See why team work is important

Foundation Project Management

This course has been designed for individuals who are new into project management. It will provide a practical insight into the necessary skills and capabilities needed to be an effective project manager. It will take participants on a journey to identify how to manage a project from start to finish.

It will look at the skills required to manage teams that do not report to you and the challenges that brings. It will demonstrate the need for a critical path analysis and the importance of planning and time management. It will help participants to mitigate the risks and identify strategies for success.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Know the role and purpose of a project manager
  • Understand the traditional approach
  • Realise the importance of planning and design
  • Recognise critical path analysis and Gantt charts
  • See a range of project management tools
  • Execute and construct a project
  • Manage project stakeholders
  • Overcome challenges/conflict

Effective Stakeholder Management

This course has been designed for individuals who have for the first time had to manage staff or stakeholders. It gives an overview of the best practice and the methodology behind winning over hearts and minds.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Identify who are stakeholders.
  • Understand what we mean by stakeholder management.
  • Identify the case for best practice
  • See the benefits
  • Understand the needs of the target audience
  • Use stakeholder mapping / Who to involve / Key Stakeholders

Prioritising Your Time

This course has been designed for a range of individuals both employees and employers, whether small or large organisations. Prioritising your time is so important when time is such a precious commodity. It will provide a solid basis for how to plan and what you should and should not consider when having to juggle many balls in the air.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

Prioritise time / what to do about it
Use effective tools for managing time
Manage relationships
Understand the need to be assertive
Identify time robbers
Identify time constraints

SOCIAL MEDIA – Where do I start?

The benefits of connecting with customers on line – This one day, social media, practical foundation course explains how you can connect with your customers and market your business with minimal outlay using the internet.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Understand Social Media, its impact on the business
  • Know how Social Media can be used to your advantage
  • Have opened a Facebook and Twitter account
  • Practised using Twitter and Facebook
  • Have an insight into good practice “Tweeting”
  • Have an insight into good practice posting on Facebook

Facilitation for Consultation

In times of austerity, many organisations and particularly those in the Public Sector are looking at how to achieve value for money and utilising existing resources to engage with stakeholders. The use of Facilitators in public and stakeholder consultation is growing in popularity and importance. Rather than bringing in external resources to facilitate deliberative events, wouldn’t it be far more cost effective to up skill the existing workforce and not have to rely on procuring that service?

For individuals who are involved in the planning, organisation and delivery of deliberative methods to engage and consult stakeholders.

This intensive 1-day course is an opportunity to explore the skills and qualities required for effective facilitators. The growing use of facilitators in a wide range of consultation dialogue methods is placing a new emphasis on those with an engagement role and we will go through some of the barriers and how to overcome them, within different scenarios.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Identify what is best practice for stakeholders.
  • Deal with a range of stakeholder behaviours.
  • Have an insight into the tools required to facilitate.
  • Successfully facilitate events.
  • Leave the course with the skills to facilitate in various consultation environments.

Better Stakeholder Dialogues

Right up to date, this is a one-day high-intensity eye-opener for consultation professionals working in the public sector or with public policy. Mostly focused on solving known problems of consultations which fail to live up to their potential, with a tried and tested group exercise built to help participants focus on the choice of consultation methods for different scenarios.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Understand why consultation is such an important part of public affairs.
  • Identify what a best practice consultation looks like.
  • Deal with consultation risks and avoid the elephant traps.
  • Understand the importance of stakeholder mapping.
  • Select the right dialogue methods for each consultation.
  • Know the importance of standards

Consultation Essentials

Every week, public bodies and local authorities are taking initiatives in public and stakeholder consultation. Often staff will find themselves involved with these exercises having no real knowledge or experience of the processes being used – they are effectively learning on-the-job; hardly to be recommended when important decisions will be based on their work.

This course explains the basics of consultation including some interesting examples in detail, it deals with key processes involved in a consultation from design to giving feedback of results. The appropriate consultation standards are also covered including the Government Consultation Principles and The Consultation Institutes Consultation Charter.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Leave the course with an overview of consultation best practice and how participants can improve the way they carry out consultations.
  • Have a better understanding of the definition of true consultation, the ladder of participation and engagement and how they relate to each other.
  • Work through a real life consultation example allowing them the opportunity to identify risks and bad practice.
  • Be more knowledgeable about the government’s consultation standards and tCI charter to assist them in their day job.

Better Public Events

There is no doubt about it: running Public Events on controversial topics must be one of the most daunting tasks undertaken by public engagement specialists. The problems are well known, but it is perfectly possible to address them through excellent preparation and sound facilitation. Learn the tricks of the trade at this unique training course. Also, consider the wealth of alternatives.

