Maximising learning

Over 30 years’ experience of helping people learn

Problem solving

Conflict management and other human relations challenges

Fulfilling potential

Breaking down barriers, building on strengths

Effective communication

So much depends on communicating well

HOW NEIL CAN HELP

We can build any type or size website you require, from small business websites to online stores where you can sell your own products.

MORE ABOUT NEIL’S SERVICES

Training and development

After over 30 years of running well-received training courses, Neil extended his repertoire to include e-learning courses and an innovative online learning community.

Consultancy

Independent expert advice and guidance can more than pay for the investment involved. Neil’s expertise and analytical skills can prove to be invaluable.

Books and more

Neil’s ability to explain complex ideas accessibly without oversimplifying them comes shining through in his writings.

Survey services

Neil and his colleagues have developed online survey services that can help to help leaders and managers to get the best results.

Expert witness services

For more than twenty Neil has been helping the courts and legal professionals by providing expert testimony.

WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY

TESTIMONIALS

STEPHEN ELLIOTT

CO-DIRECTOR / PROSPECTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Prospects for Young People decided to take a different approach to how it was going to undertake the bi-annual employee well-being survey and commissioned the Avenue Survey Centre to provide an online survey. This was because we felt it would provide an impartial and independent vehicle through which to conduct the survey; was potentially more accessible to staff and the results could be more quickly analysed. The experience was very positive with the Avenue Survey Centre working with us to adapt aspects of their original survey design to suits with our requirements and providing us with a weekly update on the level of take up over the three week consultation period. The overall response rate was 47% which for our first attempt at this approach we felt was reasonable and a detailed analysis was provided to us in a timely and effective style. This analysis report will be invaluable to us in supporting the writing of an action/development plan to address a number of the issues raised. We would certainly use the Avenue Survey Centre for future well-being surveys as the process was thorough and efficient and took away the pressures on internal resources to manage what can be a large and onerous exercise but a nonetheless vital and important one.

MARIE DAY

DIRECTOR / BENNETT BROOKS & CO LIMITED CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

At Bennett Brooks we have been dealing with Dr Neil Thompson, and his staff at Avenue Media Solutions and Avenue Consulting Limited since 2001. Their approach to issues is extremely professional and enlightening. Matters are always addressed in a timely manner and are approached clearly and sensitively. Dr Thompson’s extensive experience and expertise cover a vast range of topics, allowing the advice and support to be both specific and all encompassing. We recently engaged the company to assist with an employee survey. We wanted to provide an opportunity for staff to inform us of those areas where we perform well as employers, and those areas where we could improve the working environment and conditions for staff, without the staff feeling exposed or pressurised. The confidential survey compiled by Avenue was accessed and summarised confidentially, and the results presented to us in tabular format so that we could identify those areas where improvements could be made. The next step is to look at those areas, and if necessary, with the support of Avenue, implement changes and improvements that will benefit both the employees and employers. The exercise was a valuable insight into staff perception and understanding of our objectives. Following completion of the survey we were able to ensure that all policies and procedures, which we assumed were common knowledge amongst all staff, were readily available and clearly stated. Staff are now fully aware of the opportunities and facilities available to them, and where to turn if they need support and advice in the future.

LINDSEY KELLY, CHARTERED FCIPD

HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES, LOCAL SOLUTIONS

Local Solutions has previously worked with Dr Neil Thompson and his team at Avenue Consulting to deliver learning and development sessions for our workforce. The feedback from the sessions has always been extremely positive and has assisted us in improving our practices. Recently, Avenue Consulting completed a staff survey for us. The aim of the survey was to identify our strengths and weaknesses as an employer and any potential conflicts or areas of dissatisfaction. We also wanted the survey to be a starting point to drive employee engagement by addressing the areas raised. Historically, Local Solutions had always facilitated staff surveys internally, but by using an external party to facilitate the survey on our behalf increased employee trust in confidentiality therefore receiving more realistic results, that were a true reflection of the workforce. The survey was user friendly and easily accessible online for our employees. The results and analysis were completed by Avenue Consulting, therefore reducing the administrative burden for the organisation. The report provided to us by Avenue Consulting was of good quality, extremely useful, detailed and provided insights and recommendations to us. The exercise was valuable to us and we are currently working on an action plan to provide feedback to our employees and address the areas for development.

