Client Testimonials
Ali introduced our new Executive Leadership team to the Everything DiSC tool and helped us explore our personalities, team behaviours and ways of working. Ali was engaging, knowledgeable and passionate and designed interactive sessions engaging all of us, inspiring confidence in her abilities, and creating a relaxed atmosphere which helped us get the most out of our time together.
After ten years in business, we were looking to undertake a radical internal restructure – moving to a customer centric approach. Alison worked with us to identify the best method for understanding our staff and ensure that the new teams moved quickly from forming to performing. Using Belbin, Ali designed a bespoke workshop using engaging and interactive exercises – just right for our team. She ensured that the senior management team understood fully how the profiles could add value to our future development. This has helped us introduce a new structure and way of working in a positive way, with full support and buy-in from staff.
Alison has supported Active Black Country and myself at a time of significant change for the partnership and sports sector, driving, creating and leading change which has seen a revision to the partnership’s strategic direction, organisational structure and ways of working. Ali’s approach has been instrumental in developing the revised focus of the business vision; her ability to understand and make connections across a breadth of strategic drivers has contributed considerably. She has very quickly understood our business, its priorities and shared our passion in forming a business which has a clear direction to move forward.
Hi Alison. I just wanted to say how valuable the recent performance management training was for the Shooting Stars management team. The information provided was extremely useful and prompted lots of thought into how we currently manage staff performance and how our investigation and disciplinary procedures can be strengthened. The content and delivery of the day was fantastic and certainly exceeded my expectations. The training was full of practical tips and the interactive approach was excellent. Your approach created a relaxed environment which enabled the team to ask honest questions and discuss relevant and real scenarios. Thank you and I very much look forward to working with you in the future
Coming to a new organisation, I wanted to find someone who would help me develop learning as a core part of our new culture. I needed someone who ‘got it’ and I found that person when I saw Ali speak at a National Conference. I thought I would enjoy working with her and I wasn’t wrong.
Ali’s approach is very people focused and she gets the business of partnership. She has helped us shaped what our approach might look like, has given us guidance and support and encouraged us to trial and adapt. It’s been a pleasure working with her and I hope the relationship continues.
"It is very evident that you really understand the purpose and role of Active Partnerships and your background, skills and experience really added value to our process. You are very credible which meant I could have confidence in you and what you bring when we have valued internal and external colleagues in the conversations – thank you !"
Alison was recruited to provide a personnel and organisational development perspective to the governing body of Halesowen College, as well as bringing skills in strategic business planning. Along with being personable and able to commnicate well her ideas and experience, Alison brought considerable added value to the College. This was most evident in debates about strategic positioning, with Alison offering advice to ensure that the strategic priorities were progressed through effective business planning and holding the College Executive to account through performance management measures and KPIs. She has demonstrated a keen understanding of the commercial realities of an organisation and she extended her role as a Director of Halesowen College Enterprises; she bought a very clear sense of business and through her well developed ability to work as a critical friend, she skill-fully combined challenge and support to achieve progression
Alison works with a number of our clients who are really happy with the services she provides. She is always flexible to the needs of a small business and has provided invaluable professional and knowledgeable advice. She always delivers in excess of expectations, without any fuss and unfailingly with a smile. I could not recommend her highly enough!
Our established business needed some direction and vision so Alison devised and delivered, amongst other activities, a key workshop for our team. We spent two days creating our core values and strategic intent based on our ways of working and team dynamics; the sessions were interactive and creative but most importantly relevant to our unique business needs. It has helped us immensely understand what is important to us and how we can achieve it.
I have been an associate of Ali's for many years and have really valued her advice, support and expertise as a business owner myself and as an expert working in the learning sector. As a genuine learning leader she embodies the values and behaviours sought after by many organisations I support and really understands, in practical terms, the true value that strong cultures and learning approaches can bring.
Ali and I connected working with Quest carrying out improvement assessments across the Active Partnership network. Since then we have continued to support each other and work together sharing similar values, principles and like minds in improving the health and wellbeing of our nation. She is highly collaborative and always challenges my thinking, providing insightful perspectives as well as innovative ideas. As a result we have built an Associate partnership way of working together and I greatly value her as an expert in leading transformational change in place based working.
