Commercial and Business Awareness for the Senior PA

Who is it for
Ideal for experienced PAs seeking to develop their commercial awareness and strategic thinking to improve personal confidence and engagement with senior managers.

What is it about
· The ability to recognise the external and internal issues facing your organisation at a strategic level
· A comprehensive knowledge of strategic analysis tools
· The confidence to discuss strategic matters with senior managers and others at board level
· A practical ability to demonstrate key commercial skills and business acumen to broaden your role and level of responsibility
· A good understanding of your organisation's vision and brand and how to communicate this to employees

What will i get out of it
This interactive one-day course will give you an understanding of the critical issues affecting your organisation and how being commercially aware can increase overall business performance and your career prospects.
You will learn how to analyse the commercial environment in which you work and draw conclusions about how this affects change and the identity of your organisation. This course will help you exert more influence over the direction of your business and win support for organisational goals enabling you to take on greater responsibility and deliver to your full potential.

Course overview
Understanding Your Organisation
· its role, purpose and culture
· stakeholder analysis: who are the key players?


Introduction to strategy
· what is strategy and how does it drive an organisation?
· where are we now - SWOTs and PESTLE analysis
· where do we want to be? How to define 'success' and the role of mission statement


Making sense of your organisation's brand
· the importance of understanding and identifying with your brand
· creating a brand identity and values
· communicating this to key stakeholders
· Case study activity - 'The Hotel Chocolat Story: Branding from the Inside Out'


Managing Change
· Why do organisations need to change?
· How to communicate change from grassroots to board level
· Supporting your colleagues through change