Prior to becoming a consultant in 1988 David worked for 10 years with Conoco. In this time he held a number of generalist and specialist management positions in Human Resources. In particular, David focused on training, development and skills transfer in multi-cultural environments. He also spent four years in personnel management, latterly leading the personnel team in the UK Gas Division. He is an occupational psychologist with a special interest in helping organisations, through their people, become more effective. An early role in assessment and counselling has also equipped David with the ability to relate effectively to individuals undergoing the stress of changing their perception of their effectiveness as they develop new Capabilities to meet the ever shifting demands of work today.

David has worked on a range of projects as a consultant in the public and private sectors to identify and change the culture of organisations, to make them more focused on 'customer service', 'quality' and 'individual and team effectiveness'. The focus has been on systems and approaches in tandem with leadership and empowerment as the keys to making the culture shift. Personal empowerment, people taking more ownership and control of their work and personal lives, is a theme in all the work which David undertakes and this drives his approach to individuals and teams.

It is the combination of efficient and effective systems and competent and willing people which produces the quality organisation and it is in these dual areas that David has developed his expertise. To support such organisational interventions David has worked on and led specific research projects to measure and evaluate both Customer Satisfaction and internal colleagues' opinions. Surveys, focus groups and face-to-face interviews (such as Critical Incident and Repertory Grid) have been used to establish current perceptions and practices in the areas of the experience of service delivery, quality and outcomes. In particular, David has worked with organisations to enable them to integrate the data into tactical and strategic programmes for change.

Working both in the public and private sectors has led to sensitivity to the differences between them whilst at the same time being able to transfer the learning from one to the other. He is an experienced coach and facilitator working up to Board level to enable people to be as effective as they know they can be. He regularly facilitates business meetings and chairs conferences.

International Experience
Having worked in Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle and Far East, New Zealand, Central America and the USA he has developed a cross-cultural awareness and expertise, particularly in the area of Western business methods and their adaptation to other cultures. He spent three years in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates, as Director of Manpower Development for Dubai Petroleum Company where his principal brief was to design, gain commitment to and implement an Arabisation programme in the company.

Customer Feedback and Satisfaction
This is primarily from the amount of ongoing business in which clients involve David. Most relationships are long term and although there may be gaps of six months or more between projects David has a stable, long-term customer base. For example, a major Public Body has involved David in measuring internal colleague satisfaction prior to launching a programme of senior management development in support of a major organisational change programme; a major container manufacturing company involved David in a customer satisfaction survey as part of an organisational effectiveness initiative; the IOD used David as a tutor for 3 years; an International Pharmaceutical Company has involved David in workshops and coaching/mentoring for 5 years.

Other Items of Interest