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Gatehouse Blog

Pain Management

Take a look at your iPhone or Android, now apart from the odd signal issue, most of us would admit to being amazed and perhaps intimidated by how quickly technology has developed over the past ten years. Yet we need to realise that it is in fact the worst piece of technology that you will ever own. …

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Mark Ford on 16/05/12

Creativity in Motion

The reoccurring problems that we encounter as internal communicators naturally lead to some obvious remedies, and, although there is more than one way to skin a cat, once you’ve skinned it several ways you tend to find the way that works best (I’m assuming this as I’ve never actually skinned a…

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Mark Ford on 16/05/12

Keep Calm and Remember: You’re an Event Manager

With the much anticipated 2012 Olympics almost upon us, some may feel that organising and running an employee event could be classed as an Olympic event in itself, without the gold medal to show for it. So why should we bother in the first place? Well, beyond the hysteria of an early finish and a fr…

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Mark Ford on 17/04/12

Aviva – Group Talent Management What We Did: Aviva wanted to take a new and clear perspective of how it manages talent across the organisation. We undertook a current state audit, speaking with over 50 of their top people from across the global business. Following the presentation of these res…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Bank of America Strategy Planning What We Did We have supported Bank of America with their annual strategy planning and have also facilitated a range of communication planning workshops which have helped to establish clarity and a combined sense of direction for further communications within the org…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Bombardier Change and Transition Training What We Did Bombardier is a vast organisation that regularly undergoes periods of change and transition. Therefore, we were asked to help their communications and senior leadership team by delivering a bespoke training programme. The programme was geared tow…

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Javier on 15/04/12

BP Strategic Channel Review What We Did: Gatehouse was commissioned to carry out a channel review of BP’s in-house magazine. We conducted a series of one-to-one telephone based interviews with senior BP leaders and key external influencers – to understand their needs, expectations and perception…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Royal British Legion Strategy – Visual Metaphor What We Did: The Royal British Legion asked for our help regarding communicating their organisational strategy in a way that was easy to understand for their widely dispersed workforce. Our design team did this by creating a visual metaphor that inco…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Church of England Software Design What We Did: The Church of England approached Gatehouse to help with the redesign of the Visual Liturgy – the software which clergy use to help prepare their sermons. Visual Liturgy is a powerful software package to help plan services and acts of worship by us…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Chartered Institute for Public Relations (CIPR) Bespoke Training Programmes What We Did Since its launch, Gatehouse Academy has quickly grown into one of the leading training organisations for internal communications in the country. The Chartered Institute for Public Relations recognised this and th…

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Javier on 15/04/12

CMS Cameron McKenna Digital Stories What We Did Working for CMS Cameron McKenna we created engaging digital stories to help them communicate with their diverse team. The stories, which we built into a dedicated microsite, were focussed on recognising high performance within the organisation. The mic…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Cobham Operational Change Programme What We Did: In 2011, we supported Cobham with an operational change programme through a number of services which we offer. We started off by carrying out a global communications audit which then led to creating a communications strategy for them. We then helped t…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Coca-Cola Rebranding & Strategy What We Did Coca-Cola needed creative support in order to develop an identity for their European Knowledge & Insights team. We provided a full package of support which included design mediums such as newsletters, presentations, microsite design.This which wa…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Danone Communication Channels Audit What We Did: We conducted quantitative and qualitative research that included a set of in-depth interviews with the leadership team as well as a number of focus groups across the rest of the workforce. This research investigated the impact of the strategy and bran…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Deloitte Building Teams – Event What We Did: Deloitte asked Gasp! to develop a team building activity for the 2010 Graduate Program. It needed to harness all the go-getter instincts of these fresh new faces but deliver the strong message that they were now part of a much bigger community and t…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Denso Europe Website Redevelopment What We Did: Working with the communications team at Denso we redeveloped the DENSO Europe website. The site was designed and built and refocused by our team which gave them a much improved corporate web presence. We also designed and developed an eight page newsle…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Abu Dhabi Department of Transport Channel Redevelopment What We Did Gatehouse was commissioned by Abu Dhabi Department of Transport to help to rework all their internal user documentation in an effort to make it a) consistent and b) readable. We also designed training cards for the sales team and cr…

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Javier on 15/04/12

E.ON UK Communication Channels Audit What We Did: We interviewed and worked with the senior leadership teams to undertake an organization wide review of the communications function and channels at E.ON UK. We undertook surveys and focus groups with the wider organisation in the UK to establish the e…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Ernst & Young Branding What We Did: We were asked to create an external positioning statement together with supporting communications, setting out what the EY brand meant for its clients. We created a set of messages, which would mean something to employees as well as its clients. We arrived at …