"Alison supported us to co-design our People Strategy for our entire workforce. She provided much needed resource, experience and expertise us helping us to focus on what matters most to us and how we want to drive organisational and cultural change across the whole Council". I would highly recommend her and hope to work together again in the future".
"Shipway consulting provided an exceptionally professional and thorough external board governance review to GBA culminating in a highly practical and insightful report. Ali went beyond just governance assurance and provided us with a forward looking account of where we could continue to improve. The board discussion following the report was open and honest and moved the board’s thinking in a very positive direction. We are very grateful to Ali for her professionalism and insight and I would recommend her without hesitation".
Active Surrey worked with Ali Shipway to complete our External Board and Governance Evaluation. Whilst Ali was really thorough in terms of our compliance, the real value was derived from her focus on the board’s strategic direction, composition and impact. She left us with clear and actionable recommendations which will help us move forward, not just as a board but across the organisation as a whole. We'll be working again soon I'm sure!
I have connected with Ali since we worked together at NEXT Ltd over 20 years ago. During that time she developed a reputation as a well respected and liked practitioner. She had a broad knowledge across all of HR but was especially skilled at building relationships at senior levels with a highly professional and straightforward approach. Since then we have maintained a genuinely valued relationship as she continues to provide insightful and thought-provoking advice and coaching to my business and worklife. She has a motivating approach to leadership and developing people with an innate understanding how organisations can connect their people needs to their business plans. .
I have known, worked with and been supported by Ali for over 15 years. She is a consummate professional equipped with the skills, abilities and expertise necessary to add value to all sizes of organisations. She excels at coaching, where her probing and insight, delivered in an inspiring and empathetic way has enabled me and many others to deliver far more of our potential. Her understanding of leadership in the world of physical activity has been so influential in my thinking and actions and she is always my first port of call for guidance and support..
As an Executive Director of HCE Ltd Alison bought exceptional organisational development and strategic business planning skills. Following her role on the Trustee Board, where she added considerable value to the College, she took on this key accountability bringing a very clear sense of business and through her well developed ability to work as a critical friend, she skill-fully combined challenge and support to achieve progression. Along with being personable and able to commnicate well her ideas and experience, she demonstrated a keen understanding of the commercial realities of an organisation and helped HCE Ltd grow as a business and employer.
“The mentoring relationship Ali and I have developed over the last year could not have been more impactful! Her style and approach has enabled me to look at things in a different way, reflect and help build my confidence about my skills and future. She asked poignant questions, listened, supported and has drawn things out of me I hadn’t previously considered… I’ve now taken on a new role within a new organisation and have credited Ali with a large part of my desire and ability to have done that. I would highly recommend her as a coach and mentor.
“Ali has a different approach to governance which is really helping to shift our thinking around compliance and Board ways of working. As well as understanding the principles of key codes of governance and how to apply them, she is helping us transition to being a more effective strategic team who are better connected, informed and purpose driven.
'Ali lead our strategy review as we knew she had a deep understanding of the type of work we do and would bring fresh thinking to us. We’re delighted we did. Ali worked extensively with our partners and our team, listening to their thoughts, reflecting them back to us to give us real, tangible learnings for us to build upon. Her approach was both challenging and supportive. Throughout the process Ali was great at interpreting our thoughts, changing things when needed, and was flexible in the way the project ran its course. We are now in a much better position to move on with a well-rounded and well thought-through strategy which is in line with all our stakeholders’ thoughts.’
I would have to say I am a very strong advocate of Alison's professional approach to developing a strategic plan for our organisation.
From our very first correspondence and subsequent introductory meeting, Alison has been a joy to work with resulting in a high quality process, project, and piece of work all within the timeline and budget outlined.
Alison has actively listened, positively challenged, posed suitable questions, investigated and accurately interpreted both our own feedback, ideas and thoughts and also that of our key stakeholders.
This has resulted in a strategy that truly and authentically reflects our organisation and carries the desired integrity & transparency to implement a plan we have great confidence in and that will support our future strategic direction.
One of the significant benefits of working with Alison, was the way in which she interpreted the brief, her understanding of the complexities of the HE sector and blended these with local, regional and national strategy intelligence..
This has all been completed with the skill to translate the information into a straightforward working document, created with the intention of being understandable for all members of our staff team and the wider University community.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Alison (Shipway Consulting) to other organisations, friends and colleagues.
I'm already looking forward to our next collaboration.