We specialise in staff surveys, trustee board surveys, organisational development and coaching.
About Birdsong
Birdsong Charity Consulting was established in 2007. We work exclusively in the UK voluntary sector - and love what we do. We help charities to become thriving, vibrant organisations where people love to work. We believe that healthy working relationships are essential to a healthy and successful organisation, and Birdsong exists to help charities work more effectively with their people. Over the past decade we have worked with over 200 different UK charities.
You can't create a healthy organisation if you don't know what your staff really think and feel, so we have become staff survey specialists, developing a range of services to enable voluntary sector leaders and HR professionals to gather the honest opinions of their people.
Of course, a staff survey is just the beginning of a journey to improve staff satisfaction and engagement, so we're here to help you take forward any challenges that may present themselves following a survey.
Meet the team that make up Birdsong, below.
Emma Howard was appointed Managing Director of Birdsong in spring 2020. With over 20 years' experience working in the charity and social enterprise sector, Emma is no stranger to the complex and challenging situations that can exist within the not-for-profit world. She led the creation of multiple departments during rapid organisational growth and has also supported teams and CEO/executive co-leaders through difficult financial circumstances. A passion for using insightful data to help teams and stakeholders has always been at the core of her work and she loves that Birdsong enables this so effectively for organisations throughout the sector, no matter their size or area of focus.
Jules Howard is a specialist communicator, project manager and workshop facilitator and has worked with the charity sector for more than fifteen years. As a co-director of Birdsong, Jules is especially interested in helping charities improve the quality of their communications to direct change, as well as exploring new technologies that can help organisations tell their stories in novel and creative ways. Recent clients include Edinburgh International Science Festival, Cheltenham Festivals, The Royal Horticultural Society, The Wildlife Trusts and the wildlife charity, Froglife.
Frances Hurst, co-founder of Birdsong, has worked as a charity consultant since 2002 and specialises in helping charities improve their staff satisfaction and retention. She believes that how people work together is just as important as what they do and is passionate about helping charity leaders work more effectively with their people - as teams, departments or whole organisations. Frances previously worked as Director of Marketing at the RSPB and became well known in the voluntary sector for the introduction of innovative team structures and ways of working. The changes introduced enabled the RSPB to double its income and recruit its one-millionth member.
Sam Attenborough, co-founder of Birdsong, is a personal development coach who has worked in the personal growth arena for over fifteen years. He helps people to become authentic individuals, develop their confidence and become clear about how they can move forward in their lives. He also works with charities, helping them to get the best from their people. This work includes looking at the dynamics of teams and organisational culture, and tackling specific issues such as workplace stress and bullying. Sam previously worked in management consultancy and IT and he also leads Birdsong's survey analysis work.