Skills development consultancy PSfPS rebrands as The Openside Group

Psychological Skills for Professional Services (PSfPS), a firm that helps professional services and consulting firms design and deliver development programmes, has rebranded as The Openside Group. The firm has also taken the opportunity to enhance its communications via its website, following the change.

After 25 years of business, Psychological Skills for Professional Services has decided that it is time for a change of image. The firm has announced that it will no longer operate under its quarter-century-old brand, and will henceforth be known as The Openside Group.

The company, which designs and delivers development programmes worldwide, essentially functions as a training group for a whole host of leading professional services firms. Openside will continue to work with clients to improve their organisations’ delivery to customers, as well as honing talent involved in the management, structure and leadership of a firm.

Speaking on the new identity, William Johnson, Managing Director of The Openside Group, said, "We had known for a while that PSfPS wasn’t the right name for our business. Clients told us it didn’t properly represent what we do.”Johnson further said that PSfPS didn’t say anything about the firm’s values – putting the development of people’s talents at the centre of business success – or the way they work. According to the firm, one more basic point behind the rebrand is that, on a more practical level, PSfPS was hard to remember, say and type.

On the other hand, becoming Openside allowed them to reaffirm their focus on professional services and on developing the critical skills and behaviours required for success in the sector. According to Johnson, "The word 'openside' originates in sport, but for us it’s much more than a sporting metaphor. We think its overtones of breadth, openness and unity reflect the way we think and our people-first approach. We also hope you’ll agree that Openside is easier to say, spell and remember."

Improved communications

Alongside the change of name, the firm have naturally transitioned to a new web domain, opting for www.openside.group, as well as taking the opportunity to enhance the clarity of communication via the site. “The website is clearer about what we do, affirms our focus on professional services, and illustrates how we align professional development and strategy,” Johnson said, adding that a better technical interface and UX also make it easier for clients to access and share points of view articles and thought leadership reports.

Among Openside’s most recently published reports are, ‘Managing Performance within the Partner Group’, which looks at how Partner teams can be better managed, ‘Millennials in Professional Services’, which helps consulting partners and HR professionals understand the challenges with hiring and retaining millennial talent, and ‘Professional Services Marketing is Dead; Long Live Professional Services Marketing’, which looks at how consulting firms can leverage marketing to bolster their business development and project pipelines – adding to research by multiple firms which suggests that marketing is integral to growth.

Openside’s Managing Director concluded, "The new brand reaffirms our relentless focus on consulting and professional services and on developing the critical skills and behaviours required for success in the sector. These changes are about improving and tightening our focus, not about changing the way we work with our clients. We’re determined that we’re going to remain the same open, friendly and good-humoured business we’ve always been.”