With over 270,000 members it is the largest conservation charity in Scotland. It depends for its support on donations, legacies, grants and membership subscriptions. Established in 1931 the Trust acts as guardian of the nation’s magnificent heritage of architectural, scenic and historic treasures. As an independent charity, not a government department, it acts on behalf of everyone to safeguard Scottish heritage. The Trust is unique in that its activities cover the full range of the cultural, built and natural heritage. A key challenge is to make this relevant to the people of Scotland and all those who have an interest in Scotland’s magnificent heritage.
The Trust were facing several significant challenges – a loss on a number of high profile events designed to raise significant funds and the resignation of several senior managers including the CEO.
During this time, the relatively recently appointed Chairman of the Trust, Shonaig MacPherson CBE FRSE, wanted to launch a programme designed to engage staff and managers in a process of rebuilding confidence and morale. =mc was asked to advise on how to drive such a programme and especially how to build an all-staff conference around values. =mc’s brief
=mc was asked to do three things:
“The National Trust for Scotland was delighted to call on the counsel and expertise of =mc – a company that understands our business and values.”
Shonaig MacPherson, Chairman, National Trust for Scotland CBE FRSE
In consultation with the Chairman and the HR director we helped design a programme of work to engage staff in the values programme. The Trust also undertook a significant number of initiatives itself.
Among the initiatives developed were:
As with many organisational development initiatives the results will most likely be medium to long-term. The values are in place to help unite the organisation at a difficult time.
But the trust has to move on now and look carefully at its business model and processes. This practical renewal is being led by a new high achieving CEO Mark Adderly, recruited from the commercial sector, who is bringing new discipline and rigour to all the trust’s processes