If the thought of organising a Public Event fills you with dread, attending this course will help to alleviate some of those fears. Look at how you can ensure a Public Event is a positive experience for attendees and organiser. Giving you the skills required to plan, process and deliver sound facilitation. Explore other methods to consult or engage that might be more appropriate for your consultation plan. In this course we focus on Public Events and the Alternatives including:

  • When might it be better to run a Deliberative Event?
  • Should we consider a Drop-in event?
  • Can we use Open-Space or World Cafe formats?
  • Most importantly what kind of event best supports the organisation’s goals and is in tune with public expectations, local culture and practicalities.
  • The course concludes with a thought-provoking exercise.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Leave the course with a better understanding of how planning a Public Event properly can result in an effective event.
  • Use a helpful and practical tool kit and highlight the various steps to ensure success.
  • Enable participants to see and understand different methods to consult and the relevance to different stakeholders.
  • Use their skills to confidently organise an effective Public Event and manage a range of methods to consult & engage.

Making Participatory Budgeting Work for You

With more emphasis on alternative and innovative methods to reduce public sector spending and increase participation, more organisations are looking to run Participatory Budgeting events, many learning on the job and picking it up as they go along.

Participatory Budgeting techniques can be valuable in determining the opinions of residents, business or other stakeholders. PB has a proven track record of increasing levels of participation, engagement and empowerment in a range of community settings.

With an increasing number of judicial reviews as communities and individuals challenge funding priorities, this is one way to persuade the courts that consultation has taken place.

It is a one day practical course that will help participants to consider the possible use of Participatory Budgeting, understand its key principles, best practice application and implications and identify the requirements for a successful Participatory Budgeting event.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Have an understanding of the history of Participatory Budgeting and why it has worked so well consistently.
  • Have an understanding of the advantages and benefits of Participatory Budgeting.
  • Be more knowledgeable about democracy and how Participatory Budgeting can increase participation and community cohesion.
  • Practice setting up a Participatory Budgeting project and the challenges they may encounter
  • Have the tools and the confidence to help when setting up Participatory Budgeting programmes.

Empowering Patients to Participate

This workshop is ideal for Patient Participation Groups; members of Healthwatch; voluntary sector partners and representatives on governing bodies. This workshop will enable participants to have a greater knowledge of the components that help to increase confidence and how to interact with those decision makers and anyone involved in the NHS.

It will equip participants with the tools and techniques to feel confident in challenging situations. The workshop will also provide an underpinning knowledge to enable attendees to move towards developing effective communication skills.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Have a better understanding of how the NHS operates
  • Know how to articulate difficult message
  • Understand the importance of setting boundaries and mutual respect
  • Have a strategy in place to manage and meet expectations
  • Identify communication preferences
  • Understand the importance of respecting different beliefs and opinions
  • Have a better understanding of feeding back effectively
  • Take responsibility and can the photo be substituted with a cane one please.

Foundation in Engagement for Health and Care Services

This workshop is ideal for Commissioners of NHS Services, members of Healthwatch, Scrutiny Leads, Governing Body Representatives and anyone involved in the NHS.

The purpose of this workshop is designed as an introduction to public engagement and to provide a brief overview of the NHS, and will cover certain aspects of the health and social care system. It will identify some of the constraints and provide a sound understanding of the main things to consider when running a public engagement programme.

Using a mix of case studies and personal experience we will explore the challenges faced in the engagement cycle from initial design and planning, through to implementation and how to provide effective feedback.

At the end of the day participants will be able to:

  • Define Engagement within a Health and Social Care environment
  • Identify best practice principles in public engagement
  • Have an increased knowledge and confidence when planning and delivering public engagement
  • Understand who are stakeholders and how to map them
  • Understand the value and benefits of engagement
  • Have an understanding of the necessary legal requirements
  • Identify the government guidelines and the Consultation Institutes charter

Amanda Murrell Associates Ltd offers:

  • Solutions to the challenges that are stopping your organisation from moving forwards.
  • Working with you to help to empower your workforce and increase productivity.
  • Facilitation and support for projects and event management, including: workshops, focus groups, corporate events and conferences.
  • A range of business development services, including: building customer relationships, networking, communications, and staff and customer satisfaction.

Training and Development

  • Tailor-made courses
  • Providing solutions to challenges
  • Enabling change
  • Supporting transformation
  • Empowering your workforce
  • Effective engagement with communities
  • Consultation best practice

Engagement

  • Bridging the gap between staff & customers
  • Stakeholder management
  • Effective consultation
  • Surveys & questionnaires
  • Community engagement

Personal Development

  • Realising your potential
  • Building confidence and self esteem
  • One to one coaching
  • Executive coaching
  • Mentoring
  • Individual and group sessions
  • Clarity4D personal profiling

Facilitation

  • Workshops
  • Focus groups
  • Conferences
  • Public meetings
  • Exhibitions
  • Corporate events
  • Community events