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Prospect: Strategic Support

May 23, 2022

Challenges

  • Prospect faced an urgent need to modernise their systems and ways of working
  • This need was accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on members working lives

Outcomes

  • Clear vision created on what Prospect is seeking to achieve and how they will achieve it, particularly around the digital and technology areas
  • Clear strategy in place for the next three years

Key services

• Strategic support including project assurance

Hart Square supports Prospect with Digital Technology Strategy and Change

Prospect is one of the UK’s largest trade unions, who support and represent more than 150,000 members who work as scientists, engineers, tech experts and in other specialists’ roles. They support their members by offering career advice as well as financial and legal support. Prospect have been undergoing a major period of digital technology change. They faced an urgent need to modernise their systems and ways of working, accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on members working lives.

Strategic support

In early 2021, following several projects with Hart Square in order to establish an implementation of a new CRM and portal services for members, Hart Square held opening discussions and workshops with Prospect about a wider programme of work, including several key change projects.

As Nicola Duffy, People and Operations Director at Prospect explains “Like most organisations, Prospect is going through a significant amount of change, which includes our digital approach, how we work, where we work and how we continue to service members.”

By consensus it was agreed that the priority was to develop Prospect’s strategy in digital and technology areas. It had several technical risks to understand in detail and to mitigate via projects. It also remained unanimous that any change must deliver true value for members, reps and staff. There was also a pressing need to review the Prospect IT function to support the strategy.

Prospect commissioned Hart Square for strategic support covering:

  • Project assurance for the CRM and portal implementation
  • Creation of a digital technology strategy and roadmap
  • Business case development with internal IT and digital leads
  • A review of the current IT function and creation of a new IT team structure and role profiles
  • Change communication and engagement activity with staff and external stakeholders.

Collaborative working

Hart Square worked in collaboration with leads from key teams, and with the organisation’s Senior Management Team (SMT). This was within a strategy development work stream with planned activity to review the IT function and interdependent, to manage a core CRM-portal project. Prospect’s IT and Digital leads contributed content already known in business plans. Information about the current architecture was also shared to examine technical risks in detail. The strategy document was then built, shaped and signed off by the SMT.

Creating a roadmap

Throughout 2021 and into the spring of 2022, Hart Square has helped Prospect ensure there is a clear strategy in place for the next three years that is well prioritised and fully owned by the organisation.

The strategy contains a thorough roadmap which itself had undergone several rounds of review to ensure delivery was planned by priority order and based on value for the union. Elements of the new strategy were ongoing in 2021. Then at the beginning of 2022, the strategy was set fully in motion via communications and updates, both to staff and as part of regular rep panel meetings.

Transforming digital technology

It will be 2024 before the digital technology strategic cycle concludes, and of course, many things will arise along the pathway. Yet the strategy aims to help transform Prospect’s digital technology and how it is used across the union, and in interactions with members and reps.

Hart Square also helped Prospect to ensure this strategy is accompanied by clear plans to develop the digital skills of its staff especially those teams involved in driving change in future.

Hart Square’s input was valued through the process as Nicola Duffy summarises, “With the support of Hart Square, we have a clear vision on what we need to achieve and how we will achieve it, particularly around the digital and technology areas. Working with a consultancy firm that understands trade unions and works across the membership sector has been hugely valuable to us as a client.”