Communication skills programme development for UK organisations

We develop unique programmes designed to give your people the exact communication skills that they need to succeed in their roles.

Programmes that develop your people into supercommunicators...

Developing the skills to overcome the biggest communication challenges within an organisation often takes more than a single training day.

Truly solving the problem and giving your people the skills to succeed in the years ahead requires something more structured, more sustained and more measurable. Something you can present with confidence to your senior leadership team and see results from twelve months later.

That is exactly what Further builds. Working with HR managers, L&D leads and senior leaders across the UK, we design and deliver bespoke communication skills programmes that are tailored to your organisation, built around the real skill gaps your people face and measured properly so you can demonstrate the impact.

From a structured series of in-house courses to a full multi-stage development pathway with coaching, resources and more, we will design the programme that is right for your organisation and then deliver it to the highest possible standard.

Is this right for your organisation?

IS A PROGRAMME THE RIGHT APPROACH?

A communication skills programme is the right choice when a single training day is not enough

Standalone training days are valuable, and for many organisations they are exactly the right starting point. A communication skills programme is the right next step when the challenge is bigger, more sustained or more strategic than a single session can address.

You want to develop communication skills across a cohort of managers or leaders over a period of months, with learning that builds progressively.
You are building or formalising an L&D function and want a structured, credible communication skills offering that you can embed into your organisation's development pathway.
You have identified a significant communication challenge. For example, a culture that avoids difficult conversations, managers who struggle to lead change, meetings that consistently fail to produce decisions, and you need a sustained intervention rather than a one-off fix.
You need to be able to demonstrate the ROI of your L&D investment to senior leadership, and that requires proper measurement before, during and after the programme.
You want your managers to develop a common language and a shared set of communication skills that they can apply consistently across the organisation.
Individual courses have addressed specific skill gaps, and you are now ready to bring those skills together into a joined-up development programme.

Discover what a programme can include

WHAT A FURTHER PROGRAMME LOOKS LIKE

A programme built around your organisation, not a standard template

No two Further programmes are identical, the content, the format, the sequencing and the timescale are all designed around what your organisation really needs.

What is consistent across every programme we deliver is the approach that we take: deep research at the start, subject matter experts in every session, meaningful measurement throughout and genuine support between sessions.

A communication skills programme might combine any of the following, in a sequence and at a pace that suits your organisation and your people.

In-house training days

Expert-led, tailored group sessions covering specific communication skills. Delivered in person or online. Each session is built around your organisation's scenarios and challenges.

One-to-one coaching

Individual coaching sessions that go deeper on personal development goals, specific upcoming challenges or communication skills that need focused individual attention.

Action learning sets

Facilitated peer learning sessions where participants work through real communication challenges together, supported by an expert facilitator. Particularly effective for embedding learning between group sessions.

Self-directed learning

Curated resources, frameworks and reflective exercises that participants work through between sessions, at a pace that fits around their working lives.

Follow-up and embedding

Structured follow-up is provided after each session, including individual feedback, coaching access and learning emails. All designed to keep the skills developing between the more formal training moments.

Measurement and reporting

Confidence, understanding and competence are measured at agreed points throughout the programme and reported in a clear, readable format that demonstrates progress and impact. You will always know how the programme is going and be able to demonstrate its impact.

Learn about the programme format

WHAT A FURTHER PROGRAMME DELIVERS

What organisations typically achieve through a communication skills programme

The outcomes vary depending on the focus of the programme, but these are the results that Further's programme clients most consistently report.

Managers who have a shared language and a consistent approach to communication across the organisation
A measurable increase in confidence and competence in the specific communication skills the programme addresses
Difficult conversations that actually happen, rather than being delayed or avoided
Meetings that produce clear decisions and agreed actions rather than discussion without resolution
A management team that is better equipped to lead through change and maintain trust during uncertainty
Clear evidence of impact that can be presented to senior leadership and used to justify further investment in communication skills development
The foundations of a credible, sustainable L&D function — even for organisations building one for the first time

What's the process?

From first conversation to measurable results: the Further process

Every programme we design follows the same five-stage process. It is designed to make the whole experience as straightforward as possible for you, while ensuring the programme we build is genuinely the right one for your organisation.

