People and change support for a public‑sector transformation

A large public‑sector organisation in England was implementing a multi‑year transformation of services and support, with significant implications for staff roles, ways of working and how services were delivered regionally. Public‑sector transformation programmes of this type are often complex, involving many stakeholders and high levels of scrutiny.

The organisation had a clear transformation plan and programme structure, but adoption and engagement lagged behind. Leadership was concerned that benefits would not be realised if change was not better supported.

By the time Ozkora was engaged:

• Staff surveys showed uncertainty about the purpose of the programme and what it meant for specific roles.
• Regional leaders were interpreting the programme differently, leading to variation in implementation.
• Communication felt high‑level and generic, rather than connected to day‑to‑day work.
• The central programme team was stretched and had limited specialist change capacity.

The senior responsible officer wanted to strengthen the people and change approach without rebuilding the programme from scratch.

Over nine months, Ozkora focused on the adoption side of the transformation, working with the central team and regional leaders. We:

• Conducted listening sessions and structured interviews across staff groups to understand concerns and practical barriers.
• Clarified the core narrative for the transformation, linking it to the organisation’s purpose and to specific changes in how services would be delivered.
• Worked with regional leaders to develop tailored local change plans within a simple common framework, rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all plan.
• Designed a practical manager toolkit with talking points and FAQs, supported by simple artefacts for use in team meetings.
• Built a small internal change network by identifying and supporting people in each region who were willing to champion the change.

Within the next year:

• Staff understanding of the programme’s aims, as measured by internal pulse surveys, improved noticeably, with reported clarity moving from low to medium‑high across most regions.
• Variation in implementation reduced, as evidenced by more consistent adoption of new processes and ways of working across regions.
• Regional leaders reported that they felt more confident explaining the changes and answering staff questions, helped by clearer materials and a common framework.
• The central programme team had a more realistic plan for the people and change work, with responsibilities shared between central and regional roles.

Ozkora’s involvement ended once the organisation had the narrative, tools and internal change network needed to carry the work forward without ongoing external support.