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Javier on 15/04/12

Etisalat Rebranding What We Did: We were asked to undertake an entire rebranding programme for Etisalat – from designing the new logo through to establishing the mission, vision and values of the corporation. Whilst the rebrand itself created a fresh and engaging promise, it would only be successf…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Eversheds LLP Launching a Vision and Values Programme What We Did: After a new managing partner took office, Eversheds LLP sort a new direction that defined both its ambitions, and what it stood for. We involved all employees in an enjoyable video based format that asked them to think about what val…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Field Fisher Waterhouse Resourcing What We Did: Gatehouse worked with Field Fisher Waterhouse in carrying out a communications audit; subsequently working with the communications team and supporting their requirements. Following the audit, a decision was made to strengthen their team by recruiting a…

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Javier on 15/04/12

First Group IT Change Programme What We Did: First Group asked for our help in supporting them with their IT change programme. We started by conducting both qualitative and quantitative research which allowed us to put together a detailed strategy to enable them to carry out the programme. We also h…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Financial Services Authority BiteSize training What We Did The Financial Services Authority was seeking some external challenge and fresh thinking for a communication team away day and chose Gatehouse Academy’s ‘Becoming a Trusted Advisor’ BiteSize workshop to meet their need. The session look…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Great Places Housing Channels Audit What We Did: Our research focused on the effectiveness of Great Places communication channels, as well as getting a temperature check of what people really thought about communications across the organisation.   Our research was based initially around a quant…

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Javier on 15/04/12

HM Revenue & Customs (UK Government) Train the Trainer What We Did: HRMC conducted research into staff responses to their own internal communications. As part of the findings they identified the need to simplify and humanize their verbal and written communication. We turned the research findings…

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Javier on 15/04/12

HSBC Global Webcast Programme What We Did: The leadership team at HSBC wanted to increase its visibility and get core messages out to their large and widespread workforce. We developed an 18 month programme of webcasts which promoted the core messages, but didn’t adopt the traditional talking head…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Information Commissioner’s Office Core Competencies for ICO Communicators What We Did: Gatehouse was commissioned to research and design a new competency framework for the organisation, ensuring that existing staff were effectively engaged in the process and, most importantly, bought into and supp…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Institute of Internal Communication State of the Sector What We Did Gatehouse has worked with the Institute of Internal Communication for the past two years in order to carry out research into the current issues within different sectors of the internal communications industry. The research has taken…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Institute of Internal Communication State of the Sector What We Did – Gatehouse has worked with the Institute of Internal Communication for the past two years in order to carry out research into the current issues within different sectors of the internal communications industry. The research h…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Lloyds Banking Group Internal Communications Training What We Did: We were asked Lloyds Banking Group to help them establish what good internal communications looks like. We did this through delivering various presentations around the subject as well as providing coaching via our training division, …

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Javier on 15/04/12

Microsoft Supplier Engagement – Event What We Did: Microsoft approached Gasp! to help them create something that would take their dealers’ breath away. Each year they run a hospitality event for their biggest channel dealers and then take the top 5% of that group away from the others to …

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Javier on 15/04/12

Ministry of Justice BiteSize Training Programme What We Did The Ministry of Justice wanted to invest in the development of their communications team by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to collectively improve the quality of communications throughout the organisation. We developed …

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Javier on 15/04/12

National Grid National Grid 75th Anniversary Film What We Did: To support National Grid’s 75th anniversary of the formation of the electricity grid we were commissioned to develop a number of creative elements. One of these elements was a celebration film which looked back over the years of the or…

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Javier on 15/04/12

NHS Team Briefing Evaluation What We Did: Gatehouse supported the University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (UCL) in reviewing the effectiveness and efficiency of its team briefing process. We designed and implemented an organisation-wide electronic questionnaire, developed a separate paper-base…

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Javier on 15/04/12

National Trust…

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Javier on 15/04/12

PRS for Music Internal Communication Audit The Brief: Due to numerous changes within the music industry in recent years, PRS for Music wanted to better understand how effective their own internal communications were and how high engagement levels were within the organisation. We conducted quantitati…

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Javier on 15/04/12

Prudential BiteSize training What We Did: Gatehouse Academy was invited by Prudential’s global internal communication and employee engagement lead to facilitate a developmental workshop and participate in a team away day. The workshop – entitled ‘Becoming a Trusted Advisor’ – explored the …

