BUSINESS PARTNERING

Communications transformation at Bromford

SITUATION

I started my role as Strategic Communications Manager at Bromford in April 2023. At the time, the Communications Team faced several challenges:

• Becoming increasingly reactive rather than proactive.
• Receiving predefined tasks from the business instead of using their expertise to determine the best solutions.
• Working in specialised silos, leading to inefficiencies during handovers and difficulties when covering for colleagues on leave or managing high demand.

TASK

The goal was to build a communications team that effectively met business needs while also providing team members with:

• More varied and fulfilling work
• Greater career development opportunities
• Reduced work-related stress

ACTION

To achieve this, I:

• Met with each team member individually to understand what they wanted to do more of and what was holding them back.
• Reviewed insights from an externally conducted internal communications audit.
• Engaged with other organisations to learn about their best practices.

From these insights, I introduced key initiatives:

• Technology upgrades: Provided Mac laptops and Adobe Creative Cloud for all team members to enhance creativity and efficiency.
• Professional development: Implemented bespoke training programs and highlighted new learning opportunities.
• Structural improvements: Introduced business partnering in April 2024, hiring two new business partners to create clearer points of contact for the organisation.
• Operational efficiency: Established a new file management system that is accessible and easy to navigate for the entire team.
• Standardisation: Developed templates and Knowledge Articles to streamline work and ensure consistency.

RESULTS

The impact has been significant for both the team and the business:

• Improved clarity and collaboration: Colleagues can now easily identify and engage with the right contact in the communications team, building stronger working relationships.
• Proactive engagement: The team has greater visibility of upcoming projects, allowing them to provide input earlier and review past performance.
• Seamless teamwork: A consistent way of working means tasks can be picked up effortlessly when colleagues are on leave, ensuring business continuity.