About Us

Why us?

Our clients are our greatest advocates. Our clients go out of their way to tell us about the ongoing benefits of our programmes, you can rest assured that we will do the same for you.

Our passion for people and their organisations makes a difference. Sharing life-changing “aha” moments with even the most sceptical delegates, or supporting an organisation to reach new heights through positive change, is exceptionally rewarding for us.

We pay special attention to each client’s requirements. We involve all key players in designing the journey, reviewing progress and ensuring the cultural message supports the strategy.

We are committed to excellence and high ethical standards. We conduct ourselves and run our business to the highest ethical and moral standards. We promise to be fair, honest, trustworthy and diligent - and to deliver on our promises.

Our holistic approach delivers lasting results. Using a variety of methodologies - we develop delegates’ awareness, knowledge and skills in a meaningful, practical and memorable way. This enables them to internalise and apply the valuable lessons learnt.

We monitor and take responsibility for results – a key reason why we tend to develop long-term working partnerships with our clients

Company

Our history

Established in 2006, First Facilitation has achieved a great deal in its short life. Evolving from a broad HR consultancy, today our focus is on providing pioneering coaching, training and consultancy to some of South Africa’s leading companies.

Our purpose

We want to help meet what we believe to be a major need in South Africa for the development and growth of effective leaders. In this way we hope to transform society both at the workplace and at home.

Who we are

We are highly skilled, experienced and motivated facilitators, coaches, trainers and consultants - and we love what we do! Visit our People page for more information about our Partners, Derek Eaton and Nicky Perks, and Associates.

Why us?

In brief: because we care; because we are highly experienced and competent; because we measure our success first and foremost by impact; because our clients speak highly of us; because we govern ourselves by the values of trust, integrity, openness and courage.

In detail: see the Why us? tab on this page.

