Case Study

Becoming a Responsible Business - developing and implementing a roadmap

The Challenge

Saffery is a partner-led and people-focused top 20 accountancy firm in the United Kingdom.  

 

In July 2022, Saffery set an intention to become a Responsible Business. An important part of their journey was realising that being a Responsible Business isn’t about how they spend their money, but how they make it. Therefore, a key focus was working with the business to identify where they could use their skills and experience as accountants to have a positive impact.  

 

When they came to us in February 2023 the core Responsible Business team had learnt a lot about Responsible Business but were unsure about what steps to take next. They asked us to help them with two specific challenges: 

  •  Planning and creating an approach to Responsible Business that was suitable for an accountancy firm of their size and nature, and in a rapidly changing area where there is no blueprint; and 
  • How to engage and communicate with the whole business including involving them in carrying out a materiality assessment. 
The Approach

In partnership with Keartland & Co, our work with Saffery started with a one-day Clarify planning session to scope out a programme of work and create a prioritised high-level roadmap. 

The combination of Hannah’s expertise and Nicky’s change knowledge allowed for a really productive session, which gave us the clarity on the next steps as well as some long-term vision. It consolidated our learning and ideas into action.  


“Having that outside perspective in a focused manner was really valuable allowing clarity of thought. The summary document that followed it enabled us to look forward for the next 12 months and have a plan.  

 

“We decided to engage them ongoing to support us as we looked to move our Responsible Business journey onwards.”

Ruth Evered, Director - Responsible Business

Over the following six-months we worked alongside the core Responsible Business team upskilling them and giving them the knowledge, tools and confidence needed to lead the transformation.  We supported them in: 

  •  Carrying out a materiality assessment that informed further development of their Responsible Business strategy  
  • Plan a series of office visits to engage people from across the firm in the materiality assessment and gather their input 
  • Plan a series of focus groups to delve into their culture and gather intelligence on what does and doesn’t work when implementing change at Saffery 
  • Prepare effective presentations for key internal meetings and conferences where the objective was to engage and influence senior stakeholders

In addition, we: 

  • Performed the role of ‘critical friend’ to help the team review progress against the plan each month – checking in on progress, the level of stakeholder buy-in, emerging risks and advising on ways to mitigate them 
  • Facilitated a workshop with the wider Responsible Business steering group to help them set their ambition for the next three years 
  • Shared best practice from other businesses 

We also supported Saffery with writing their first impact report.

Results
  • Clarity on their level of ambition for the next three years 
  • Alignment as a firm on the areas where they can have a significant positive impact as a business  
  • Prioritised plan with guidance on where to invest time and money to deliver the plan, which gave the team clarity on what to focus on and when 
  • Confidence to implement the plan 
  • An approach to change that aligns with their culture, enabling long-term success
  • Becoming a more responsible business through changes made to internal operations and activities 

“For us, being a passionate team on a responsible business learning journey, we understood the ‘why’ and it was the ‘how’ we needed support with. How to get to engage with everyone across the whole firm, articulate what Responsible Business meant for us and remain true to the integrity and values of Saffery.

 

Hannah and Nicky spent time listening and really understood our culture and how we can create a Responsible Business strategy that is embedded across the whole firm and works for us as a business. I felt we had both the support and challenge to deliver and stretch our strategy.”

Fenella Martin-Redman, Partner – Head of the Responsible Business Cornerstone