What people are saying

Manual, handbook, toolkit, call it what you like! The information is clear, concise and I’ve always found what I wanted, and quickly. I like the surety of in depth, researched knowledge that I can cross reference and use when I need it. I’m constantly surprised how much is there. Alchemy is good stuff!

• Robert Graves
  Head of Property Services
  West Midlands Police

I have found the Alchemy development tool comprehensive and remarkably easy to navigate around given the huge amount of information available. It is invaluable to be able to interrogate down to author level and be able to link to their web-sites to gain even further information and understanding. I would recommend it to anyone.

• Alan Burrell
  Director of Estates
  Open University

Alchemy for Managers is a brilliant piece of work.
I have long been a firm believer that managing people and/or sales has to be done within a framework, but clearly tailored to individuals. Giving people the knowledge and skill to do this is ever challenging and I have found the ability to dip in and out of Alchemy as the situations occur has really aided the way in which I can develop my senior managers. In addition, it is giving them the confidence to develop the teams who report to them.
This is truly a detailed, well constructed piece that has been cleverly thought through and draws on massive levels of skill and expertise. My only regret is that you didn’t do it ten years ago. I would emphatically recommend Alchemy to anyone who will listen.

• Head of Branches
  Top Ten Building Society

Thanks indeed for the weekly tips. It really helps.

I am currently attending a Project management Training Workshop funded by the UNDP and facilitated by the University of the South Pacific. All the informations that I have available to me in the Alchemy for Managers makes me feel like a star and a professional in our discussions.

Thank you once again.

• Denton
  Project Manager

I’m writing to give you a few lines re the benefit of the Time Management topic since I haven’t found time till now to reply to your email. However, I could say that I categorised it as not urgent but that sounds vaguely insulting!

I downloaded the Time Management topic because:

• I was feeling overwhelmed with the range and amount of work generated by our business in a period of growth and where my job description was expanding by the week.
• I needed to take a step back and identify what I needed help with.
• Staff were indicating to me that they were having problems managing their workload

I have used the prioritisation sub-topic to decide what is most important in my workload and to fulfill my own work objectives plus company objectives. That has helped me to focus on the one thing in any one day that has to be done. That reduces my anxiety.

I have increasingly used mind maps to sort through masses of information and to help prioritise different aspects of my work.

I have fully taken on board the tips in the Panic sub-topic: I take regular breaks to think, I decide whether something can be delayed, delegated or done that day.

What has been most satisfying is not just seeing the effect of implementing the above on my own work but the effect on other staff as I have introduced them to the same topics and tips. The feedback has been very positive and I have found that I really enjoy coaching others to enable them to be more effective.

Many thanks!
Anne

(From a later email from Anne) That’s OK to use my email on your website. I hope it encourages others to use the information. I’m using your stuff on appraisals at the moment because I haven't been responsible for doing those until now.
Watch this space!!

• Anne
  Office Manager

What a product!
Wonderfully simple to use even for the non computer literate. Finally a tool that takes the pain out of not knowing. Informative, easy to use, fun to learn and reassuring to have such robust support material at my fingertips. Thank you Alchemy!

• Maureen Hughes
  Director, Royal Mail, 1995 – 1999

We have several branch offices and we all find Alchemy invaluable for getting answers to questions, particularly on HR. We often can’t wait for an answer from head office.

• Jenny Smythe
  Branch Manager

I have been in and had an initial play with your system and I love it... what a great idea. I will be spreading the word.

• Linnit Waite
  Consultant

What a fabulous resource - every training professional should be using this.

• Anna Jamieson
  Training Manager

Just to let you know I specialise in advanced investigative interviewing techniques. I deliver masterclasses around the country. From time to time I visit Alchemy for Managers and find it very easy to use and full of practical information. When delivering the topic of cognitive interviewing the piece on Memory (NLP) was extremely useful. 

• John Wilson
  The Learning Santuary

Alchemy provides an accessible and quick to use resource for managers and organizational development personnel, helping ensure that our staff have the latest ideas and management techniques at their fingertips, literally!

• Concetta Perôt
  Learning & Development Manager
  Voice for the Child in Care

Just a very quick note to say thanks for the Alchemy tips – I really enjoy them and find them useful. In fact, I now use them as my reward to myself for completing a particularly demanding or difficult piece of work! I love my job, but that doesn't mean it isn't challenging (I work in change management) so having something to look forward to and that is just "for me" is great.

