WHO WE ARE
People are the Key is a partnership of experts with different expertises who deliver bespoke solutions agreed with the client. We work with businesses and other organisations which have issues with conflict in the workplace or staff engagement.
The three partners each bring different expertises which, when combined, produce something which is greater than the sum of the parts. Kim’s expertise is in staff motivation and engagement, and analysis tools to assess what staff really think and feel (essential if one is then to work on the behaviour, beliefs and feelings). Sarah provides insight into the behaviours people at work deploy, while Jeremy addresses the psychological drivers of that behaviour (feelings and beliefs). These are two sides of the same coin.
Our solutions will always be driven by your needs rather than our products. We don’t believe in squeezing a size 7 foot into a size 5 shoe so you won’t be forced to fit into “our programme” because we don’t have one! You will explore the real issues you need to resolve and work with us to direct a solution which fits perfectly.
We aim for the client organisation, and the people in it, to flourish, to thrive, as a result of our interventions. We seek to encourage a positive feeling of joy in the business. We aim for clients to be surprised by how much they have achieved and delighted with the changes we have helped them make.
Organisations which do not thrive tend to exhibit a range of symptoms. That’s not surprising because, by and large, the symptoms are inter-related. But this can leave managers and directors who are in a position to do something about the situation confused, demotivated and unsure of how to progress. It becomes a self-perpetuating and ever-increasing problem.
Because many of the symptoms are inter-related, an integrated approach is needed. This will be delivered as a project made up of multiple interventions. Tackling one symptom and leaving the rest unaddressed is likely to result in the business reverting to the status quo. A successful project is likely to require a team of practitioners, each specialised in a different area, who are good at working with each other.
Sarah Owen
Sarah helps people to learn and use the language of DISC using a very simple approach. She is the Founder of DISCsimple which is the only Authorised Partner of Everything DiSC® (part of the Wiley global brand) in Wales. Over the past sixteen years, Sarah has worked with thousands of business owners and executives teaching them how behaviour impacts business relationships.
She has used group training and individual coaching to enable her clients to improve their communication, teamwork and productivity and therefore their business results. Sarah is a key note speaker and author and values knowledge. She is a “situational extravert” and a highly rated communicator.
Sarah is pragmatic and a straight talker and her delivery is packed full of practical solutions mixed with a healthy dose of humour. She values kindness and fair play.
Sarah lives rurally in West Wales and laughs when she tells us that her nickname in the finance industry was “Margo” because she is tall, dark and well spoken and was likened to the actress Penelope Keith’s character—she says “who knew that I would end up like Felicity Kendall playing Barbara in the Good Life?!”
Her current obsession is planning of the growth of fruit you could not ordinarily grow in a British climate in a large poly tunnel in her garden.
Jeremy Marchant
Jeremy uses emotional intelligence and applied psychology to help people at work to work better—however they define that word. He believes that any organisation is the totality of all the relationships between the people in the organisation and between them and clients, suppliers, rivals, everyone.
However his background in project management (with Marks and Spencer, Hewlett-Packard, Boots and other corporates) and business consultancy (BBC, EWS Railways, MoD, and many others), to say nothing of the many SMEs with which he has worked, means that he always places emotional intelligence issues in a business context. His work is practical rather than academic.
He now deploys a range of techniques from coaching, mentoring, training, consulting, advising and counselling, chosen, from moment to moment, to meet the needs of the client.
He has been a composer, music arranger and editor, with professional performances and a commercial CD to his credit. He has written extensively for Fanfare, the prestigious US serious music magazine. He has also written for professional theatre performance—albeit just one ten minute monologue, so far (but zero rejection slips to date!).
His book, Network better, on business networking was published in october 2018. He is contemplating a second volume on developing referral and advocacy relationships.
Kim Jones
Kim helps businesses to thrive by enabling people to share, promote, and collaborate on ideas using technology; to create safe and inclusive spaces that reduce the barriers to participation and for the best ones to gain support and flourish. She focuses on the outcomes and designs solutions to meet the specific needs of each client and when required using appropriate technology, from simple question design workshops to innovation programmes. For Kim, it’s all about the people creating opportunities for them to be fully engaged and thriving at work.
She has worked extensively as a strategic advisor to senior leadership teams who want to be more innovative, improve collaboration in their businesses and embrace the benefits of digital technology. Her expertise draws on her research-led approach and her strong academic credentials as an innovation specialist at a prominent university. Her strengths are the analytical, commercial and communication skills honed over years of helping senior leadership teams make complex decisions and meet the challenges of running competitive businesses in multiple sectors.
As a dedicated reader of business books, Kim has a never-ending reading list fuelled by her curiosity about what people think and their experiences. She has a goal to read fifty books a year, not quite Booker Prize shortlist material but nearly! A lapsed cyclist getting back on the bike this year.
LET'S GET STARTED
Why not find out how we can help you?