Workplace Culture Consultancy

Carly Cannings, Founder of The Happy Business School providing consultancy services.

As founder of The Happy Business School, I’m on a mission to help organisations create people-centric cultures where happy people can thrive at work. My workplace culture consultancy service is designed to provide the support you need to take your organisational culture to the next level.

The Happy Business School’s Approach to Culture Consultancy 

A successful organisation is one where its people are at the heart of everything it does. If you want to create a thriving workplace culture, The Happy Business School’s workplace culture consultancy service will give you the support you need to help your people flourish at work. 

Consulting can look different for each organisation and I’ll work with you to find a solution that’s just right for yours. The process below is how a typical consultancy service might look, but it can always be tailored to meet your exact needs. For example, you might have already done some great work assessing your current culture, in which case we can pick it up from step two, or even three.

 

1. Understanding your organisation's current culture

In my role as your culture consultant, I’ll usually start by conducting a thorough assessment of your organisation’s existing culture. To do this I’ll look at any data you have from staff surveys as well as talking to teams and spending some time with your leaders. This will help build a clear picture of what’s going well and where there is some room for improvement. It also gives me some great insight into how the organisation works, those nuances and quirks it’s hard to describe unless you’re in amongst it. 

2. Identifying areas for change

With an in-depth understanding of your organisation, the next step in the culture consultancy journey will be to pinpoint areas where there is room for improvement. I’ll make some recommendations based on what I’ve heard and observed and together we’ll prioritise the work that needs to be done. 

3. Crafting a bespoke plan for positive change

With the areas for improvement clear, my next job as your culture consultant will be to create a tailored plan that will drive positive change in your organisation. There might be work to be done on embedding your values, improving communication within teams, creating healthy working practices – whatever the pain points we’ll create a plan to address them.

4. Implementing and monitoring the changes

The next phase of my culture consultancy involves helping you implement the actions we’ve agree on. I’ll be on hand to offer advice and support throughout the process. We might have agreed a programme of workshops with your teams that I’ll be delivering, or I might be spending some time working one-to-work with some of the senior leadership team. Whatever this stage looks like, I’ll be there to make sure we are monitoring progress and that the work is having the desired impact.

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Why Choose The Happy Business School For Workplace Culture Consultancy?

Prior to launching The Happy Business School I worked as part of the senior leadership team at a legal expenses insurance company. I’ve got over a decade of leadership experience so I know a bit about how teams work, but we are never done learning so I’m always developing my skills and brushing up my knowledge to stay at the top of my game. 

Think of me as a curious guide. I’ll ask lots of questions, often with a view to getting you to think differently about a situation. I’ll use my expertise to offer suggestions about how you might do things differently but my approach will always be collaborative. After all, you know your organisation best.

As an outsider I can look at what’s going on within an organisation with a fresh pair of eyes and ask questions you might not have thought about, and provide new ways of looking at things.

The Three Es: Education, Empowerment, Eco-system

If you bring me in as a workplace culture consultant, I’ll share with you my Three Es model. It starts with education – in order to feel motivated to change we need to understand the why. Why does it matter if I’m happy at work? Why do I find it hard to stick to healthy working practices? Why do I avoid challenging conversations? Why does it matter if I don’t regularly recognise my team’s efforts? 

Next is empowerment. If we want people to change and adopt better ways of working, develop a growth mindset and increase their resilience then we need to empower them to do these things. This is more than just telling them to do something. It’s about autonomy and trust and I’ll show you some ways to encourage these in the workplace. 

Finally, the eco-system. This is about more than just educating and empowering your people to invest in their happiness. This is a collective shift change and the environment you create to allow your people to flourish is crucial.

The Happy Business School

Build Your Own Consultancy Package

Every organisation is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. The Happy Business School’s workplace culture consultancy service can be tailored to fit your specific needs and requirements. Together we can build a package that’s just right for you. You might want to include a training programme for your middle managers, some workshops with the senior leadership team, company-wide sessions, an away day, a slot at your end-of-year conference. We’ll agree on the main themes you want to cover and what your budget is, and build it out from there.

Don’t Forget The Fun

Just because some of this stuff can be hard work that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun along the way. In fact, when we are working through the tricky bits it’s all the more important to remember to be kind to ourselves and have some fun. After all, by working with me you are committing to the happiness of your people and that’s worth celebrating. I’ll always aim to bring positivity, humour and kindness to all my work – and encourage you to do the same!

And Finally…

If you’re not sure whether working with me is right for your organisation, or you just have some more questions about how it all works, then I’m always happy to have a chat. Just get in touch and we’ll find a time to talk.