1. Research

We invest time in properly understanding your organisation before designing anything. This means conversations with you and your team, surveys of the people who will be on the programme, and a clear picture of the challenges, skill gaps and goals you are working with. The research phase is what makes everything that follows so relevant and effective.

2. Design

Using what we have learnt, we design a programme that addresses your specific challenges in a format and sequence that will work for your people. You will see and review the full design before anything goes into delivery. You will also meet the subject matter experts who will be leading each element of the programme.

3. Delivery

Sessions are delivered by the right expert for each topic. They are people who have spent their careers developing deep expertise in a focused area of communication, not generalists who cover everything. Throughout delivery, we stay in regular contact with you and the learners, checking in on progress, coaching and adapting the programme to respond to what is emerging.

4. Measurement and reporting

We measure confidence, understanding and competence at agreed points throughout the programme, not just at the end. Progress reports are written to be clear, readable and easy to share with your senior leadership team. You will always know how the programme is going and be able to demonstrate its impact.

5. Refinement

The best programmes get better over time. Following each measurement phase, we review what the data is showing us and refine the programme content and format accordingly. An organisation that works with Further on a multi-year programme benefits from a solution that improves year on year.

What can a programme cover?

THE COURSES THAT MAKE UP A PROGRAMME

Any of our courses can be combined into a tailored programme

Further's individual in-house training courses are each designed as standalone sessions, and many organisations begin there. They can also be combined into a structured programme that builds skills progressively and addresses several communication challenges within a single, joined-up learning pathway.

The courses that most commonly feature in our management communication programmes are listed below, along with the specific skill gaps each one addresses. Every combination is tailored to your organisation's priorities and your team's starting point.

Start developing your Communication Skills Programme

Questions we hear most often about programme development

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about the communication skills programme development from Further.

1How long does a communication skills development programme usually last?

It depends on the scope and the specific skills being developed. A focused programme addressing two or three communication areas for a cohort of managers might run over four to six months, with sessions spaced to allow practice and embedding between them. A more comprehensive programme covering a broader range of skills, or serving a larger cohort across multiple stages, might run over twelve months or more. We will always recommend the timescale that gives the learning the best chance of genuinely embedding, rather than the shortest or most convenient option.

2How much does a communication skills training programme cost?

The investment varies depending on the scope, the number of participants, the range of courses included and the mix of delivery formats. We always provide clear, transparent pricing following an initial conversation. No vague estimates and no hidden costs. If you have a specific budget in mind, tell us. We will design the best possible programme within it, and if we genuinely cannot design something effective within your budget, we will be honest about that too.

3We don't have a formal L&D function. Can you still help us?

Yes, and this is one of the most common situations we work with. Many of the organisations we design programmes for are building their L&D function for the first time, or formalising something that has previously been ad hoc. We are used to working with HR managers who are doing this alongside their day jobs, without a dedicated L&D team behind them. We make the process as straightforward as possible, handle the design and delivery work, and give you something credible and well-evidenced that you can be proud of presenting internally.

4How do you measure the impact of the programme?

Measurement is built into every programme from the start rather than added on at the end. Before the programme begins, we establish a baseline of current confidence, understanding and competence in the specific skills being developed. We measure against that baseline at agreed points during and after the programme. The results are presented in a clear, readable report that is designed to be shared with senior leadership, giving you concrete evidence of the programme's impact and a straightforward story to tell about the return on your investment.

5How long does the design process take before the programme can start being delivered?

The research and design phase typically takes four to eight weeks, depending on the scope and the number of stakeholders involved. We work to your organisational calendar and are transparent about timelines from the very first conversation. For organisations that need to move quickly, we can discuss an accelerated approach — though we will always be honest if we think the research phase is being compressed in a way that would compromise the quality of what we design.

6Can we start with a single course and build from there?

Absolutely. This is often the most sensible starting point. Many of our programme clients begin with one or two in-house courses, see the impact, and then commission a more structured programme from that foundation. There is no obligation to commit to a full programme from the outset. If starting with a single course and building from what you learn is the right approach for your organisation, we will tell you so.

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