Amnesty International – upskilling a global leadership community
We have supported Amnesty International in developing a set of hybrid principles informed by hard evidence and aligned with the management team’s objectives. There are now clear policies in place and an upskilled leadership community equipped to manage in a hybrid world.
The situation
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people. The organisation campaigns to protect human rights and employs approximately 650 individuals across 18 countries.
Amnesty’s management team wanted to use the pandemic as a catalyst to evolve their ways of working. They were looking to support high levels of work flexibility while reducing risk exposure around taxation liabilities and local employment legislation. They were also keen to optimise business assets including the charity’s real estate portfolio and its workplace technology solutions.
Our approach
We initially undertook a study involving workshops with senior leaders to clarify their organisational priorities and vision for the future. Focus groups, surveys and one-to-one interviews with their staff around the world provided us with additional insights about the appetite and feasibility of implementing different ways of working. To understand the scope of the process and infrastructure enhancements necessary, our team reviewed the infrastructure of the HR, IT and facilities management departments.
This research informed a unique ‘Case for Change’ report and the design of a participatory change management programme tailored to meet Amnesty’s objectives. To support the implementation of the programme we delivered a suite of training workshops which taught team leaders how to lead their teams to co-create their own ways of working within a globally shared framework. These workshops gave leaders the confidence and tools to develop ‘Working Together Agreements’ with their teams.
The agreements could be customised to meet the specific requirements of each team, while adhering to the principles of the organisation as a whole. We remained by Amnesty’s side to ensure the agreements were implemented successfully and enhanced the charity’s workplace culture.
