Testimonials |
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What clients say about Di: Di was the keynote speaker at our recent conference talking about the role of people managers during a period of change. Di was amazing, everyone was fascinated as she took them on a journey through psychology, leadership, motivation and having difficult conversations. Di is a true professional, all her content was perfected and her speaking style professional. All the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Carl Holloway Director of Communications, Great Places Housing Group October 2019 Di acted as an expert assessor for this year's ACU (Association of Commonwealth Universities) Strategic Management Programme (benchmarking good practice in university management) in Nairobi. She inspired all the participants with many great ideas relating to the management of PR and effective communications. There were many 'lightbulb' moments around the room, and I know from the feedback that many of the ideas will by now be being put into practice in the universities represented around the room. I would hope to work with her again. Cliff Wragg Programme Manager for the ACU Strategic Management Programme August 2019 Di Burton delivered a really interesting CIPR training session on GDPR to a group of communicators specialized in different areas. Even with very diverse levels and backgrounds in the room (internal, media, graphic design…) she managed to get everybody engaged during the whole session. Business Manager, ECMWF September 2018 Di is a valuable support and advisor. She has challenged my thought process and has kept me on track for the past 12 months to develop my business development and communication strategy. She gives clear, no nonsense advice, and can work a room of contacts like no other! Clementine Duckett, Partner at LCF Barber Titleys August 2018 Thank you for your hard work and great presentation to our Partners' Spring Conference. You challenged all of us and instigated some real decisions and changes to our behaviour which I am confident will bring success in 2017 and beyond. Simon Stell, Managing Partner, LCF Law 2017 Di has been a terrific mentor, focusing on building my resilience and confidence. We worked through useful strategies to handle situations and individuals, which helped broaden my thinking. She has given me invaluable careers advice and insight into the wider industry. Di was always ready to act as a sounding board, backing up her advice with practical tools, tips and research. Naomi Saunderson, Head of Internal Communication, NHS Blood and Transplant 2017 Di Burton has facilitated three senior management team meetings for ENISA over the past 18 months. She has also carried out high level consultancy work for the Agency. Her style is direct, challenging behaviours and assumptions while stimulating discussion and seeking solutions. She is highly experienced in her topic of people management, culture, and communication, and combines this with relevant theoretical underpinning. Paulo Empadinhas Head of Stakeholder Relations and Administration ENISA European Union Agency for Network and Information Security 2017 Di Burton has been delivering PR training for the CIPR for more than 10 years. She has received consistently high scores and is much sought after by our delegates and organisations when we are delivering in-house training. Di predominately delivers our strategic/advanced courses which entails training people of a more senior level. Grace Heighington | Training Development Manager November 2016 Chartered Institute of Public Relations, 52-53 Russell Square, London WC1B 4HP We have worked with Di over the past year on how to look at improvements in internal communication based on findings from the annual staff engagement surveys. Di’s work included conducting focus groups, providing strategic advice to the management team and the Matrix Group, and holding workshops on how to address areas for improvement. Most recently, the best success indicator I had from Di’s workshop on ‘Culture, Engagement and Performance’ was that staff not attending the workshop, asked: ‘I heard it was such a success, can you share her slides?’ Katja Rosenbohm, Head of Communication, European Environment Agency January 2016 "Di Burton was an inspiring and engaging speaker, and really got to grips with the planning challenges specific to our organisation, suggesting practical and realistic ways forward. "100% of our delegates, from all levels and backgrounds were happy with Di's session – the only complaint being they wanted more time with her!" Alan Ferns, Director of Communications and Marketing, The University of Manchester October 2015 "Di Burton with John Smythe of Engage has facilitated a number of off-sites with a combined team from internal communication, HR, and strategy, to help develop the extended business case for a global internal communications, its structure and resource requirement. The strategy will help connect the business as it develops globally.” Stuart Webster Head of Internal Communications, Jaguar Land Rover Limited 2014 "Di Burton recently facilitated a half-day session on stakeholder engagement and reputation management for 160 academic and administrative staff in the School of Health and Social Care at Teesside University. Di provided advice and guidance during the planning stage and helped us to clarify what we wanted from the session and then negotiated the content. What followed on the day was a master class in how to engage and hold the attention of the audience in a well-paced, content rich presentation. This was pitched at the correct level and used relevant real world examples and actively engaged the audience. There was something for everyone and feedback from colleagues has been excellent. Di left us with lots of ideas on how to move forward and I highly recommend the service provided by Cicada." Angela Morgan Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 2014 "We worked with Di to carry out a review of our communications activity. Di did a fantastic job of getting to understand our organisation, what we were trying to achieve and the challenges we faced. From there Di spent a few days speaking to my team face to face to delve deeper into the reality of what we were trying to do. This allowed Di to provide me with a range of practical actions I could take immediately and some longer term plans to put in place to make a sustainable shift." "Overall, working with Di was very rewarding. I got exactly what I wanted: someone with vast experience as a communications practitioner using their insight to help me improve what I and my team do. Di asked the difficult questions and provided the straight answers. She looked at culture and practice, giving me a number of ways to improve across the board. For any communications manager thinking of bringing someone in to carry out an objective review of their service, I would thoroughly recommend working with Di Burton." Steve Borley Head of Marketing, Scottish Qualifications Authority 2014 "As part of the continuous improvement programme towards achieving our top 100 law firm vision and strategic objectives Langleys recently commissioned Di Burton to examine communication and client engagement within the firm. We firmly believe that enhancing our reputation and brand capital through honing our softer skills' set is essential to achieving our strategic plan. Di devised a "Taking Langleys to Market" programme for partners and associates covering internal knowledge sharing, client relationship building, cross referring of work and communication and interpersonal skills. We are delighted with the progress achieved in all these areas as a direct result of Di's input. We are now undoubtedly better equipped to reach our vision and mission goals, live our values and, critically, achieve our strategic plan." Nick Symmington , Director of Marketing, Langleys Solicitors 2013 "I have found insights from the course invaluable in my work, and I felt the course to have been of extremely high quality, and have had no hesitation in recommending the superb course leader." It was probably the best course in terms of the facilitator that I have ever attended! She was totally expert, both in content, presentation and in somehow managing to adapt to the wide variety of experience and wants of those on the course, brilliant experience!" Chris Lane, Essex Police CIPR Training Workshop "I just wanted to say how much I and the rest of the team enjoyed the training on Tuesday, we discussed it at our team meeting yesterday and all were very glowing and positive about the day. I think we all took a lot from the day and certainly learnt many new techniques which I’m sure you are glad to hear we are already applying! On behalf of all of us who attended we wanted to say massive thank you for all your help and for providing a very thought-provoking, engaging and enlightening training course." Emma Spittles Senior International Liaison Officer Chevening Secretariat 2015 " Di ran training sessions for our communications and marketing teams around Integrated Communications planning. The feedback was terrific and the teams still use her advice. Di's depth and passion means that she can inspire and teach others at any level to develop strategic and creative approaches to communications issues." Collette Dunkley Marketing Director Network Rail 2015 "With Di's mentoring and support I have grown and evolved the York Cocoa House brand, developing coherent brand values and an effective communication strategy to create our vision. The personal relationship developed by working with Di has supported the strategic decision making process with invaluable support for business growth." Sophie Jewett Founder and Managing Director York Cocoa House 2015 |
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