Peter Hunt, Head of Global Transformation, Costa Coffee
Peter Hunt looks at today’s challenges for transformation leaders working across global organisations. How do leaders align cultures and broader expectations? With change whipping at everyone’s heels, what are the biggest barriers to successful transformation programmes?
Over the past 5 years, the world has changed significantly in terms of how we work. Businesses had to shift significantly to remote working in light of the COVID pandemic, and as the world returned to a new normal, so did our ways of working.
We’ve entered a new hybrid world, swept along by rapid technology advancements that continue to evolve faster than some businesses can keep up with. This shift has impacted how management teams can deliver transformation - providing us with a unique challenge of cutting through the noise of digital communication and being able to connect people to the purpose, progress and impact of transformation initiatives.
Navigating Culture in a Hybrid Workforce
Culture is driven by shared values and beliefs as well as your environment and behaviours. But post-pandemic, with workforces spreading out both nationally and globally, we are seeing more challenge to business culture.
For me, this is due to two key factors:
1 Our day-to-day work environment has significantly shifted since 2020.
We were torn out of our branded workspace environment during COVID and now enjoy the flexibility of agile workspaces. These are disparate - whether workers choose a home office set up, or a blend of the sofa; coffee shop; or motorway service station. This means, though, that everyone’s day-to-day environment is different and therefore creates mixed messaging around culture.
2 Hybrid working has introduced new behaviours for us to tackle.
We also now see much more flexibility in working patterns, with more utilisation of digital communication and tools. A normal day can now easily contain a blend of work and home tasks during the traditional 9-5 hours. This allows team members to play multiple roles during a day, with each one requiring a different type of behaviour, but it can also require a reset as people focus into work-relatedd tasks.
Many organisations also enjoy the benefits of a global workforce, but this brings with it other cultural factors such as language and communication styles, as well as accepted social norms (expectations around politeness, hierarchy, gender roles, etc.)
Managers need to be much more aware of where the business is positioned culturally and how this will influence your transformation efforts:
1. Consider the requirements to enable your culture to be built into governance and communication
2. Look at how to adapt meetings and forums to ensure team members feel included and are brought along on the journey regardless of location (in-person/virtual)
The Human Side of Transformation
At its core, transformation is delivered by people. But as we become increasingly digital-first, we are living through a profound era of disruption. With the introduction of cloud platforms and automation, AI and data-driven decision-making, the pace of transformation is becoming relentless.
Businesses are under increasing pressure to keep up or risk being left behind.
However, we know as change leaders that people do not necessarily all move at the same pace. This creates a gap between the digital transformation ambition and the workforce's ability to support. Teams are being asked to work in new ways, to adopt new tools and deliver results, often simultaneously, without the time to get their heads above water.
"We know as change leaders that people do not necessarily all move at the same pace. This creates a gap between the digital transformation ambition and the workforce's ability to support."
Our focus here should be on the undercurrents we are seeing across transformation efforts. These are:
The Pace of Change - as workflows become more agile with faster decision-making requirements, we are seeing change happen more and more rapidly. This can feel relentless for colleagues, with no time to adjust to the new norm. It can even manifest as change fatigue, where teams just become exhausted with the relentless need to deliver.
Consider if you decided to go on a diet in January, then in February shifted to another diet, then in March you did the same, and you repeated this every month. How would you feel? How engaged would you be with each new diet, and how long could you sustain this for?
Digital Literacy & Burnout - with remote and hybrid collaboration tools (Teams / Google Meets & Docs) now the main ways of working, there has been a shift in information flow and engagement.
We have all probably experienced digital burnout at some point, either through too many calls in the diary or even just having to stare at a screen for 8 hours a day. There is also a continuous need for learning around the collaboration tools as technology continues to evolve. Although these are generally good improvements, it can expose some data literacy issues within teams, which can affect engagement and collaboration if not managed correctly.
As change leaders, we need to be actively calling these out and supporting the business to manage them as broader risks to transformation efforts. Our role is to help build a culture that supports change through embracing learning and support:
Look at your total portfolio and consider who is working across these changes and where fatigue and burnout might be appearing.
Invest in coaching and upskilling, not just training on the newest system/software update. Use peer networks to bridge literacy gaps and encourage cross-functional collaboration.
Acknowledge the effort of the teams. Celebrate the small wins, which will help build momentum and reinforce a positive change mindset.
Cutting Through the Noise: Engaging Hybrid Teams in Change
While hybrid working has enabled flexibility and productivity, it has also introduced fragmented communication. We now juggle multiple tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Slack, emails, phone calls, instant messaging – and each of these has its own language and style.