Professor Robert Adams

Teesside University

Neil Thompson is a prolific writer and a significant educator with a uniquely deserved reputation. He draws attention to many important aspects of working with people, including what we need to know from research, engaging with those with whom we work and how to put values and principles into practice.

Catherine Gray

Publisher, Palgrave Macmillan

Neil Thompson stands out amongst the writers I’ve worked with for his clear-mindedness and personal integrity. His writing is fluent, sensitive to complexity, simply expressed, and always beautifully structured. He has an outstanding talent for organising ideas in a way that leaves no room for confusion.

Susheela Lourie MBE, DL, ATD, BA(Ed)

Founder member, North Wales Race Equality Network

Neil has always impressed me with his ability to grasp an issue and then pursue his findings with a humble yet disciplined line of thought. I am thinking particularly of his superb presentation on Race Equality to an audience, some of whom, at the time, were not necessarily willing converts. His honesty and integrity, coupled with academic research, won the day.

Dr Gerry Cox

Emeritus Professor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, United States

Neil Thompson is an excellent scholar, who writes in an engaging and non-technical style, but still manages to convey complex ideas and theories in a manner that is accessible for both the professional and non-professional, and which offers depth and breadth of insight that are unparalleled. Neil is a compassionate, kind, and caring colleague who has unique and insightful thoughts.

Dr Audrey Mullender

Principal, Ruskin College, Oxford and Professor Emerita, University of Warwick

Neil Thompson was the only person I encountered, in my decade as an editor, whose written work never required a single change. His publications are clear, precise and always accessible for a wide readership in the ‘people professions’. Even more importantly, he remains true to the values of equality and diversity, drawing out vital lessons for practice from underpinning concepts and ideas. In a busy and under-resourced professional world, these skills are more important than ever.

Charlotte Williams OBE

Professor of Social Work and Social Justice, Keele University

Neil Thompson‘s contribution to the development of the knowledge base has been no less than startling, not simply by virtue of the quantity of texts, but more importantly by virtue of their impact. In 2010 Neil was awarded a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Keele University in recognition of this immense bequest. To this accolade I would add my personal recognition of Neil’s stature in the field.

Dr Mark Doel

Emeritus Professor, Sheffield Hallam University

Neil Thompson is one of the most-read and most-quoted of authors in his field and for good reason. He writes with passion, yet backs his arguments with evidence and sound scholarship. In both his written work and his training he succeeds in combining theory and practice in ways that make them comprehensible and accessible, but not simplistic. He has a rare talent for inspiring people to re-connect with their values and to remember why they came into the people professions.

Richard B. Gilbert, PhD, CT

John D. Morgan chair of Pastoral Psychology at The Graduate Theological Foundation and adjunct professor of counseling, psychology and independent studies, Mercy College (New York). Founding Director, The World Pastoral Care Center

Dr Neil Thompson is a rare figure in today’s world. He substantively maintains a healthy balance of head and heart, pulling us together as we listen and learn together. In his numerous areas of speciality he always gives us the different slant and the wisdom to pursue it. (Rev.)

Duncan Pritchard

Principal, Aran Hall Residential Special School

Neil Thompson has provided Aran Hall School with training and management consultancy support for over fifteen years. He has helped the School develop its equality and diversity policies, as well as its child protection procedures. His books are valuable resources for staff undergoing training and working towards qualifications in residential care. On a personal level, he has provided me with much appreciated professional mentoring that has helped me see through the fog of complexity that sometimes overwhelms those of us working with children and young people. He has an enviable gift for being able to articulate solutions to seemingly intractable problems in a clear and straightforward manner.

Dr Jason Powell

University of Central Lancashire

Neil Thompson is a leader who helps build other leaders and who has a very genuine concern for the pastoral and professional development of others. I have never met anyone, in my entire career, who can match the level of originality, productivity, creativity and impact of Neil’s work. I have the highest regard for his intellectual and scholarly competence and I find his work brimming with energy, inspiring and with a rare ability to connect people to their roots.

Dr Jan Pascal

La Trobe University, Victoria , Australia

Dr Neil Thompson guides us through complex issues with theoretical depth and sharp analysis, yet remaining focused on practice-based learning. The strength of his approach lies in his attention to head, heart and hands: engaging our intellect, values and critical reflection, as well as practice concerns. As such, Neil incorporates intellectual and theoretical rigour while never losing sight of the humanity of both professionals and our clients. Neil’s material will enhance the development and education of professionals across multidisciplinary and international boundaries.

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