Since the late 1990s I have been applying my skills to the business world as a roleplayer, facilitator and coach. I now have my own training consultancy Xperient, www.xperient.co.uk with colleague Ian Sanders. I work extensively at executive level in the private and public sectors, designing and delivering creative and effective training and working as a one-to-one coach. My work as a facilitator, training designer and roleplayer-coach has included Assessment and Development Centres and Diversity and Inclusion training for City Law Firms; 11 years of various Management Training events for Hiscox Insurance; HSBC's Global Relationship Manager training; professionalism workshops for the Dental Team; Chairing Skills and Panel Induction training for regulatory bodies. I have recruited and manage a team of International associate roleplayer-coaches for Xperient's clients in the USA.
I also work for US based company Performance of a Lifetime as an actor-facilitator.
I enjoy providing pro-bono training to various charities to help their fund-raisers with their presentation skills and working with my own one-to-one clients as a coach, helping people to get the jobs or promotion they want and to improve their presentation skills and self-awareness.
In 2000 I became a Lay Member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). At the time, this was an interesting, part-time challenge that fitted in well with all my other work streams. Little did I know that it would be a role that intrigued and fulfilled me so much that I would end up spending another 17 years developing a portfolio of positions in regulation. I was soon recruited to join the Investigations Committee of the Taxation Disciplinary Scheme (for CIOT and ATTA); and, most notably, was a Chair and Lay Member of the Fitness to Practise Panel of the General Dental Council (GDC). My position at the GDC came to an end in 2014 after two five-year terms. I remain involved by helping with the design and delivery of the training of new panelists and running workshops on Chairing Skills. Since 2014 I have been pleased to help the British Institute of Interior Designers by chairing their Enquiry Panels and I remain a Lay Member the Appeals Panel of the Construction Industry Council (CIC).
As a consequence of my experiences as a panelist combined with my skills as a trainer, I now specialise in providing training to panellists who sit on disciplinary, investigations, appeals, professional conduct committees, health committees and fitness to practise panels.
Subjects covered include: Questioning skills; Simulations of Hearings; Questioning Witnesses (the purpose of committee questions); Forum theatre case studies for chairing skills; Managing 'in camera' discussions; Team Dynamics; New Panellist Induction; Chair Skill Development; Dealing with the Crisis Question; The Public Interest; Proportionality; How to Prepare to Chair; Working with the Legal Adviser; Delivering and receiving feedback; Reasons for decisions; Managing Conflict; Perceived and Unconscious Bias; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
Contact me at nicola@xperient.co.uk if you would like to talk to me about any of the above.
© 2018 Nicola Burnett Smith