Sam coached me when I was considering a change of role and potentially a change of career direction. My CV was years out of date and I had little understanding of how a well-written CV could boost my chances of grabbing the attention of a prospective employer. Sam helped me completely recast my CV and social media profile, extending my professional networking to showcase my skills and get me noticed for the right reasons. What was most valuable was her expert advice and support as a career coach, something she quite simply excels at. Her approach is open and highly professional and her engaging style makes her a delight to work with. She is challenging when you need it most and quickly gets to the heart of what you, as a client, really want.
As a result of working with her I have much clearer career goals and a plan for attaining them, a greater sense of the value I bring to a role and a better understanding of the type of environment I am happiest working in. After working with her I secured a new role, which then gave me an opportunity to step up successfully into a more senior post for an extended period. I would strongly recommend Sam to anyone looking for really effective, high quality career coaching.
Richard d’Souza, Strategy Director, Department for Work and Pensions
I worked with Sam Evans when I was the Chief Executive of an office in the Ministry of Justice. The office in London was closing and the work was transferring to an external provider in Glasgow. None of the 160 staff based in London were moving with the work. The challenge was to maintain business performance, achieve a safe handover and, most critically, look after the staff. Sam played a key role in helping us engage with our staff to help plan their futures. 43 staff were at risk of redundancy and it was this group that Sam supported most closely. She took part in several face-to-face briefings with those affected where she spoke knowledgeably and honestly about what was possible, and what was not. We got a great deal of positive feedback about our open and honest communications and Sam was a key contributor in this respect. She also organised her own team to provide one-to-one, face-to-face coaching support to all 43 individuals. With the comprehensive outplacement support for our leavers we were better able to maintain business performance right up to the point of transfer and a safe transition was achieved. All 43 staff were successfully redeployed without the need for any compulsory redundancies.
In addition to her role in supporting my team, I benefited from some personal one-to-one advice from Sam. I needed to consider another role for myself once the office closed and working with Sam helped me to focus my aspirations and priorities. She also provided some highly practical advice to help me sharpen and improve my CV. I am pleased to recommend working with Sam, particularly in the fields of change management and senior leadership coaching.
Eddie Bloomfield, Public Trustee and Deputy Accountant General to the Senior Courts
I first contacted Sam when I was at a very low point after a massive round of redundancies at the company where I work, and having been offered a temporary 12 month contract in place of a permanent job. I was looking at all sorts of possible career directions. I felt overwhelmed by too many different ideas and depressed that none of them were probably achievable. But Sam helped pick me up and put me back together again. I found her approach energetic, motivating and inspirational. During the course of the career change programme, she delivered well over and above my expectations.
Sam helped me take an unexpected and at times uncomfortable look at myself but in the process I was more able to identify my true life and work values. I had suspected that much of the work would involve reviewing my career to date, and career options based on that, but it was instead a much more refreshing and uplifting review of my life, values, hopes and dreams. I had for the first time to think long and hard about how I want my life to be in the longer term which was quite challenging as I tend to live too much in the now. But Sam supported and guided me throughout the process and now that I have a clear vision of where I want to be in 5 years time and a plan on paper about how to get there, I now feel able to bridge the gap between where I am now and where I want to be.
I cannot recommend Sam highly enough for people who need help and guidance in channelling their thoughts and plans for the future. She is very professional, very intuitive about which methods of breaking down this thought process will suit you as an individual and very positive and supportive. Although we are all going through tough times, I believe that getting your head straight about what you really want, not just what you think you ought to want, what really makes you happy at work and out of work, is worth the investment. As a result of the coaching I now feel more in touch with my true self and that my life has a direction to it that I was lacking before. I now see my current job as a stepping stone to other things rather than somewhere I am trapped and not fulfilling my full potential. I can honestly say that I feel excited about my longer-term future!
John Kennedy, Deputy Director, Ministry of Justice
I worked with Sam, whilst at the Ministry of Justice as a member of the Senior Civil Service. I was considering alternative career options and looking to develop my interview technique. Sam’s approach was both open and professional. Whilst she was extremely supportive, she challenged me where necessary and identified areas for development. We worked on my CV, specifically looking at presenting my experience in a style that would enable me to move into a new sector. Sam worked one-to-one to develop my interview style, focusing my attention on areas for development. Working with Sam helped me to identify which sectors I was looking to move into and ensure that I presented my experience and professional background in an accessible and clear way. Since we worked together I have successfully moved sectors, in March 2015 I left the public sector after 14 years, and have joined a Charity as their Head of Finance.
Vicky Creed, Head of Finance, The Health Foundation
Sam Evans is a first class HR change leader, with a first class work ethic. In 2011 Sam led for me the establishment of a Career Transition Service for a large public sector organisation facing substantial organisational change and downsizing. In just a few weeks, Sam researched other employers to seek out good practice; developed a costed proposition and business case; built momentum with key internal stakeholders; secured agreement through internal governance and had in place a rapid implementation plan. Sam then led the implementation and running of the CTS, delivering excellent results and universally strong feedback from managers and displaced staff.
On changing roles, I asked Sam to advise my new HR team on establishing a Career Transition Service. Through Sam’s expert advice and support, the CTS in my new organisation was again established rapidly and again with impressive results.
I have no hesitation in providing this strong testimonial for Sam. She is an excellent change leader, and has developed deep expertise in managing workplace disputes and mediation.
HR Director, large public sector organisation
In 2011, while working for the Ministry of Justice, my analytical team had a very busy year. We had a full work programme and then were hit by significant extra work to provide statistical analysis of the riots of that year. The team undertook excellent work and were widely praised across Government and the media for what they achieved. However, the pressure had taken its toll and I had not got all the decisions right about how to manage the stress and workload. This showed up in very poor staff survey results.
I asked Sam to come in and undertake a full and in-depth analysis of how we could make it a great place to work. She did interviews with each grade area separately and also made herself available for one-to-ones for those who wanted to speak more confidentially. Sam built trust with everyone in the Unit really well which helped maximise engagement as they knew the report would be independent and thorough. She made sure that she started from the positive – what people enjoyed about working in the area – moving it through into what could be different and better.
Sam produced a thorough and comprehensive report which made sure we were able to build on what was working to make us even better. She gave me, as the leader, the tough but important messages I needed to hear. She did this in a way which allowed me to build and develop my leadership skills rather than just criticise.
The staff survey results the next year showed a significant improvement. A large part of this is down to Sam’s skills in quickly building relationships with people, professionalism and the willingness to give feedback in a way which helps people move forward. I really don’t think we’d have turned it around as well without her work.
Director, UK Government
