people + skills = business
Training Counts helps professionals develop those all-important 'soft' skills that often determine business and career success more than 'hard' technical knowledge alone.
We're big fans of 'The Peter Principle' which sets out the dangers of ignoring these soft skills.
We have worked in the UK and internationally with experience of a number of sectors. We have particular expertise working with accountancy firms.
We deliver training online and in-room across four broad areas:
Online worshops are interactive and can be delivered 'live' in our browser-based training room, so no plug-ins or downloads to worry about.
All our content can be customised, so please let us know if you'd like us to 'go heavy' or 'go light' on particular topics, or indeed include other areas.
Managing yourself in a hybrid world
3 hours online
A reminder of the essential personal effectiveness techniques for staff working hybridly.
Key content:
Managing others in a hybrid world
3 hours online
A reminder of essential management techniques for staff working (and managing) hybridly.
Key content:
'Write gooder!':
effective business writing
3½ hours in-room or online.
For staff starting to become responsible for written output whether for internal or external audiences.
Key content:
‘Pitch perfect’:
presentation skills for business
7 hours in-room or online.
For staff becoming responsible for presenting, whether to brief clients, win work or deliver training.
Key content:
‘Working that room’:
networking skills for people who’d prefer not to!
3½ hours in-room
For staff apprehensive about working a room, whether to develop new business, maintain client relationships or simply develop a professional network.
Key content:
‘Having those tricky conversations’:
managing poor performance
3½ hours in-room or online
For staff becoming responsible for managing the performance of colleagues, whether or not as a formal line manager.
Key content:
‘Finding The One’:
recruitment and interviewing skills
3½ hours in-room or online
For staff becoming responsible for interviewing and making selection decisions.
Key content:
‘Taking that step back’:
mentoring skills for managers
3½ hours in-room or online
For managers wanting to have more meaningful career development conversations with their staff.
Key content:
‘Stepping up!’:
management development programme
2 to 5 days in-room or online
For staff stepping up into their first supervisory role, this is a comprehensive introduction to the key skills needed to better manage themselves, other people and clients.
Key content:
‘So what exactly do accountants do?’:
business awareness for support staff
3½ hours in-room or online
For secretarial and support staff in accountancy firms.
Key content:
‘Talking numbers’:
an introduction to finance and strategy
3½ to 7 hours in-room or online
For staff looking to develop their financial literacy and credibility.
Key content:
'Have you got what it takes?':
business simulation
3½ hours in-room or online
For staff to develop their commerciality by running a simulated business in real time against other teams.
Key content:
‘The subtle art of letting someone else have your way!’:
an introduction to negotiation skills
7 hours in-room or online
For staff starting to negotiate, whether internally with colleagues or externally with clients.
Key content:
One to one coaching can usefully supplement or substitute classroom training. The focus can either be on skills or career development.
Recent coaching assignments have included working with the following:
We also facilitate 'away days' for departments and firms. Recent examples have included:
Get in touch
to discuss how coaching or an away day might benefit your staff.
We have spoken at dozens of conferences and events of all shapes and sizes at home and abroad. Recent topics have included:
'The 7½ soft skills all professionals need'
'Why don't staff always do what you want them to do?'
'Working that room - networking skills for people who really don't like networking'
And feedback has included:
"Engaging, entertaining and puts across his message clearly and with humour. An excellent and well spent hour"
"A really amazing, upbeat and professional presentation"
"The presentation had everything - humour and brutal honesty of real life scenarios which everyone could relate to"
Get in touch to discuss your brief or chat through ideas and options to help your event succeed.
This is a super little book and still holds true over 50 years after it was first published.
The basic idea of The Peter Principle is that people rise in organisations to a level of incompetence and then stay there!
OK, so it's a bit 'tongue in cheek', but for some firms there can be problems if training and promotions are based too much on hard technical knowledge.
At manager level and above, success is determined more by soft skills - an ability to manage yourself, manage a team and manage clients - than technical knowledge alone. So a technical superstar may struggle to operate successfully at these levels. And if they do struggle (and are seen to struggle), they're unlikely to be promoted any further - i.e. they've reached their 'level of incompetence'!
We're sure this wouldn't apply to anyone who's actually reading this! But the lesson for individuals and organisations is clear - of course technical knowledge is vital, but it's often assumed and 'taken as read'. It's going to be those soft skills (managing self, others and clients) that determine career and business success more.
So ignore them at your peril!
We’re based in London but work across the UK and internationally.
We have a particular specialism helping ‘technical’ professionals, such as accountants, develop those all-important 'non technical' skills they need to succeed.
Our clients come from a range of sectors including financial services, property, insurance, accountancy, law, media, consumer goods, professional institutes and the public sector.
Our Director and lead trainer is Angus Farr, who is one of those rare breeds - both a Chartered Accountant and Chartered HR professional. We also involve a number of associates, depending on the assignment, all of whom have sound practical experience of their subjects and at the 'chalk face'.
Get in touch to discuss options and ideas:
T: 0203 397 1300
E: angus@trainingcounts.co.uk
M: 07535 875 271
P: 20-22 Wenlock Road London N1 7GU