This poses a fresh problem for transformation leaders. How do we cut through the noise and ensure that critical transformation updates don’t risk getting lost in the ether? Or that they get misinterpreted or deprioritised? Or worse -don’t get any engagement at all?
We need to aim for clear, consistent messaging. A great acronym to use is KISS. Not only an iconic rock band, but also a great test of your comms: Keep It Simple Stupid.
We know uncertainty is a given in transformation, so that is why simple communication and consistency are key. We need to ensure our stakeholders know:
The Why
The What
The When
How are they / can they get involved?
Although this is nothing new in the world of transformation, ensuring you are banging the drum of these core points across multiple communication formats and reinforcing them regularly can underpin success.
How can you ensure your communication is making the right impact?
One nugget I have taken from a great leader is to be: Repetitively Boring
Distil your complex updates into simple, actionable communication. Repeat and repeat often. And tailor only where required.
We must also be careful not to get lost in a “hit send and done” mindset. With the tools now available, we can be much more two-way in communication flows. We can use various tools to our advantage to check in on engagement:
1. Surveys & Polls - Use targeted pulse surveys through Teams or intranet platforms to assess teams' understanding and feelings towards transformation efforts.
2. Engagement Analytics - Track open rates, clicks and read time on newsletters and emails. How many views did that latest video update get? Understand what content resonates.
3. Live Huddles & Q&As - Hosting live huddles or forums is a wonderful way to connect more in person. If you have a global hybrid workforce, think about when you host these and how you can engage with in-person and virtual teams. Ensure your hosts are ready to take some questions.
4. Leadership Networks - Most businesses will have some form of in-house network, whether leadership or SME-led. Use these to champion transformation efforts but also function as a vehicle for feedback.
Culture x Connection x Framework: The Formula for Sustainable ROI
Organisational culture defines how things get done. Shared values, attitudes and behaviours shape day-to-day decisions and interactions. During times of change, culture becomes even more important.
During transformation efforts you will be able to tell if you have a strong or weak culture. Do your teams have a sense of belonging and purpose or is there resistance and confusion?
If you have a high-performing culture people are more likely to:
Embrace change as an opportunity
Feel psychologically safe to ask questions, to challenge and contribute
Collaborate openly
Hold others to account – to both values and results
These are all behaviours that transformation needs to succeed. And these are behaviours that will help deliver your ROI.
In a hybrid environment intentional connection for teams becomes critical. Without connection, teams can feel fragmented and isolated, or out of sync. With a strong connection, however, teams are more aligned, resilient, and motivated. This will help drive stronger collaboration, greater engagement; and faster problem-solving.
"If you can take your culture and multiply this by your ability to connect teams in the right way, and multiply this by your framework (processes, governance, ways of working) the result is a powerful formula that will help drive long-term impact and true sustainable ROI."
So how can change leaders help foster this culture and connection to drive stronger transformation results?
1. Lead with Values – making these visible and lived. Recognising and rewarding those behaviours that align with what you are trying to achieve.
2. Build Psychological Safety – encourage open dialogue and invite feedback regularly. Make your organisation safe for experimentation and failure.
3. Connect work to business strategy – help teams to understand how their effort links to the wider transformation vision and the longer-term strategy.
If you can take your culture and multiply this by your ability to connect teams in the right way, and multiply this by your framework (processes, governance, ways of working) the result is a powerful formula that will help drive long-term impact and true sustainable ROI.
All this will help result in your transformation efforts being driven by engaged and empowered teams, enabling you to deliver strong ROI across the board.
Transformation is about people
Transformation isn’t just about processes, platforms, or policies - it’s fundamentally about people.
Employees need to feel seen, heard, and supported. They need to understand the why behind change and feel safe to contribute. When leaders simplify communication, lead with empathy, and stay engaged with their teams, transformation becomes more than a checklist - it becomes a shared mission.
By investing in people, fostering trust, and building a values-driven culture, organisations create the conditions for sustainable, high-performing transformation - one that delivers real results.
About the author
Peter Hunt is a seasoned transformation leader with a track record of driving strategic change across complex organisations. Currently serving as the Head of Global Transformation at Costa Coffee, Peter has led the development of global PMO frameworks and large transformation portfolios. With a background spanning strategic programme delivery, change governance, and operations improvement, he brings deep expertise in embedding sustainable change. Peter is passionate about mentoring teams, building internal capability and ways of working, and turning transformation ambitions into tangible business outcomes
