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Two-day intensive public relations workshop

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Big Fish Balance

Mental health and wellness for communications professionals

  • Beating Burnout
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Kickstart Your PR!

Two-day intensive public relations workshop

  • Capturing media attention
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Effective Employee Engagement Is Really About Great Management

What do we mean when we talk about employee engagement? It's certainly a current buzz phrase and we are often asked, "Tell us the secret - give us your top tips".

Effective Employee Engagement Is Really About Great Management

People are looking for the magic solution - provide them with a new incentive scheme, have an employee of the month award - suddenly they will all be more engaged. And it's true, all of these have a role in improving staff productivity.

It's About The Day To Day

what really matters to people is the way in which they are made to feel about their job day to dayBut the reality is, you don't get the best out of people with organisational level gestures - for what really matters to people is the way in which they are made to feel about their job day to day. This all comes down to great management.

Engaged staff are those who feel listened to, are given a chance to have a say in what and how they do things, are clear what's expected of them and how they add value and are then regularly acknowledged and appreciated for it and - most important of all - are allowed to get on with things without being micro-managed or the fear of repercussion if something goes wrong.

I often ask managers how often they talk to their staff. Not via email or in a group but whether in person or via Zoom. All too often the answer is, "when I need something doing urgently", or "when someone has done something wrong".

Importance Of Regular Meaningful 1-1 Conversations

Forget your clever employee engagement strategy if the only time someone is spoken to is on one of those two occasions. For that's not effective employee engagement but poor management that is guaranteed to lead to a disillusioned and demotivated workforce.

We know it's manically busy working in PR and communications, so it can be a real challenge to find dedicated time to focus on staff - but this doesn't have to take up hours in a manager's day. And the time invested upfront will reap massive reward down the line.

The Daily 3 Minute Chats

when you tell someone they are appreciated and explain why, they will surprise you by doing more than you expectedSo try encouraging all your managers to abide by the "3 minutes a day conversation". The purpose is to genuinely engage 1-1 with each member of staff for at least a few minutes a day, to give them your undivided attention and to actively listen to what they have to say.

Ensure the team member has been thanked for something specific they have done and told why it has been valued. For when you tell someone they are appreciated and explain why, they will surprise you by doing more than you expected in return.

Empower And Let Go

So managers need to stop defaulting to telling people what to do and how to do it, then chastising them when they do it wrong - but instead empower people to show you what they are capable of and let them get on and do it!

Now that's the real power of effective employee engagement.

Training Courses for PR and Comms Agencies

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All of our training courses for agency professionals

talented with clients

Be credible, effective and prevent problems

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Manage time, people and campaigns with ease

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Advanced Presentation Training
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Become a captivating and effective presenter

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Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health
Big Fish Balance

FAA Level 1 Award, Regulated Qualifications Framework

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Beating Burnout
Big Fish Balance

Stop stress from dragging you down

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Becoming a Manager
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Incorporate great management techniques into your daily life

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in the Office

By application only

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Bite-Sized Leadership Coaching
in the Office

Rapid coaching conversations

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Client Management
Talented with Clients

Improve and develop your working relationships with each client

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Confidence and Assertiveness
in the Office

Say what you mean, professionally and directly

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Creating Work-Life Balance
Big Fish Balance

Don't choose between your career and your life: have both

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Crisis Communications
with Clients

Where do you start when it all goes wrong?

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Grammar Crammer
in the Office

Grammatical errors and how to avoid them

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Getting Buy-In
with Clients

Influencing and Persuading

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Internal Communications Training
in the Office

On demand courses for internal comms professionals

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Improving Personal Communication Skills
in the Office

Make good working relationships great

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Kickstart Your PR!
with the Media

Introduction to PR

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Mastering the Art Of Writing
Talented with the Media

How to write almost anything

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Menopause in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

How it can affect us, our work, and what to do about it

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Mental Health in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Cultivate good mental health

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Mental Health for Managers
Big Fish Balance

Create greater mental wellbeing in your team

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Mindfulness in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Keeping your focus in times of chaos

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Management and Leadership Training
in the Office

Get the best out of your team

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Neurodivergence Awareness in the Workplace
Big Fish Balance

Embrace Neurodivergence for a More Inclusive Workplace

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Neurodivergence for Managers
Big Fish Balance

Unlock the Potential of Neurodivergent Team Members

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Big Fish Balance

Equip yourself with the tools to build more confidence

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Practical Creativity for PR
in the Office

Power up your brainstorms and boost your creativity

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Practical coaching skills for managers
in the Office

Increase your team's engagement and productivity

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Professional Impact and Presence
with Clients

Stop being overlooked

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Editing and Proofreading Other People's Writing
in the Office

The seven steps to successful editing

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Presentation Training
with Clients

Make every presentation more engaging and effective

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Refresh your press release writing skills
with the Media

Be more successful at getting your stories published

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Social Superstars
With the Media

How to Make Your Clients' Social Media Communications Shine

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Supercharge Your Writing
with the Media

Take your writing to a higher level

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Supervising First Aid for Mental Health
Big Fish Balance

FAA Level 3 Award, Regulated Qualifications Framework

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Pitching to the Media
with the Media

Get more of your stories published

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Time Management for Remote Working
in the Office

Manage your workload from home

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Time Management
in the Office

Manage your workload and get tasks completed on time

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Writing compelling content for the media
with the Media

Make your writing effective, engaging and shareable

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Writing effective news releases
with the Media

Get more stories published

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