“So you’re an NHS comms consultancy?” Well, yes, and no…
I get asked different variations of the same question quite frequently:
“So you’re an NHS comms consultancy?”
“After this project this is finished, are you going to work for another local authority?”
“So I guess you’re a public sector comms consultancy?”
Given how often I field a similar question to these, it’s strange that the best answer I can usually give for all of them is the classic: “well…yes and no”.
We do of course do a lot of work for partners in the NHS.
Usually once a big project comes to an end we usually are starting another one somewhere else; and that of course could be in local government.
And on that basis, then it is true that the majority of what we do is indeed usually commissioned by someone, somewhere in the UK public sector.
But, “an NHS comms consultancy”, for example? I’m not so sure about that.
The truth about what we do, really comes from what drives us, and our values.
We put it a bit like this: “we partner organisations across the UK and beyond who work to make life better.” And of course, we talk about working with people who “do good” and helping them to do it “better”.
But what does that really mean? Well, as with “beauty”, “good” really is in the eye of the beholder.
It can mean transforming services and experiences. It can mean meeting recruitment targets and creating sustainable workforces. It can mean increasing access to support to help people live the live they want to live. It can mean contributing towards a mission to achieve Net-Zero. It can mean delivering life-changing research.
It can mean all these, and a whole lot more besides.
And that’s the point. None of these things are the preserve of one particular sector or organisation type.
It’s something we explore a bit in our latest animation…
We’ve done some fascinating and really enriching work with other businesses – especially in the sustainability space.
And through our work in helping to tell the story of the clinical research communities, and facilitating better learning experiences for clinical students, we’ve also worked with a range of higher education institutions.
So, for us, it doesn’t matter what sector an organisation is in, if they’re working hard to improve life and the world around us; chances are we may well have done some work together, or would be a good fit to do so in the future.
Whilst expertise of the structure and culture of, for example, the NHS, can be really helpful in understanding how to navigate its complexity, and to get stuff done; I think it’s far more important to be driven by the common values that we share.
It’s like the old conversation about recruiting for competency, vs recruiting for attitude. I always come down on the side of the argument that says you can always learn a new skill; and it’s drive and values that really make a candidate really stand out.
It’s not entirely the same of course; when it comes to being masters of our craft in terms of creating sustainable strategies, outstanding creative content, and a sure-footed and reliable approach to supporting organisations with their capacity challenges, we’re well known for being dependable partners.
But, we never present ourselves as the expert authority on any particular sector. That’s our clients’ job. We learn from them, and we help them to express themselves in ways that are authentic and meaningful to them.
I wrote a year or two ago about “how to be a good comms consultant”. In there, I mention about “listening more than talking”, which we still absolutely hold on to as an important approach. Our job is to ask the right questions of the right people, and to use their answers to formulate the right solution.
I’ve found that whatever the sector, this is an approach that helps organisations to express themselves creatively, with empathy, and in a way that delivers on their goals.
So, yes, we do support the NHS, Local government and the public sector and we’re proud to do so. But, no. We don’t only do that.
We work with anyone working to make life better. That’s an ethos we share, and that drives us every day.
Maybe we could be a good fit for your next challenge. Get in touch and let’s talk.