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Javier on 15/04/12

Randstad National Conference Event What We Did: Gasp! Were engaged by Randstad, the second largest employment agency in the world to produce their 50th Anniversary conference and party in October 2010. The UK event involved moving 2,500 guests from all over the country to The Troxy in London for a t…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Royal Bank of Scotland RBS Employee Events What We Did Together with our events division Gasp! We created a series of 20 events across RBS offices. This was to support an internal campaign around becoming better environmental citizens. These events were used to encourage people to take responsibilit…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Severn Trent Water Strategic Communication Audit What We Did: We undertook a ‘fast track’ review that focused on core communication channels. A survey was developed to probe employee’s channel awareness, use and preferences and to identify gaps. We were then able to provide a series of recomme…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Shell BiteSize Training What We Did: Shell wanted to invest in the skills and competencies of its own global communications team. Therefore, we were asked to design and deliver a range of bespoke BiteSize training modules for members of the team. The modules were designed to cover the key aspects of…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Siemens Research Project What We Did: With the arrival of a new CEO, Siemens were keen to get a good understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing them – in particular, the specific views and concerns of leaders and an understanding of what the wider employee base thinks of current …

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Javier on 27/03/12

Telefónica Digital Stories What We Did: Working on behalf of the Mobility Data Group, a subsidiary of Telefónica, we created four digital stories to help them to communicate more efficiently with their diverse and multi–disciplinary team in an engaging way. This was designed to bring information…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Tesco Building Teams What We Did: Tesco asked us to produce an event for their European Finance Directors annual meeting that would help them to get to know each other in a relaxed and informal way, whilst in an environment that would force them to work with synchronicity and see the benefits of clo…

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Javier on 27/03/12

TUI / Thomson Travel Communication Channels Audit What We Did: Ahead of its merger with First Choice, TUI’s internal communication team wanted to assess the effectiveness of its internal communication strategy and channels. The audit involved both quantitative and qualitative research and included…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Veolia Water Global Communications Audit What We Did: This audit had its focus on communication channels, as well as gaining insights into what senior leaders really thought about communications across the organisation. Our research was based initially around qualitative interviews, which explored t…

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Javier on 27/03/12

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it’s Off to Work We Don’t Go

Yesterday’s budget initially provoked a sobering reminder that most people of a similar age to me (in their twenties), wont be at a pensionable age until we’re at least 70 years old, a reality of a country laden with debt and an ageing population. It got me thinking about what work will be like …

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Mark Ford on 22/03/12

Death By PowerPoint

Ahh PowerPoint, how I loathe you! You know how it goes, the first few general housekeeping slides are bearable… introduction, objectives, what we’re going to cover in this presentation…Ok fair enough. Then comes the inevitable… a never ending onslaught of Times New Roman, point 9 text, with …

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Mark Ford on 17/02/12

Started Monday. Hated Tuesday. Left Wednesday.

Hemmingway once wrote a story in just six words – “For sale: baby shoes, never worn” surprisingly, he described this as his best work, giving hope to all the budding authors out there. However, you’re unlikely to get a publishing deal on the back of six words, perhaps a new business discount…

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Mark Ford on 08/02/12

Mark
Ford

Mark Ford Consultant Mark Ford joined Gatehouse as a consultant in 2011 after he completed an MSc International Public Relations, where he undertook research into the use of social media as an internal communication tool. His interest in this area grew throughout his studies, Mark explains “so…

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Ford...

Simon Wright on 07/02/12

Ben
Hunt

Ben Hunt Director Benjamin Hunt is one of the founders of Gasp! After a number of years in the events industry Ben has cultivated a well-earned reputation for creativity and an obsession with quality that is matched only by his enthusiasm. When not working on events, Ben can usually be found with hi…

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Hunt...

Simon Wright on 06/02/12

Steve
Manning

Steve Manning Director Steve Manning co-founded Gasp! after working in the events and employee engagement business for over 10 years. His unique approach to client care, his unrivalled industry knowledge, vast network of venue contacts and boundless energy make him the first port of call for some of…

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Manning...

Simon Wright on 05/02/12

Agnes
Costa

Agnes Costa Consultant Agnes Costa joined Gatehouse following five years working at a Parisian communications agency and specialising in HR and people communications. Her experience includes project management, research, consulting and managing full channel campaigns. She holds a Master degree in Po…

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Costa...