Transform Your Workplace Culture Today

Every organisation has a culture - good, bad or ugly. Unless we actively invest in creating the workplace culture we want for our organisation, there is a risk that the culture won’t reflect the organisation’s values and beliefs. Working with a workplace culture consultant will help transform your culture and enable your people to thrive at work. After all, happy people make successful businesses.

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Together We Can Create Happier Workplaces

Forget gimmicks like ice cream van visits or ping pong tables – let’s work together to build a positive culture where people feel valued and encouraged. Let’s help your people find purpose and meaning in their work.

What People Say...

“Passionate about happiness in the workplace and knowledgeable from her experience in senior leadership roles"

“There was a great balance of theory, purpose and some practical tips giving people an easy way of putting the theory into play immediately"

"Carly is highly motivated and hugely personable - I came away feeling inspired and armed with lots of practical tips and tricks"

"...there were so many happy smiles on the call that's for sure... the tips on putting things into action will definitely be of benefit to me personally and to those around me"

5 Myths About Happiness At Work

Wrong. The absence of disease isn’t health and the absence of misery isn’t happiness. Just because we might do enough as leaders to not have our people crying at their desks doesn’t mean we are invested in their happiness. Just because an employees comes in every day, does a good job and leaves without complaining about anything doesn’t mean they are happy.

Wrong. It’s right that some some people are more naturally optimistic but, with practice, you can become happier. There is a wealth of science that shows, when we know how, we can train our brains to be more positive. Asking someone to write down three good things that have happened in the last 24 hours may appear glib but this is about training the brain to spot positive things. When we learn to look for things we see them more easily.

Wrong. In fact blind optimism is a bad thing. Who wants to be in a plane where the pilot never believes anything bad can happen so doesn’t bother doing all the safety checks (not me for sure!). Just like in the world of work we don’t want to fail to look out for the risks and dangers, we just don’t want to be overwhelmed by the fear of them.

Wrong. The science tells us that being happier at work makes us more productive, more resilient, more creative, more accurate, more analytical, less likely to take time off sick, leave or burnout. Who doesn’t want those benefits? Yes, what a great wellbeing initiative to be able to say we are interested and investing in your happiness but it goes much further than that. There are real business benefits to helping people increase their happiness.

This one is only a half myth. Yes, people need to be invested in working on their own happiness but as a leader it is for us to help them with that, to show them we value their happiness, to allow them time to work on it, to give them the tools they need to become happier at work. Importantly we need to help them understand why being happy at work is important. As a leader if you can show you are invested in your own happiness it will show your people they should invest in theirs too.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re trying to create a thriving workplace culture but need a little help making it happen The Happy Business School’s workplace consultancy option might be what you need. I’ll work closely with you to understand what your current challenges are and together we’ll create a plan of action to help your people flourish and makes yours a great place to work. 

Workplace culture consultants work closely with organisations to help them assess their current culture and work on any areas of improvement. The consultant might work with teams, delivering training and coaching and with the leadership team to help them think strategically about workplace culture and how to improve it.

Every organisation has a culture – good, bad or ugly. If we don’t actively think about the culture that is being created it might not align with the organisations values and it might mean that people aren’t feeling supported, valued or engaged. By actively investing in workplace culture you can make sure the culture of your organisation is reflective of your values and that people feel connected with their work, listened to and valued.

A culture change consultant helps organisations transform their workplace culture. This will look slightly different for each organisation. You might be at the start of your culture transformation journey, or already some way down the line. You might have reached a bit of a crossroads and need some help with making some big decisions, or you might need some support to bring to life your values and make sure they are embedded in the organisation’s culture.

Culture consultancy involves working with an organisation to help them achieve their culture goals. Consultancy services can vary depending on the needs of the organisation but often include some work assessing the current culture, helping develop a strategic approach to workplace culture and support in delivering an action plan designed to help the organisation, and the people in it, to thrive. 

Workplace consultancy means working closely with an organisation to help them create a thriving workplace where people feel supported, encouraged and able to do their best work. A happy workplace is a successful one. Research shows that when people are happy at work they are more productive, provide better service, are more creative and there are a whole lot more benefits too.

A culture consultant can help your business by providing strategies and recommendations to improve your workplace culture, leading to a happier and more productive workforce.

A culture consultancy service typically includes an analysis of your current culture, recommendations for improvement, and assistance with implementing these changes.

Hiring a workplace culture consultant can provide valuable insights into your workplace eco-system, helping you create a truly people-centric culture where happy people can thrive at work.

Workplace culture consultants can improve your business by providing advice and support to help your create a thriving workplace where you people feel valued, engaged and supported to do their best work.

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