Testimonials
Dear Marg,
Re: Workplace Conference
I am writing to thank you for the manner in which you conducted your intervention into our recent personnel problem. The problem you assisted us to resolve had persisted for over 2 years, during which time the use of our internal resources to mediate the issue had proven fruitless.
In your prior research, & then in the workplace conference, your process was demanding but fair. In particular, while achieving a great outcome, you also took care of the emotional responses of all the people involved.
From my personal perspective you provided a cost-effective intervention to a most difficult issue. Without engaging your expertise in the facilitation of workplace conferences, I am sure the Company (& I) would still be grappling with the problem we faced, as none of us could provide the interpersonal skills & independence of perspective you contributed.
It was a pleasure working with, & learning from, you.
Yours sincerely
Over a period of several years, Marg has developed programs & undertaken workplace conferencing in several of our workplaces. These workplaces have varied in the level of complexity, diversity of the issues & the number of staff etc, however, the majority of the individuals involved have been in significant distress & usually as a result of long-term, ongoing relational type issues.
It has been extremely rewarding to see how Marg has been able to address our employees’ issues through Workplace Conferencing. The process provides our people with an opportunity to discuss, resolve & let go of their issues. Observing employees from the beginning where often they are emotional & finding it difficult to cope to seeing them able to move forward & let go of the past, after Workplace Conferencing has occured, has been extremely satisfying for me personally & has been a great result organisationally.
In the area of human resource management, it is often difficult to completely cost (particularly in the less tangible areas) the effect of relationship breakdown, distress, performance issues etc. However, I believe the financial outlay in engaging Margaret´s services has saved Queensland Transport considerable time, money & other resources.
Through her work with us, Marg has developed an extensive understanding of our issues, culture & our people. This has increasingly enabled her to be even more effective in developing the appropriate processes & working with our people.
I have found Marg to be a very special & unique individual with the ability to get to the bottom of issues with people. This has been done in a way that managers, supervisors & participants reach understandings about how they can improve their relationships & behaviours for the future.
I have been fortunate to get to know Marg personally & have found her to be a person with great compassion, understanding of people & their frailties & quick to grasp the essential elements of issues.
I have the utmost respect for Marg both personallly & professionally. I would not hesitate to recommend her, & the Workplace Conferencing processes she uses, to others.
What is the glue that holds a school community together? It’s the positive, open, interpersonal interactions & relationships that matter.
Our glue is missing. What will we do?
At the end of a school year it had become very evident that the school staff were having major problems within their interpersonal dealings. The school was in a mess. Tensions were running high. This situation had occurred for a number of reasons, over a long period of time, coming to a head when the school leadership had become constantly unstable.
The services of Margaret Thorsborne were engaged by the Supportive School Environments Committee to work through the process of analysing the problems & suggesting a process for dealing with the situation. All staff agreed to be part of the process.
Margaret interviewed all staff in the 3 days leading up to the Christmas holidays. The committee managing the process met with Margaret early in the new year to discuss the outcomes of her investigations & the way to move forward. A one-day professional development was suggested to enable people to know the problems, to be educated to understand what was happening to cause these problems & how to begin to improve relationships in the school. Held on the first student-free day of the year, this was a blended workshop that included reasons for the school falling apart & education about how to renew the climate, so that a supportive non-threatening working environment might be achieved.
Margaret used the workshop to get us started on dealing with the major concerns — playground duty, interpersonal & general communication & school leadership.
Staff reaction to the day was very positive & there was general agreement that we would work together to become a supportive & effective staff. Margaret’s work set us on the right track & her work is well regarded & still referred to as the catalyst that enabled us to move effectively into school renewal.
The glue is back!
With this grounding we were able to move easily into school renewal processes that have over the last 12 months enabled us to: redevelop our school vision, values & motto, develop more effective communication processes, develop a more cohesive school community, & develop a supportive & open administration.
We have a happier, more responsive school community where a supportive environment is taken as the responsibility of us all, working together with open positive communication & actions.
Margaret Thorsborne & Associates provides organisations operating in the community sector with high levels of expertise and support particularly in developing effective and insightful internal and external consultation processes and analysis.
Margaret has extensive experience in and understanding of the dynamics that contribute to functional and dysfunctional organisations and communities and can apply a range of supportive strategies to address these.
Community Solutions Inc has benefited from the quality services of Margaret Thorsborne & Associates for the past three years and now utilises these services in all strategic planning, performance review and community consultation processes.
“Communities Creating Vision was a feasibility study for an urban improvement program for 11 towns & villages in the Maroochy Shire. One of the key aspects of the process was the community consultation workshops.”
“Margaret Thorsborne & Associates designed the workshops to elicit the information required by the Urban Design Team in a way which was inclusive & non-adversarial. Furthermore, the analysis of the qualitative & quantitative data collected was effective & easy to communicate to lay people.”
Strengthening connections between people: Putting relationships at the heart of your organisation's success.