Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Services (FCDO Services)

As a global organisation supporting the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, FCDO Services wanted to ensure its people could grow wherever they worked. The goal: empower managers to guide development conversations and enable staff to take ownership of their careers.

With staff based both in the UK and overseas, the learning needed to be engaging, practical and deliverable virtually via Microsoft Teams as well as in person.

Antoinette Oglethorpe delivered two half-day masterclasses:

• Confident Career Conversations (for managers): Practical tools to help managers lead effective, supportive career conversations with their staff.
• Career Compass (for employees): Guidance for staff on how to reflect on their goals and prepare for meaningful conversations with their managers.

Both sessions were practical and engaging, blending discussion, reflection, and coaching tools from Antoinette’s Career Conversation Toolkit. Managers explored how to structure effective conversations, while employees identified their own next steps toward growth.

The masterclasses received very positive feedback. One participant described the experience as ‘the most useful session I’ve had for developing my team.’ Another said it gave them the clarity and confidence to start a career conversation they’d been putting off.

• Strong learner engagement with consistently high feedback scores (overall satisfaction rate of 8.6/10).
• 90% of participants agreed the content was clear, high quality, and well-presented.
• 85% said they felt confident they could apply the learning in their role.
• Staff particularly valued the practical tools, breakout discussions, and opportunities to practise real career conversations.
• The programme contributed directly to FCDO Services’ career development and succession planning goals.