Comhra

                                Getting people on board

If you need to

·        bring about the benefits of change quickly and effectively

·        give everyone in your organisation get a common understanding of your objectives and how they can help achieve them

·        get your people to focus on improving quality

·        make people more productive

·        keep people’s minds on their customers

·        share ideas and good practice

·        make sure your people present a consistent and high quality    impression of your organisation

·        get team leaders to lead and motivate people

·        achieve value for money for every penny spent on communication

… or if you just need to sort out your communication, we can help.

We help organisations send straightforward messages in a planned and uncluttered way to their people, and then listen and act on their responses and comments.

Comhra works with organisations to help achieve their goals through focused and inclusive communication.

Working with you

Our approach is to view communication as a business tool.  Our starting point is to see how closely communication is focused on helping an organisation achieve its goals.  When we know which aspects of communication are getting fuzzy, we can do something to bring them back into focus.

We work at different levels. Sometimes we need to review an organisation’s whole approach to communication and then work with it to put in place a new communication strategy.  On other occasions we focus on improving one or two key aspects of how an organisation communicates.  We know that getting the strategy right is crucial, but we also recognise that at times organisations need quick and effective action to make sure things are doing what they should.

Whichever approach is needed, we work as part of your team to advise, develop ideas, and help put them into practice.   We aim to be useful, but make sure that we do not outstay our welcome.

Our thinking

From our experience, communication at its best does three crucial things:

·        helps people feel part of a team

·        equips people with the information they need to do their jobs

·        motivates people to do their jobs well

This sounds simple enough, but is tough to achieve. Getting there means concentrating on four key elements.  We use these as the basis for our approach to getting the most from communication.

Focus     Clarity   Co-ordination    Skills

How we help get each element working well

FOCUS

o       We develop influencing strategies which highlight the shift required from each key audience and outline the range of messages and delivery styles needed to do this. We also establish clear indicators of success at each stage.

o       We help communication practitioners link what they do with what their organisation wants to achieve.  We help them always put business value first and avoid being distracted from it.

o       We equip practitioners to present what they do in the right way to the right people – emphasising business issues and not communication for the sake of it.

o       We help practitioners change the way they work with their clients.  For many, this means shifting to a business partner model, and getting under the skin of key internal ‘clients’ to be able to anticipate and their change and communication issues.

o       We provide practical advice on how to structure and position a communication function so it is best placed to meet the organisation’s needs.

CLARITY

o       We help plan, write and produce top quality and innovative communication materials.

o       We coach clients in techniques to express their messages clearly and simply, then link them with the day-to-day work and interests of the people they need to reach.

o       We develop channels to help people express views and give feedback and make sure that what’s said gets to those who need to hear it.

CO-ORDINATION

o       We help clients establish workable plans which ensure that communications are planned across the organisation and reach their audiences in a measured way.

o       We can run an objective and experience eye over an organisation’s communication channels, and make proposals to ensure that in future all required communication outcomes are covered by channels which are the right fit for the organisation, and reflect professional good practice.

SKILLS

·        We work with leaders and managers in small groups or in one-to-one sessions.  We help them get a clear picture of their role and how well equipped they are to play it. We use observation, feedback and tools such as the Birkman profiling tool to provide insights into current abilities.  We then help leaders develop techniques to become more effective in various scenarios using their experience, our own, and tools such as Situational Leadership.

·        We run a series of communication skills workshops:

o       Leadership Communication – a lively one day workshop which makes clear the communication responsibilities for leaders and managers and equips them to carry them out successfully and with flair.  It’s a practical workshop using real examples of leaders in action to illustrate and reinforce its messages and provides many opportunities for leaders to try out these new techniques in realistic situations.

o       Team Leader Communication – This workshop, which requires up to a day, helps team leaders get the most out of precious team meeting and face-to-face time.  It gives then the skills and tools they need to get onto the group’s wavelength and capture its imagination from the start.  It then shows how to put across information in terms that make sense to people in the group, and that relate clearly to what they do day-to-day.  Also, the workshop equips team leaders with crucial skills and techniques for getting a quiet group talking.  The emphasis is on practical and usable skills with ample opportunity to try out new ideas and give and receive feedback.

About Comhra

Comhra is run by Dominic Walters, working with a network of associates.  A Fellow of professional body Communicators in Business, Dominic is a specialist in communication and development with 15 years experience. He has worked in both senior in-house and consulting roles, which have given him a firm and practical understanding of best practice in all areas of corporate communication and how to apply it in a range of different types of organisations.

Dominic has worked with a variety of organisations including British Airways, Pfizer, Home Office, UBS, RBS, Marks & Spencer, the BBC, BT, BAA, Lloyds TSB and several local authorities.

Why ‘Comhra’?

Comhra is Irish for ‘conversation’. It summarises how we help – getting things done by helping people talk, and listen, to each other.

Contact us

Please get in touch with:

Dominic Walters, Director

07747 533312

Dominic.Walters@Comhra.uk.com