Testimonials

"Simon coached me for 18 months and this was one of the most beneficial, practical, and tangible development opportunities I have ever had.

"Simon gave me the time and the space to be able to talk through challenges and find solutions. It wasn't always about giving me advice, it was about giving me the support to get to the right answer. This was empowering and made me think about how to tackle day-to-day issues as well as how to consider long-term strategic direction.

"His good-humoured, no-nonsense approach made our sessions not only worthwhile - but also enjoyable."

"Simon was brought in as a communications SME to work with me to develop a communications strategy for EHDC following the dissolution of the previous council partnership.

"Simon was quick to develop trusted relations with the communications team and stakeholders across the organisation. This was key to ensuring that the changes needed in communications were made with the relevant engagement of the team and others. Simon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which we have benefited from.

"We are continuing to use this knowledge and experience through a mentoring/coaching arrangement with the communications team. I can already see a step change in the teams approach to communications and the confidence they have in making their mark as a strategic partner to the organisation. I would definitely recommend Simon, the investment has been very worthwhile."

"Simon joined us in Cherwell at a time of great change, as the Council was decoupling from a partnership arrangement with the county council. This change had a significant and immediate impact on the communications team and function, and I needed someone to come in as Interim Head of Communications and Marketing both to steady the ship and take the team and function forward.

"Simon did both of these to great effect, providing line management to team members who needed a lot of initial support, reorganising and improving our external and internal communications and marketing activities where improvements were required, working in tandem with elected members and senior officers, and devising a new structure to grow the team to meet the Council's needs.

"At the end of the assignment Simon left the team in a much stronger position than he found it, and our communications activities were continuing to improve."

"We are already benefitting from the work completed by Simon. His work has facilitated the Council’s ongoing transformation and change agenda.

"We now have a practical Communications Framework in place to underpin all our communication activity across the Council.

"Simon has provided us with additional customer insights through detailed reporting and as a result, we are now well positioned to evolve and improve our service to customers.

"Simon certainly met his brief; working with him was a pleasure."

"Simon’s strategic review of the Council’s external and internal communications, and customer service, led to a number of positive changes.

"Taking the time to understand our objectives and teams, he delivered meaningful strategies, often turning complex information into easy to understand conclusions and recommendations.

"Part of Simon’s success is his ability to really listen to the client, successfully challenging the status quo to arrive at a clear understanding of their work, which then leads to successful change and results.

"With regular contact maintained throughout the project, Simon met all timelines and provided high quality updates and reports with great attention to detail."

"I brought in Simon to the organisation to ensure the SCR’s Comms and Marketing team both fixed present problems and got a fix on the future. He took control, gripped a challenging set of staffing issues, focused on improving the service the team provided to the directly elected Mayor on core agendas, and began the process of improving the team’s morale and overall performance.

"Simon also undertook a sensitive piece of work to inform future integration with the Public Transport Executive identifying issues and a way forward.

"Simon’s enormous experience gives him a level headedness and perspective that can sometimes be lacking in others and achieves cut through. He is excellent at managing staff. He is credible with senior leaders and politicians. He adds value across all agendas."

“Simon joined IOSH at a time when the Communications function needed clear direction and new leadership.  He effectively restructured the team and bought significant improvements by refocussing the team and engaging across the business.

“His leadership of our WORK 2022 strategy launch from a standing start was a testament to his experience and ability to quickly get up to speed with our vision, messaging, multiple and complex audiences and stakeholders. Simon sat on our Senior Leadership team reporting to me as CEO, he also attended and advised the Chairman and Board of Trustees.

“Simon is a people person with strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence and was a popular Director with his team and peer colleagues.”

"Simon helped us to develop a successful recruitment strategy for foster carers in Kirklees. He was able to quickly understand our requirements and worked effectively with stakeholders to gain insight into what we needed to do to improve. Our improved recruitment and marketing campaign, alongside an improved customer services approach, resulted in an increase in enquiries which converted into an increase in foster carers.

"He also led a review into Kirklees contact service, at a time of great uncertainty and instability. Having grasped the issues at hand, he left us with clear recommendations on how to resolve staffing and premises issues, make efficiencies, and, most importantly, improve a key service for vulnerable young people.

"I would certainly recommend Simon to organisations who want to improve how their services are organised and delivered."

“Working as a consultant to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), Simon

• Carried out a review of communications services and performance and made recommendations for improvements.

• Conducted a functions and skills audit and devised a service re-design to create a new, improved, combined, and integrated communications service.

• Led, devised, and wrote refresh of integrated communications strategy.

• Provided advice and support to communications colleagues across WYCA and the six councils to implement more effective communications activities.

“As a result of this helpful and excellent work Simon left us with some fresh ideas and a great deal to act upon to improve both external and internal communications. I would highly recommend Simon to any organisation that is looking to carry out and implement a service review to improve its communications function, and I would not hesitate to work with him again.”

“Simon is an excellent leader and manager. He has high levels of personal integrity, is a good communicator and is particularly astute. During his time working for me Simon introduced a range of innovative practices and transformed services.

“He is able to challenge constructively and use evidence to support his arguments. He worked very well with senior politicians and senior managers. He was an integral part of the team who reported directly to me.

“I feel Simon’s skills are best used in organisations wanting to innovate, or those in difficulty with a communication challenge or service transformation to deliver.”

“I enjoyed working with Simon during his time at Wakefield; he brought something a bit different.  With an excellent grounding in the world of communications he brought an absolute focus on the needs of the customer – be they internal or external.

“It was because of Simon that Wakefield recognised the benefit of bringing  Communication and Customer Services together, and as a result he developed a joined up approach to putting the voice of the customer  at the heart of our communications.  This continues to inform our digital agenda today.

"Simon is thorough and thoughtful with an ability to distil things down to the pragmatic and practical based on clear principles and evidence.  As a result his advice and guidance are valued and trusted across the board; politicians, senior officers, partners and frontline staff.  Whatever he gets involved in Simon’s honesty, integrity and drive to deliver stands out.”

“Simon worked for us as Head of Communications. In that role, he developed the Communications team into a highly effective unit capable of being both tactical and strategic.

“Simon has an immensely strong sense of personal integrity and brings insight and calmness to any situation.

“Simon has a key skill in identifying key issues, a particularly useful attribute in a complex environment. With this skill he is able to focus on the key issues and to provide clear direction and analysis.

“During his time with us, he ran a highly successful media team and managed to secure a number of awards and recognition at a national level.”