What clients say about the work, without embellishment.

Challenge

A mid-size financial institution was three weeks from announcing a core banking replacement to approximately 340 staff across two business units. Internal surveys had shown moderate awareness but the HR lead was uncertain whether the data reflected actual readiness or a compliance response to the survey itself.

What we did

Conducted nine stakeholder interviews across both units, reviewed existing communication materials and produced a written readiness map identifying four areas of thin preparation — including one team whose manager had not yet been briefed on the scope of the change affecting their workflows.

Outcome

The announcement was delayed by one week to allow the manager briefing gap to be addressed. The HR lead reported that post-announcement sentiment was significantly more settled than in a previous similar project, and attributed part of that to the pre-announcement preparation the assessment had prompted.

Challenge

A professional services firm consolidating three offices into one CBD location needed a structured communications plan that acknowledged the different concerns of each existing location's staff — commute impact, team adjacencies and seniority-based workspace arrangements — without being so differentiated that it created perceived inequity.

What we did

Produced a communications plan covering four audience segments, key messages tailored per segment, recommended announcement sequencing (leadership first, then managers, then all-staff), channel guidance and a list of questions likely to arise at each stage with suggested handling approaches.

Outcome

The internal comms lead used the plan directly as the working document for the rollout. They noted that the question-handling section in particular saved preparation time before the all-staff session, where the questions raised tracked closely with those the plan had anticipated.

Challenge

A senior leader sponsoring a significant restructure of a 200-person technology unit needed structured support for the sponsor role over a four-month period. The restructure involved removing a management layer and consolidating eight teams into five. The leader had strong relationships with most of the affected managers but limited experience sponsoring a change of this political complexity.

What we did

Provided sponsor coaching over four months — two sessions per month — focused on stakeholder navigation, message consistency and the specific challenge of maintaining the confidence of managers whose roles were not affected while being transparent with those whose roles were changing. Sessions were held in-person at the client's office.

Outcome

The restructure completed broadly within the planned timeline. The leader's own reflection was that the sessions helped them stay more consistent in the messages they carried to the team than they would have been managing the sponsorship alone, particularly in the weeks after the announcement when informal pressure to revisit decisions was highest.