Case Study

Legal & General & Sherman Cymru

“This has truly been a unique opportunity for Legal & General staff from across the whole of the Cardiff location to have the chance to develop their own creative writing skills whilst also finding out about the work of Sgript Cyrmu.” – Lynne Sheehy, PR and Communications Manager.

"The course certainly inspired me and I could tell everyone felt the same, as the level of engagement and participation was very good. " Legal & General employee

Legal & General’s initial sponsorship of Sherman Cymru enabled the first year of a commission for a young emerging writer. Arts & Business New Partners matched Legal & General’s sponsorship to expand this partnership, enabling Sherman Cymru to offer creative writing workshops, held out of office hours, for twenty business staff from the Legal & General Cardiff office.

Sherman Cymru aimed to offer creative writing workshops that would give participants the opportunity to try something new and different and develop their writing skills. They also wanted to strengthen the new relationship with Legal & General.

Demand for the workshops was extremely high with a number of employees expressing an interest if the project was to be repeated. Staff members attending the workshops had varied experiences and backgrounds in writing but the feedback from the workshops and work undertaken was very strong and positive indicating that the workshops were well pitched for the groups. The employees placed real value on attending the workshops with the unanimous complaint being that the course was too short.

As Legal & General’s sponsorship of Sherman Cymru is a new initiative the writing workshops were also beneficial in giving participants the chance to find out more about the work the company undertakes. Sherman Cymru is delighted that so many of the participants are developing their skills by writing more frequently or in some cases signing up for part-time writing courses to nurture their talent.

“I hadn’t heard of Sherman Cymru before, but am definitely interested in what they do.”
Legal & General employee 

Almost immediately after the workshops reached their conclusion, talks began about continuing the project which is a great reflection of the success of the scheme. This has led to extremely beneficial effects for both partners as this first project has deepened the partnership and provided solid foundations for the future.

“We need more after work activities/opportunities, if only to aid relaxation and stress relied. It was nice to use my brain in more creative pursuits, than robotically answering questions in a call centre.”
Legal & General employee

Since this initial project finished there has been subsequent more in-depth writing workshops for members of Legal & General staff. This has led to some of the employees setting up their own writing circle, and submitting plays to Sherman Cymru’s literary department as competent playwrights. Both Legal & General and Sherman Cymru are delighted with the results of this initiative and look forward to future projects.

For further information on the development work of Sherman Cymru and to find out how you can play your part, please contact Emma Goad, Head of Development.