Supporting managers through change
How Harrods equipped people managers to respond empathetically to challenging reactions during a major transformation
CLIENT STORY
“Kirsty has partnered with us to scope, design, and deliver multiple change management initiatives.
Most significantly within our Private Shopping division, as part of a broader transformation and growth agenda for this highly commercial area of the business. The team had never experienced change on this scale before, making it critical to bring people managers on the journey early and equip them to lead their teams through it.
Kirsty played a key role in shaping the approach to this piece of work - and inform a broader learning needs analysis for capability build long term. She took the time to really understand our audience, building her understanding into relevant, purposeful design and facilitation of manager and team sessions.
Kirsty brings a wealth of experience, combining strategic thinking with practical delivery, and consistently provides thoughtful, valuable input.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with managers feeling more confident and better equipped to lead through change. A highly effective facilitator and trusted partner, Kirsty helped us - and our managers - begin the transformation with confidence, stronger connections across teams, and the capability to sustain change over the long term.”
– Head of Learning and Development at Harrods
The challenge
Harrods was making a significant investment in its Private Shopping division – everything from the physical space to the way it would serve its clients was going to change. Commercially, this represented an extremely positive development: an opportunity to modernise, scale and strengthen its capabilities, ultimately ensuring the ongoing performance of one of its most successful services.
For employees, however, the change had the potential to feel deeply personal.
Many team members had spent decades establishing their expertise and own ways of working. As a result, the transformation risked being experienced not simply as a change to processes, but as a challenge to people’s sense of professional identity.
Private Shopping Leaders recognised that its people managers would play a critical role in helping their colleagues navigate this period of change and uncertainty. Managers needed to be able to respond empathetically to difficult reactions, while also maintaining momentum and helping their teams engage constructively with the future.
KCM’s key objectives were to:
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Help managers understand the emotional and psychological dynamics that can influence people’s responses to change.
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Equip managers to respond constructively to defensiveness, resistance, and uncertainty.
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Build managers’ confidence in balancing empathy with the need to support commitment and progress.
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Ensure that the learning felt relevant, practical, and carefully tailored to the realities of this particular cultural environment.
Our approach
We designed and facilitated a one-day offsite for 30 senior leaders from the two affected functions as well as members of the Change Programme Team.
Key elements of our approach included:
1 / Understanding the context
We spoke with leaders across the business to develop a detailed view of the transformation’s likely impact on employees.
2 / Design of a tailored learning experience
Working closely with an internal L&D expert, we created a bespoke training session for the division’s people managers. The content was shaped around the specific needs of this audience and the real-world situations they were likely to encounter as the transformation progressed.
3 / Delivery of psychologically informed training
I delivered the sessions to groups of managers, creating space for thoughtful discussion and practical application. The sessions explored how people commonly respond to change and uncertainty, how managers could recognise the concerns underlying difficult behaviour, and how to approach challenging conversations with clarity and empathy. The tone was supportive but appropriately challenging – encouraging managers to validate people’s experiences without becoming stuck in resistance.
The impact
The sessions received positive feedback from both participants and stakeholders.
Managers engaged actively with the content, and the tailored nature of the programme reinforced the organisation’s commitment to supporting and valuing its people during a demanding period.
“The team of managers were very engaged and the discussions were so interesting!
Kirsty was a fantastic trainer; she really took on board the feedback we shared prior to the session and tailored everything to it.
The team really appreciated that this was designed specifically for them and added to their feeling of being valued. I hope that we will be able to do further sessions with Kirsty in the future.”
– Business Change Manager at Harrods