Leading tech and cultural transformation £6bn FMCG
Transformation Communications Lead, Upfield, 2018 - 19
I headed up communications on a significant change programme for FMCG company Upfield. The company globally transformed its IT systems and processes following its £6bn divestment, and introduced a new people strategy, which aimed to have all employees adopt a ‘start up’ mentality. My priority was to lead on the IT aspects of the transformation, where the core focus was globally launching S/4 HANA - consolidating a number of ERP systems into one. I was the sole full-time communications resource on the programme, working closely with the central communications team.
Due to the significant nature of change, my strategy focused on creating an ambitious company-wide narrative and a communications framework that enabled regions to articulate the transformation journey at a local level. To bring to life the company-wide narrative, I developed a bold brand for the transformation programme (‘Going for Gold’ – see visuals here) and core programme messaging. I created a company-wide content calendar that ensured the programme was at the centre of peoples’ minds, with monthly company-wide townhall presentations delivered by the company CEO, company-wide articles that explained how the programme was crucial to Upfield’s Mission, Vision and Purpose, and a series of leadership videos.
To ensure the programme messaging was consistent across each region, I developed a communications toolkit that included standardised communications plans, emails, presentation material, leadership talking points and ‘lift and shift’ intranet pages. I then developed a global network of communications champions, which included representatives from each region within the organisation. I led monthly calls with this community, where I would cascade actions based on the status of the communications plan. I would also share new communications collateral and templates for them to incorporate into the delivery of their comms plans and provide guidance and training on ‘best in practice’ comms. I would also use this meeting to share latest engagement metrics gathered through regular company-wide engagement surveys (benchmarked region-by-region).
My strategy was heavily measured on employee data – to get everyone to the mindset we wanted (the “destination”), I created a series of targeted surveys and focus groups to understand exactly where each employee group was at the start of the journey. These surveys were supported by regular surveys to measure gradual shifts (a decision I put forward as the period of change was so intense). Once I had my results, I developed a tailored engagement plan for each function (inc. Finance, Sales & Marketing, Supply) and worked closely with senior leaders to allocate sponsorship roles and clear engagement responsibilities. My comms toolkit included functional messaging that underpinned core programme messages and values. My emphasis on employee data allowed me to move my proposals forward at speed and built leadership confidence in the progress we were making.
Additional achievements and responsibilities
Managing my own six-figure budget
Creating the S/4 HANA communications strategy and methodology from scratch – working closely with the IT, Finance, Supply, HR and Sales & Marketing Deployment Teams to understand their communications needs
Building a central plan and central templates that could be adapted and deployed by each country going through a S/4 HANA deployment. I oversaw exceptional employee engagement results for S/4 HANA deployments in Canada and a number of European countries while I was there
Centrally co-managing the S/4 HANA communications plan for customers and suppliers, a significant project requiring expert project management as we informed third parties across 60 countries, covering numerous business areas
Creating vast amounts of communications collateral (managing an agency to support this delivery)
My key success was seeing continued measurable improvement across all functional groups in employee “buy-in” of the company’s mission, values, choices of technology (S/4 HANA), and our desired ‘agile’ mindset