University of Exeter: Transforming Professional Services for a More Agile Future

Strategic clarity. Stronger engagement. Better performance.

The University of Exeter approached us to support a wide-ranging Professional Services Transformation (PST)programme — with the aim of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and aligning internal operations with the wider university change agenda.

But transformation at this scale is only successful when people understand it, support it, and can see their role within it.

Our Role

We were brought in to help reframe the transformation journey. Not just to make it easier to understand, but to shape the underlying strategy, improve internal engagement, and ensure the project aligned with other institutional priorities.

We worked closely with senior leaders and internal teams to:

• Clarify the strategic narrative behind the transformation

• Develop visual and contextual tools to explain the process

• Co-create a communications framework to engage stakeholders

• Align messaging with other key university programmes and ambitions

• Provide input on process design and rollout planning

Results & Impact

The tools and frameworks we delivered helped unlock traction across the University:

• ✅ Clearer internal understanding of the PST purpose and benefits

• 📊 Improved staff engagement with the change process

• 💸 Support for cost-saving measures and smarter workflows

• 🔄 Alignment between transformation efforts and the wider change agenda

• 🎯 Stronger momentum for delivery and stakeholder buy-in

“The way you helped us bring clarity to something so complex has made all the difference. People understand what’s happening and why — and that’s shifted the conversation.”
— University of Exeter Transformation Lead