Existing World

Co-operatives UK is the trade body for the entire co-operative movement in the UK. Founded in Manchester in 1870, it exists to champion the principles of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equity and solidarity for current and future generations. It is responsible for accrediting new and upcoming co-operative organisations across the country and a beacon for the UK co-operative movement internationally, as well as lobbying for change among key influencers including government.

Obstacle

On appointment of a new CEO working with the board to develop a new strategy, it was clear that the organisation needed to undertake a re-structure to deliver on the new ambitions for the organisation.

Call to Action

The Blue Tree Consulting team successfully won a tender to carry out an organisational diagnostic, taking a detailed look at everything from its financial management to its structures, people, decision-making culture, communication and service delivery, with a view to a re-structure.

The Guide

Blue Tree Managing Director Phil Marsland and his colleagues worked closely with the Co-operatives UK CEO to transition the large management team to a smaller leadership team with core responsibilities for three areas of the business. By conducting a through listening and consultation exercise with all employees in the business, they concluded that the organisation needed streamlining to Member Services, Shared Services & Policy and Development, with decision-making mandates to sit with a smaller leadership team to enable them to move faster and seize opportunities in an always-on world.

The Challenge

Co-operatives UK provides a highly regarded human resources (HR) and advice service to the co-operative movement as well as to its own organisation. However, it became clear that with such a significant piece of work under way, the leadership team needed to outsource their internal HR operation to Blue Tree for 18 months, so that we could implement our change recommendations around people management practices, organisational culture and values-led behaviours. 

The Transformation

One of the most powerful steps we undertook was rolling out a psychometric testing solution across the organisation, to understand everyone’s strengths and development needs. We helped shape a new set of organisational priorities with input from the whole team. We backed this up with workshops for all employees and executive coaching for the leadership team, so that everyone was able to develop and grow, to contribute their very best to the organisation’s further evolution. 

New World

Co-operatives UK is now characterised by a new sense of dynamism and purpose across its already-passionate team of employees. This has led to a culture which is much more in keeping with where the organisation wishes to go, and the future is looking very bright, exciting and, importantly, even more relevant and meaningful, as a result. And the results are shining through already – the organisation won Business of the Year 2023 at the City of Manchester Business Awards 2023, helped in no small part by the exciting journey it has embarked on with Blue Tree.