Survive Covid-19 lockdown with Yew Tree Business Consultancy
By Tom Gillespie
THE Covid-19 lockdown has had a profound impact on businesses in every sector.
In order to survive into the future company bosses need to ‘regenerate, redirect and reinvent’.
Now a Mayo company, Yew Tree Business Consultancy, run by Castlebar native Brigid Kilkelly, can offer executive coaching, and help businesses post-pandemic.
Brigid said she named the business ‘Yew Tree’ not just because she is based in Mayo but also because the yew is symbolic of regeneration and resilience. "And how appropriate is that in 2020?" she said.
She added: "Business is in my blood, and after running my own business for over 20 years I am really enthusiastic about working with business organisations in a number of key areas.
"Coaching - I spent most of 2018/19 studying and upskilling in management and executive coaching, and this is really rewarding work. I am now qualified as an executive coach (QQI level nine) and as a trainer (QQI level six).
"Business owners and managers plough a lonely furrow at times, and having ‘another set of eyes’ on things is essential from time to time. Unfortunately, many discover this only too late.
"We tend not to ask as much of others as we ask of ourselves personally. But good businesses have a strong sense of purpose, and are clear on their roles and organisations, strong on basics like communication. They understand that a team is required for success and longevity, and, of course, work-life balance is very topical since the recent lockdown forced a rethink on home-based work, etcetera."
Brigid continued: "My work as a coach or mentor is driven by the desire to boost a business’s performance, and to do this efficiently, and with a close eye on the business plan or strategy. Hence the monitoring role, a sounding board, an objective observer, another perspective.
"2020 has been really tough for businesses, and individuals. Times for change, regeneration, redirecting and reinventing. It is very difficult to achieve all of this without specialised help, and keep the businesses ticking over in the meantime.
"Increasingly companies are turning to business services like mine. Coaching individually or teams is a really effective way to deal with specific issues, such as redeployment of talent, fast-tracking role development such as supervisory or people management, skills or managing remote working.
"Coaching is also a great way to introduce organisational change, such as redefining purpose or strategy, for example, turning attention to new market opportunities, cultivating a culture for innovation or ideas, or perhaps generating more leadership generally throughout an organisation.
"I sometimes use a blend of training and coaching, depending on the work required.
"Amazingly, I find that similar themes are common across many sectors and in all sizes of business from one to 100. Such as employee engagement, and this is borne out by global research. On average fewer that 20 per cent of all employees are ‘highly engaged’ in their work. So many business owners ‘carry’ employees who do not make an active contribution to the business’ growth or progress.
"Interestingly, there are really cost effective ways to boost employee engagement, if you know what to do! It may not cost a penny!
“Workshops with managers or supervisors are a great way to get this agenda moving.
"Then you have ‘self sacrificing’ managers. It is so common to find managers or business owners who ‘do it all themselves’, for one reason or another, and of course this is rarely sustainable. Something has to give."
Brigid continued: "Learning how to distribute leadership within an organisation takes work but the rewards are tremendous. Usually the first benefit is that the person charged with running the company gets control of his/her time back, or is free to manage ‘big picture’ issues, plan ahead as opposed to ‘fire fight’ alone.
"Talent management is key to any business and it can be very satisfying for both employer and employee when we get this right.
"For spotting your talent, managing it, right role right person, or retaining it, I use a psychometric tool kit to facilitate effective results here, and planning for succession, the future, all time well spent for any business.
"Sales, when is it not about sales! As the sales landscape also continues to change at a pace, companies need to examine their sales approach frequently, and customer care requires the same scrutiny for businesses to retain and win new clients.
"I have experience in pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, personal credit and telecoms, to name a few sectors.
"At the moment, quite a number of companies are having to restructure the workforce, and unfortunately make some workers redundant. This is always a difficult process for an employer to undertake.
"I offer an outplacement service for such candidates. I use psychometrics to get some insight into their greater strengths, look at careers success analysis, and some coaching to guide them on the first steps of a career/working life transition.
"I also collaborate with two other consultants - a leadership expert and a senior business analyst - to combine our experience and insight across a range of topics.
"All three of us are based in the west/northwest and we are very excited to be working together in our local SME sector.
"This also allows us to meet with larger client companies, and, of course, all of our work is tailored to the needs of the individual company."
For further details on Yew Tree Consultancy inquire at yewtreeconsultancy@gmail.com or contact Brigid on LinkedIn.