• Kathy Stapley
  Change Manager

This is a great reference tool to find information that I wouldn’t easily be able to find elsewhere, and it also introduced me to areas of knowledge that I didn’t even know existed!
I know three of the authors personally and rate them all very highly as people who really do know what they are talking about. I am very glad to have this calibre of person ‘at my shoulder’ whenever I need them.
Alchemy should be in every manager’s toolbox.

• Mike Izzard
  Managing Director
  Premier Choice Group

I had to do a ten minute presentation to a big group this morning. It’s the first one I’ve ever done, and to be honest I was dreading it. However, I spent a couple of hours last night going through the presentation topic in Alchemy and it helped me enormously. I put together a decent presentation, structured as suggested, with a couple of anecdotes. It went very well and I actually enjoyed it.
I won’t be seeking a new career as an after dinner speaker, but I’d like to thank you for the help Alchemy gave me. Believe me, I’ll be referring to it as a matter of course in the future.

• Jim Banks
  Senior Account Manager

I have had Alchemy installed on my machine now for a few weeks and have found it a useful source of information to not only answer enquiries from people but as a source of information for training courses.

• Linda Walker
  Learning and Development Manager
  British Red Cross

As a professional trainer of more years’ standing than I care to count, I have found Alchemy very useful as a resource. Your writers summarise the topics admirably; the material is concise without being over-simplified.

• Jill Simpson
  Management trainer

Thank you for letting the Leprosy Mission England & Wales have free access to People Alchemy. We are finding it very useful and have been telling our colleagues in Scotland and Northern Ireland about it!

• Arminda O'Reilly
  Human Resources

When one is looking for help in one’s day-to-day business life and someone suggests a new reference tool, one’s natural instinct is to ‘grab it with both hands’ only to be rapidly disheartened when finding that access to the ‘hidden gems’ is not straight forward and the content is somewhat daunting.

Alchemy for Managers could not be more different. It provides an easy user interface, simple but very effective navigation and linkage between associated topics and I love the clean, neat and consistent layout. Consequently, a new user can quickly find themselves ‘whizzing around’ the content, eager to find out what else is there, regardless sometimes of the issue that led them to ‘dip in’ originally.

The content is good quality and, importantly, written with the needs of the user clearly in mind. The style fits the purpose (i.e. not a dry, pedantic reference text) and the articles are clearly written by authors that understand business practicalities, not just the theory.

Alchemy for Managers has a unique ‘feel’ – it is the only electronic reference material I have come across that rapidly (within 2 or 3 uses) gave me the same sense of comfort and confidence I get from dipping into one of my favourite, well-thumbed ‘business bibles’.

Whether you are new to the world of commerce, a newly promoted manager or a ‘seasoned campaigner’ who has been around too long to admit there is stuff you still don’t understand, I heartily recommend it.

• Andrew Hall
  MD - Haywood Hall Associates

I'm glad I did sign up - it’s a really valuable resource, and the variety of topics available is useful. I’m now able to add to my knowledge in many of the areas I deliver on, which helps me to provide an even better service to my clients.

• Lesley-Anne Bealey
  Trainer

My current group of learners are finding Alchemy extremely useful; I am getting very positive comments from them.

• Keith Williams
  Director - Energize

I can personally recommend this product to anybody in a Management or Senior Management role as I have now come to depend on it almost on a daily basis. If at any time I am uncertain about an aspect of my role I know that I can use Alchemy to answer this concern or point me in the right direction.

• Tom McGuiness
  Commercial Director

I must applaud you on such a useful resource to aid training.

• Philip Linstead
  European Educational Services Manager

In our hectic business environment Alchemy has become an invaluable resource. The materials are practical, accessible, high quality and extremely relevant to the challenges we have to deal with. This is a resource that has greatly enhanced the service we are able to offer our customers and I recommend it without reservation.

• Rob Hamblin
  MD - The Brackley Partnership

Thanks so much for the Alchemy login. It’s really brilliant! Very clear and easy to navigate around and some very interesting and useful topics. In particular I’ve looked at the Handling the Media, Marketing and Risk Management sections and I could also improve my general skills!

• Catherine Owens
  Entrepreneur

Having considered a number of systems, I believe that Alchemy will best meet the needs of our junior to middle manager. I am looking forward to introducing Alchemy to support our learning and development initiatives.

• Karen Taylor
  Head of Learning & Development
  Acorns Children's Hospice