Mark Ford on 04/02/12

David
Peacock

David Peacock Research Consultant and Coaching David Peacock is a widely experienced senior executive combining careers in manufacturing, corporate financial services and the education sector. He has successfully led marketing, product management, business development and market strategy functions i…

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Peacock...

Simon Wright on 03/02/12

Sophie
Jefferies

Sophie Jefferies Consultant Sophie has twenty years’ experience helping clients listen and engage with their people. Having started out in the events industry organising Europe-wide car launches for General Motors and large motivational events for IBM, she moved into employee engagement, focusing …

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Jefferies...

Simon Wright on 02/02/12

Malcolm
Sutherland

Malcolm Sutherland Consultant Mal Sutherland specialises in digital media and content creation. He works across the Commercial and Broadcast Sectors and has been involved as a Consultant in Digital Strategy since 1995. He holds Prince 2 Project Management Certification and in 2010 he completed a Mas…

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Sutherland...

Simon Wright on 01/02/12

Steve
Young

Steve Young Communications Consultant Steve came to internal communication nearly 20 years ago when he saw, gained support for, created and realised the value to the business of a simple staff newspaper in the Bank of England. Now a knowledgeable and enthusiastic internal communication professional,…

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Young...

Simon Wright on 31/01/12

Steve
Doswell

Steve Doswell Consultant Steve Doswell is a change management and communication consultant, with wide experience in large employer organisations spanning several economic sectors. His key professional communication interests are grouped around three key themes: change, professional development and E…

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Doswell...

Simon Wright on 30/01/12

Sally
Hinder

Sally Hinder Training Consultant and Coaching Sally Hinder is a coach, trainer, facilitator and communications specialist. Her passion is to help individuals and organisations achieve better results and work to their full potential, by focusing on the effectiveness and impact of their communication.…

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Hinder...

Simon Wright on 29/01/12

Martin
Bisiker

Martin Bisiker Video Director Martin Bisiker is our resident video director and has worked on many Gatehouse productions. Having specialised in broadcast productions for independent organisations as well as mainstream such as the BBC, Martin joined Gatehouse in 2009 to drive our video production sid…

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Bisiker...

Simon Wright on 28/01/12

Darren
Richards

Darren Richards Creative Director Darren Richards graduated in fine art in the early 1990s and since then has been involved in many aspects of the design industry. Prior to joining Gatehouse, Darren was a preferred supplier to a number of financial and professional services organisations, designing …

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Richards...

Simon Wright on 27/01/12

Alice
Chan

Alice Chan Creative Consultant Alice Chan is a highly experienced graphic designer and has recently completed her MA in Design Innovation, majoring in Graphic and Multimedia Design in the UK. She has a particular flair and passion for illustration and fine art, and has extensive experience of creati…

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Chan...

Mark Ford on 11/01/12

Matt
Stanbridge

Matt Stanbridge Creative Consultant Matt Stanbridge has over 6 years experience in the Design and creative industry, working with a diverse range of clients such as HSBC, Disney, CityJet and Pearson Education. Prior to becoming a Creative Consultant, Matt has worked both in the design and PR industr…

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Stanbridge...

Mark Ford on 11/01/12

Nick
Wright

Nick Wright Creative Consultant Nick Wright has a career in graphic design spanning more than 10 years. He has worked both agency and client side on a number of high profile projects covering all areas of the design and communications spectrum from brand development and graphic design through to cop…

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Wright...

Simon Wright on 11/01/12

Javier
Moreno

Javier Moreno Creative Consultant Javier Moreno studied Films and Media and has over 5 years international experience as a Digital Designer, having worked in various advertising agencies and audiovisual companies. His work has covered all media areas from video editor, motion graphics and web throug…

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Moreno...

Mark Ford on 11/01/12

Tony
Sephton

Tony Sephton Creative Consultant Tony Sephton, has worked for Gatehouse for two years in that time he has worked on projects for National Grid, Telefonica and DENSO, offering intranet and secure extranet solutions for the aforementioned clients. Prior to him joining Gatehouse he has worked in the in…

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Sephton...

Mark Ford on 11/01/12

Amit
Vachhar

Amit Vachhar Online & Media Consultant Amit Vachhar is an experienced IT Manager and works out of our satellite office in India. Following completing his MBA in Information Management in the UK, he returned to India where he worked on numerous projects with various technology organisations, inc…

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Vachhar...

Simon Wright on 11/01/12