Internal communications: Marks & Spencer

Helping employees to adapt to new ways of working

The brief

Packing your bags and shifting from Baker Street to Paddington was never going to be a straightforward office move for Marks and Spencer. When you are only just rediscovering success, have a changing management team and your history is tied up in one building, leaving for pastures new can be a risky business.

What seemed to be an exercise in communicating logistics became an opportunity for a seismic cultural shift. We devised communication to help employees tune into improved ways of working to match their new state-of-the-art offices.

The solution

A set of core messages was devised, centred around what were to be known as the 'Day One Standards' - breaking down the benefits of each new working practice. Collateral and content was designed and written for interactive workshops.

Print collateral included presentation cards and support materials, complementary pre-planning tools and countdown stand designs. A Question and Answer portal was designed, continuing the same creative theme.

All workshops were successfully completed pre-move, resulting in thousands of employees readily adopting the new Day One Standards across all new locations.

"The Team's creative solutions allowed us to communicate the facts behind the move clearly, and helped employees get the most out of the new ways of working from Day One."
Suzanna Jones, former Communications Manager, Marks & Spencer