Branching into organisational work for the first time?

In response to member questions, SGIP committee member Dr Rosie Gilderthorp gives her advice on moving away from therapy and creating a corporate offer.

Many practitioner psychologists are excited by the idea of making more impact in their work by reaching new audiences and offering preventative interventions. For this reason, the idea of offering corporate wellbeing work can be daunting but it can also be very rewarding. I have compiled some of my thoughts here based on my experience of offering various support to organisations including blog writing, pre-recorded training and bespoke consultancy.

Our member wrote:

"I am a chartered clinical psychologist and HCPC-registered, working part-time in the NHS and as a private practitioner. I am looking for some advice as I am quite keen to progress my private work and would like to develop my interest in delivering mental health training or workshops for organisations. 

"For several years now, I have been delivering training for mental health staff (such as nurses, OTs, doctors, social workers) in the NHS working in a range of settings and focusing on a range of areas such as staff wellbeing and mental health, psychosocial interventions, distress tolerance and emotional regulation skills, mindfulness training and ACT approaches etc. I also teach.

"I am quite keen to do some work privately, delivering individually-tailored training or workshops for organisations alongside my private clinical work and in the NHS. However, I am not really sure how to approach this and where and how to start. I would be grateful for any advice."

Corporate work can be exciting and I am a firm believer that more practitioner psychologists should be offering it. We have the opportunity to make a great impact on people who may not ever present for therapy. Done well, corporate wellbeing can be a preventative intervention at its best. It is also, however, a new environment for many of us and, just like any other new setting we need to spend some time thinking and planning before we jump in. Below I describe the process I would go through if I were launching into organisational work for the first time. 

Consider why you want to do this 

What are you hoping it will bring you personally and professionally? Corporate offers can be a great source of income but also require work to develop and a marketing strategy so it is important to be clear about your goals for the work. Are you hoping for more flexibility? More income? Do you have an academic interest in this area that you are looking to develop? Are you simply looking for more diversity in your week? What is it that is going to make putting the effort into this worth it? How will this project allow you to live your values more fully?

Define your specialism 

Corporate wellbeing is a saturated market so you need to stand out by offering something more specialised. What aspect of workplace wellbeing fits with your clinical expertise? For example, if you work in perinatal you might think about the workplace wellbeing of new and expectant parents. If you work in adult mental health, you might pick something which is a common workplace trigger for mental health problems like conflict in relationships or difficulties with boundaries.

Talk to real people about real problems 

It is typically HR directors who commission this kind of work so try to set up some conversations with at least five. Find out what they are struggling with that relates to your specialism. Look for real-life, observable problems such as high turnover of staff, people taking sick days due to stress or conflict, complaints and inefficiency. If you are unsure about how to enter this market, HR conferences can be a good starting point. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the main professional body for HR and people development is running a number of conferences throughout the year. Check out their website for more details.

Decide what you want to offer

When you understand the problems that matter to HR directors you can then devise a proposed package that would address this problem. Allow yourself to be creative with this. If you think individual coaching for leaders, line managers training, whole staff webinars or something completely different is the best way to solve the problem then suggest that. Use your clinical judgment and experience to inform the solutions you suggest and don't be afraid to be different. It is also important to re-visit your personal aims and values at this point. Will this offer give you what you were aiming for? If not… reconsider.

Get feedback

Reach out directly to the HR directors you spoke to before and ask for feedback on your draft proposal. They may be able to put you in touch with other HR directors who would be interested in commissioning you, or they may be interested themselves. Be open to refining your ideas as you get to know more about the people you are serving with this new offer. 

Marketing

From a marketing perspective it is a good idea to have a new tab on your website dedicated to your organisational work. You should create content on your website that demonstrates your expertise in this area and ensure you have optimised the site for keywords relating to your organisational offer. Also remember when you have made these changes to your site to ask Google to re-index it so you appear in relevant searches.

It is a good idea to prioritise local networking events where you may be able to meet people from the corporate world and talk to them about their organisations. Also, do not be afraid to use your existing network. Let family, friends and colleagues know about your new offer and ask if they know anyone who might be interested. You may be surprised!

You can also use LinkedIn to create posts that demonstrate your knowledge and skills in this area and start conversations with HR directors. 

Pricing

Pricing a corporate offer is always very difficult. In general, I would advise this is one time to keep prices off your website. This is because you should price according to the value you are giving the organisation, not just based on your time. As a general rule of thumb I would work out how many hours of prep and delivery time the project is realistically going to take me. This usually means for every hour of delivery I do two hours of prep. Then I add two hours and multiply that by my usual therapy session fee. That then becomes the minimum price you can charge. Anything below that will not be worthwhile. This is the rate that you might use for small charities and organisations with very low budgets. Then for a bigger organisation I will add according to the expected benefit. So for example if I manage to improve the talent retention of a large company because people aren't getting "burned out" and leaving, I have probably saved them a lot of money and my fee should reflect that. I would therefore consider doubling my baseline rate as a start. As you learn what different companies in different sectors expect to pay for equivalent training you may well go beyond this. 

As a final note on pricing, it is crucial to never assume that an organisation has a "low budget" or that you know what that means to them. Send out your proposal with a fee that would make you feel very well compensated for your expertise. If they say it is too expensive you can offer them a cheaper version that will be less work for you (e.g. a recorded webinar rather than live training). Remember that for a company the question of cost is not an emotional one, they will simply be looking at the numbers and making a decision based on a spreadsheet. You however, may feel a whirlpool of emotions when you hit send on the proposal. Treat those thoughts and feelings with detached scepticism and be kind to yourself as you adventure into this new territory!

Don't panic 

Many of us have struggled with this transition and there is much collective wisdom to be found in other psychologists. Consider coming along to a SGIP Peer Practice Hub where you can connect with other members and tap into their expertise. For more detail on business and marketing strategies above you can also find my podcast and resources at: www.psychologybusinessschool.com