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Heather Baker

World Class Trainer | Bestselling Author | Creator of the Bakerwrite Speedwriting System

World Class Trainer | Bestselling Author | Creator of the Bakerwrite Speedwriting System

After more than 20 years as a secretary and then a PA, Heather established Baker Thompson Associates in January 2000 to fulfil the need for specialised PA/EA/admin training; training for Assistants by Assistants. She now travels the world working with small and large organisations enabling Assistants to find ways to excel in their roles, for their success and the success of their companies.

Heather is a Fellow of the Institute of Administrative Management, and her courses are endorsed by the IAM; they are also CPD Certified. All of Heather’s training is also available online.

She is the author of four Amazon top ten selling books and the creator of the BakerWrite speedwriting system, which is now offered by UK Pitman Group franchises and other approved training companies around the world.  Baker Thompson Associates has won several local and national awards.

Heather is proud to be a Prince’s Trust business mentor and a supporter and mentor for Isipho Admin in South Africa.

  • Benefit from Change

    Recent economic challenges and a global pandemic have forced organisations to restructure, downsize, reassess their priorities or completely change their working practices. This can be stressful and unsettling. However, with the right attitude, knowledge and determination, a proactive Assistant can grasp opportunities and turn them into successes.

    Learning Outcomes

    • Understand the importance of change and the negative and positive effects
    • Consider the best ways to deal with the stress of change
    • How, by adapting, developing and building relationships, you can come out on top.
  • The Exceptional PA

    A 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 day course covering skills needed by an Exceptional PA. All sessions start with the vital basics of communications, confidence and assertiveness. Topics covered could include: organising the work load, interpersonal skills, NLP techniques, lead the partnership with the manager, presentation skills, minute taking, event planning, benefit from change, personal effectiveness, emotional intelligence, business writing, influencing, goal setting.

  • The Art of Communication

    A 45-60 minute presentation

    Heather will give you tips on how to communicate intelligently to improve relationships, be truly professional and feel good about yourself.
    We all communicate naturally; most find it impossible not to… but we don’t always communicate effectively.

    This session will give you tips on how to:
    – Communicate intelligently to improve relationships, be truly professional and feel good about yourself
    – Understand the different ways we communicate, including written communication
    – Interact effectively on social media and understand techniques to influence colleagues and managers

  • Minute Taking

    One day, half day or 45-60 minutes presentation

    At the end of this one day course delegates will be able to show their understanding of the meeting, agenda and minute taking cycle; will have developed the role of the minute taker and be able to work successfully with the chairperson; and will show increased confidence in their minute taking abilities by understanding the power of effective preparation.

  • Business Writing

    A one day, half day or 45-60 minute session

    At the end of this course delegates will show they can produce professional, positive and persuasive communications and demonstrate effective use of sentences, grammar, punctuation and proofreading skills. They will also show they can adopt a structured approach and be able to compose correspondence confidently and quickly.

  • Benefit from Change

    45-60 minute presentation

    Modern economic challenges have forced organisations to restructure, downsize or reassess their priorities. This can be stressful and unsettling. However, with the right attitude, knowledge and determination, a proactive PA can grasp these opportunities and turn them into successes.

    This session will:
    – Reflect on the importance of change and the negative and positive effects
    – Consider the best ways to deal with the stress
    – Show how by adapting, developing and building relationships, you can come out on top

  • The World’s your Oyster

    45-60 minute presentation

    In this session Heather will outline reasons that we don’t always reach our full potential. She will help us to find ways to achieve our goals and be truly successful.

  • Reinforce Positive Perceptions

    45-60 minute presentation

    In this session, we will reflect on how our behaviour can reinforce the often existing negative perceptions of the PA.   There will be an opportunity to discover ways to create professional, excellent and positive perceptions within your organisation and elsewhere, leading to exciting possibilities for your careers.

  • Speedwriting

    One day course

    Do you have to take notes in meetings, write down telephone messages, remember long lists of tasks from your manager or are you a student attending lectures?

    So many of us take notes and yet have no structure to, or system for, our writing.

    This workshop will enable you to learn a system that works for you to improve your efficiency, add to your skills and career development and give you a chance to avoid the stress of trying to take notes with only long hand techniques.

  • Administrators’ workshop

    A one or two day course

    At the end of this course delegates will have enhanced their skills enabling them to more successful in their administrative career and to work effectively with their team and manager. They will also have formulated an action plan for their continuing development.

  • Chair Brilliant Meetings

    Half day session

    At the end of this session delegates will be aware of how to run efficient and effective meetings and enable the production of excellent minutes.

  • Sarah White, PA, Edinburgh Marriott Hotel

    Thank you to Heather Baker of Baker Thompson Associates and the Scottish PA Network for a fantastic training course yesterday. The Exceptional PA course gives you all the skills you need to help you maintain a great working partnership with your Management team.

  • Manchester Assistants

    Thank you for your email, and for the great training yesterday.

    We were very grateful for the opportunity to take part in your course yesterday – I can see why most of the sessions are fully booked!

    I can honestly say it’s the best training course I’ve ever been on.  You made a subject which could have been very boring interesting and engaging.

    Both Janine and I have taken a lot away from the day that we will be able to apply in our roles.

  • Managers from an international engineering organisation

    It was a very fruitful and memorable event. The 2 days Master Class training was the best ever that we have attended.

    The experience and knowledge that we gained is so powerful that positive results came instantly when we got back to work.

    Thanks to Mrs. Heather Baker for the expertise and sharing important tips based on real life experience. Building relationships through e-mail is one important lesson we could not forget.

  • Laura Richardson Ahmed, UK PA of the Year 2010

    Since winning UK PA of the Year in 2010 I have had the pleasure of meeting many PA trainers from across the globe. I met Heather in February 2014 when I attended a workshop she ran on Assertiveness. I thought she made the subject really accessible, and had really tailored everything to the role of the PA. Heather has a very welcoming, friendly style, and her breadth of experience really shone through – she answered every question with really useful and helpful advice. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Heather as an expert PA trainer and I hope to attend another one of Heather’s courses soon!

  • Khwan Bu, PA to Chief Executive, Directors UK

    I found the session incredibly helpful, it was just the right confidence and motivational boost that I was in need of!

    I felt really comfortable that it was a small group, which enabled me to talk in a relaxed manner and it didn’t feel like a ‘formal’ training thing. What I said was really listened to and the issues/ questions I raised were addressed until I felt satisfied. The emphasis on keeping it on personal experience was very helpful in helping me think about and address the issues or problems I had. I definitely found your use of drawing on personal experiences and stories interesting and helpful to listen to. Your sense of humour injected that extra little bit more interest into those stories!

    All in all it proved to be a very useful, motivational and confidence-boosting experience. 

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