Case study
OUR WORK
The Cumberland
Setting a foundation for the next 170 years.
The Cumberland is a Carlisle-headquartered building society with over 700 employees and branches across the northwest of England and southern Scotland. It’s been around for almost 170 years and, in that time, its branches and those who work in them have become an important part of the communities in which they operate.
“We were recently awarded Best Companies 3 Star ‘World Class’ accreditation.
I have no doubt that the Cumberland Story that Inspiring Change helped us to create, and the leader and staff events they helped us to design and run, contributed significantly to that Best Companies award.
Catherine and Scott’s knowledge and experience along with their practical, engaging and personal approach meant that we got the best possible outcomes in all aspects of this project.
If you’re looking for a partner to help you tell your organisational story, look no further.”
Des Moore, Chief Executive Officer, The Cumberland Building Society
The challenge:
The Cumberland is now on a transformation journey that will touch everyone in the organisation in one way or another. A significant digital transformation, supporting processes and systems and how people work together is all going to change. While complex, this change will benefit not just the thousands of existing customers, it will also provide The Cumberland with the opportunity to compete across the UK. Unfortunately, there was a lack of consistent understanding about what those plans were.
What we did:
We needed to ensure that everyone in The Cumberland - from those working in branches to those who support them – had a really clear understanding of the strategy, why it was happening and what needed to change.
We wanted to create a story for The Cumberland, but we knew that, to be impactful, it had to reflect them and their words. So, we ran workshops with the senior leadership team (SLT) and with employees from across the organisation.
We wanted to hear about what made them proud, what caused frustration, how they felt about this change, barriers to them living their purpose; and what the future might look and feel like. And then we took all that insight along with their strategy and we created The Cumberland Story.
The results:
The Cumberland Story is a five-chapter, co-created narrative which combines words and illustration to explore:
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Their pride and history
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Why they need to change
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How they’ll do it
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The critical role of their people; and
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What the future holds
Need Support:
If you're struggling to communicate change or strategy in a way that touches your people in a more authentic and human way, please get in touch.
We'd love to help!