People

	Derek Eaton (Partner)  B. Soc. Sc (UCT); BA Honours (US); IRDP (USB) Derek has had over 20 years of extensive experience in HR, management, change management and team development. His specific areas of expertise and passion are: Organisational change management Growing leaders and being an integral part of their development process Team development and facilitating processes in this regard Organisational development Coaching He is a member of SA Facilitators Network and is registered as a Psychometrist with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa. Derek is an avid sportsman and spends a lot of his spare time mountain biking, doing the odd road ride, playing men’s masters hockey and playing squash with his boys. He has a big interest in nutrition and healthy living. He is a real family man and is disciplined in ensuring that he spends as much time with his two growing sons and wife as possible.
	Nicky Perks (Partner)  B. Soc. Sc (UCT); Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management (UCT)   Nicky has over 11 years experience in business process and policy, documentation design, training material development and project management. Her areas of focus within First Facilitation are: Marketing (website, newsletters etc.) Training course administration and logistics General business administration Documentation Nicky is married to Greg and they have two lovely little girls, Lia and Nina. When she gets the chance Nicky loves spending time with her nose buried in a good book or cooking something delicious for her friends and family (having an Italian granny provides loads of inspiration). Spending quality time with the family is top priority and she constantly endeavours to strike a happy balance between work and family commitments. She is at her happiest when walks on the beach or Chapman’s Peak can be factored into her day.
	Gav Coetzee (Associate Consultant)  B.Com (UNISA) MBA (USB)   Gav has four years experience in management and extensive experience in HR, change management and strategy. He is passionate about: Growing leaders Coaching/counselling Being strategic Developing entrepreneurial skills Gav is a director of SA Facilitators’ Network and a member of the International Association of Facilitators. He loves spending time with his young family, socialising, and keeping fit by swimming, a tad bit of squash and hacking around the golf course. He also loves networking, building and nurturing special relationships. Public speaking and generally being the centre of attention also rank highly on his list of interests.
	Clyde Van Zyl (Associate Consultant)   BA Hons Clinical Psychology (Cum Laude); B. Soc. Sci. Personnel Management Honours  Internationally accredited Life Coaching Certification - UCT Graduate School of Business / New Ventures West (USA); Registered Assessor with the Services Seta; Licensed Myers Briggs Personality Inventory Practitioner; Internationally Accredited Practitioner of Human Synergistics International Assessment tools and products including: Organisational Culture Assessment; Leadership Assessment; Life Styles Inventory / Individual Thinking & Behaviour Styles Assessment; Team & Group Styles Assessment    Clyde’s focus areas are: Management and leadership development Stress management Personal mastery Teambuilding Organisational culture development Performance management (including counselling and coaching) Business presentation skills Managing diversity Creativity Clyde has been an HR training specialist and consultant for the past sixteen years, training a wide spectrum of industries and organisations throughout the financial, local government, mining and business sectors. He has facilitated and designed the full spectrum of HR programmes ranging from life skills to leadership and management development, working with clients throughout Africa, including international work. Clyde has undergone training both locally and internationally in the areas of leadership, organisational and personal development. His passion is inspiring and enabling organisations and people to create a better life for themselves and others. Outside of his professional life, Clyde enjoys going to gym and is an ex provincial squash player and squash coach. Clyde has a passion for scuba diving and his favourite holiday destination is a tropical island. Clyde also enjoys the odd round of golf, which is providing extensive material for his stress management programmes!
	Karen Grant (Associate Consultant) B. Com Honours (Strategy, Marketing and Business Management) ; ICF Accredited coach Karen has 16 years experience in the communications and training industries and is a facilitator, coach and accredited provider of the Strength Deployment Inventory. Her particular focus areas are: Facilitator and trainer in the areas of organisational development, leadership development and personal mastery Business coach Business writer and the training of good business writing practices (including proposals and reports) Account management - Karen was an account manager with Ernst & Young for eight years and provides a programme in best practice account management Karen is married to David, who works as a colourist in the film industry. They have two young sons and work-life balance is an important consideration for Karen. A qualified ballet teacher, she engages in various forms of dance, plays the piano and is an avid reader!
	Gill Baronetti (Associate Consultant)  DIPC   Gill has over 20 years experience in the IT and financial sector as consultant, trainer, facilitator, project manager, department head, coach and mentor. She is a certified business and life coach, NLP practitioner and accredited provider of the Strength Deployment Inventory, Nancy Kline's Thinking Environment, and Brief Solution Focused Therapy. Her main focus areas are: Leadership, business and holistic lifestyle coaching Team coaching Facilitation (team-building, SDI, strategy, project) Project management Mentoring Training and facilitation Gill is passionate about personal development and personal excellence, both in herself and in others, and her mission is to facilitate self-discovery, growth and success in all aspects of her clients' lives.
	Margaret Townsend (Associate Consultant) Masters of Science (MSC) in Organisational Change   Margaret completed her MSC with Ashridge Business School – degree accredited by Middlesex University. The MSC covers a number of different approaches to change management and coaching, including Psychodynamic, Complexity and Appreciative Inquiry. She also has a Practitioner and Master Practitioner Certificate in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). More recently she completed a number of modules at SACAP, including Somatic Coaching and Facilitation Skill 1 and 2. She is currently busy with a two-year Process Work Programme primarily focused on diversity in South Africa. Margaret is an experienced facilitator and coach, and has worked with a wide range of clients -including board level, senior management and professionals from the financial services, pharmaceutical and IT industries. She has worked mainly in the UK, from where she recently emigrated, and is now passionate about working in diverse corporate South Africa. She has an MSC in Organisation Development and combines a commercial, business focus with an in-depth understanding of individual psychology and team dynamics. She is married with two boys and is passionate about boogie-boarding, yoga and Cape Town!
	Dr Kevin Lentin (Associate Consultant) B. Soc. Sc. (Psych., Natal University), D.C. (Cum Laude), Life Chiropractic College (USA), Dip. Appl. Clin. Nutrit. (Australia), ILS Paramedic (EMS, Cape)   Kevin has 25 years experience as a chiropractor. He has built his practice around an Integrated Health model, incorporating his extensive experience in clinical nutrition, psycho-emotional health and the the neuro-musculo-skeletal system and thereby offering a totally holistic approach to empowering individuals to function at their optimum potential. Kevin is passionate about: Empowering individuals to thrive, physically, mentally and emotionally Presenting his ‘Managing Life’ pearls of wisdom to anyone who’ll listen! Understanding the physiological impact of ‘stress’ Helping the community through his voluntary paramedic work Kevin says: ‘The University of Life has taught me so much. There have been so many successes, and naturally, a few failures along the way, but the learnings have made me stronger, more compassionate, less egotistical (I think!) and definitely more equipped to lecture on some of the topics. So now my passion is to share the knowledge by combining my experience and my clinical, scientific training to help individuals understand how to ‘stay healthy’. WEB SITE: http://www.DrKevinLentin.co.za
	Sheryl Cooke (Associate Consultant)  Sheryl has had 18 years experience in HR, management, change management and people development. Her main areas of expertise are: Leadership development Organisational development Facilitation Team dynamics and development Change management Performance management Sheryl is married to Craig and has two daughters with whom she likes to spend as much time as possible. Sheryl’s passion (other than seeing people grow and develop) is travelling in Africa and Overseas. She loves to explore different places and cultures.
	Ann Bakkes (Associate Consultant) B.Com (RAU); BA Hons (US); Honours in Coaching (USB). Ann has over 12 years extensive experience in project, programme, senior and executive management. She has specialised in people and coaching for the last five years. A member of COMENSA, her specific areas of expertise and passion are: Individual coaching Team coaching and conflict management Project/programme management and training Project/programme consulting Ann is a versatile lady that enjoys the balance of life from running half marathons, horse riding, hiking, playing the piano and sewing. She has a big interest in people and hopes to shine her light on people’s journey of self discovery. She is a mom and loves spending time with her son Luca and husband Tiaan.
	Glenn Widelko (Associate Consultant) BSocSc (SW) & Accredited Coach As an international coach and learning facilitator, Glenn brings a wealth of experience to the design and facilitation of innovative learning solutions. Over the past 15 years Glenn has coached and facilitated at all levels of an organisations including The Co-op, Nokia, ExxonMobil, SAP, RBS, Shell, SpecSavers, AstraZeneca, Fujitsu and various government organisations. His specific areas of expertise and passion are: Leadership / Management Development Coaching & Performance Management Leading (Remote) Teams / Team Building Partnering & Consulting Skills Self-Awareness – Personal Brand & Impact Emotional Intelligence, Relationships & Communication Assertiveness, Conflict Resolution & Influencing Strategies Real Conversations & Delivering Difficult Messages Facilitation Skills Releasing Genuine Confidence Outside work Glenn’s passions are getting outdoors with his family, playing guitar, body surfing, running, gardening and some DIY. Based on his work as coach and facilitator, Glenn is in the process of completing his first book titled Confidence – The Natural State. Rather than psyching up a facade of pseudo-confidence that never lasts, the book enables people to release a reservoir of real confidence from within.

BBBEE & Accreditations

SETA Accreditation

First Facilitation is an accredited provider of education and training with the Services Sector Education & Training Authority (SETA). Accreditation number 3908.

BBBEE Status

First Facilitation qualifies as an Exempted Micro Enterprise in terms of the 09 February 2007  Gazetted Codes of Good Practice and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 53/2003.  

Our Clients