Living Our Values Every Day as Principal Consultant

For Principal Consultant Caroline, her move to consulting felt like a natural progression, having spent many years in-house in change and comms. Discover what working with Afiniti means to her and how the Afiniti values make all the difference.

Can you outline your background and what first led you to change consulting?

I’ve worked in change and comms for more than 20 years. Having started out in PR before quickly moving into senior roles, I chose to specialise because it became clear to me early on that I wanted to work in roles that had a strong people-focus. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some brilliant people and led fantastic teams on many initiatives, including big tech roll outs for thousands of people and programmes making multi-million-pound savings, driving customer behaviour change. I loved working in-house, but consulting provided an incredible opportunity to learn more and experience change with a broader range of people across industries and with organisations globally.

What influenced your decision to become a consultant at Afiniti?

Being in an in-house change and comms role is often advisory, providing constructive challenge, and it can be like consulting in many ways. So it wasn’t a huge leap in many senses; it was more of a natural progression. I was looking for a new challenge in 2019, which is when I found Afiniti on LinkedIn. My background in change, comms, stakeholder engagement, creative and programme and project management seemed like a great fit for the Afiniti proposition. I was struck by the Afiniti values – people at the heart, putting the client first and acting with integrity – which are essentially my own professional values; I’d never seen them formalised in that way before. I joined Afiniti as a Senior Consultant and less than a year later was promoted to principal consultant, leading teams, playing more of a role in building client relationships and having more of a strategic focus.

What’s your favourite thing about working with Afiniti?

Again, the Afiniti values were a big part of my reason for joining, and they are lived and breathed every day when you work with Afiniti, either as part of the team or as an Afiniti client. I love the pace of work with Afiniti. We accelerate things that take time in-house, helping sustain real, meaningful change, all with people at the heart of it to make a real difference, which is incredibly rewarding. I also love the opportunities working with Afiniti presents, such as building successful relationships with clients globally, supporting charities close to our hearts that do wonderful work, delivering award-winning engagements, taking the complex and turning it into something that makes real change happen, and so much more.

How have your skills and experience developed since joining Afiniti?

I’d say the main thing is my knowledge and experience across our end-to-end framework (shaping, readiness, delivering and embedding change) with different industries and clients, taking a lead on engagements and delivering what our clients both want and need. We use strong, evidence-based proven tools to support what we do, all tailored to the business need and with a complete people-focus. I’ve learned a lot from others’ experience as well as had the opportunity to gain additional qualifications. We immerse ourselves in what we do, quickly getting to know our clients, their business and their desired outcomes, which is fantastic experience across so many organisations and industries.

What advice would you give to new or aspiring change consultants?

Go for it! Okay, so it’s not easy, but it can be a lot of fun and is hugely rewarding. We work with some wonderful people and organisations. If you’re thinking about consulting or are a new consultant, I’d say it’s more about how you go about things and think about things rather than your direct practical experience. Despite it being a cliché, I’d also say that no two days are the same; it’s definitely always interesting. We work very collaboratively, we aim to exceed our clients’ expectations, and we really live our values. Oh, and be ready to have some fun along the way!

By Caroline Morley, Principal Consultant

If you’re looking for your next business change consulting challenge, take a look at our current opportunities. Alternatively, send us your CV using our contact form for a conversation on working together in the future.