Commonwealth Bank: Building Influence
Industry: Banking and Financial Services
Organisation Size: Approximately 50,000+ employees
About the organisation
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is one of Australia’s largest and most trusted financial institutions, serving millions of customers across retail, business, institutional and government sectors. With a strong focus on innovation, CBA is recognised as a leader in digital banking, delivering secure and customer-focused financial solutions through its extensive online and mobile banking platforms.
As one of Australia’s most complex and highly regulated organisations, effective communication is critical to aligning stakeholders, managing risk, and driving business outcomes across diverse teams and functions.
The Challenge
At Commonwealth Bank, success relies on more than technical expertise, it requires the ability to build strong stakeholder relationships and align diverse perspectives toward shared outcomes.
Within the Technology Risk and Compliance team, employees regularly navigate conversations involving governance requirements, regulatory obligations and business priorities. While individuals brought significant subject matter expertise to their roles, the organisation identified an opportunity to establish a consistent approach to stakeholder engagement, influence and communication across the team.
The goal was to create a shared language and framework that would help participants engage confidently in complex conversations, strengthen relationships, and drive greater alignment across a broad stakeholder landscape.
The NIDA Corporate Training Solution
NIDA Corporate Training partnered with Commonwealth Bank to deliver The Communication Edge, a practical two-hour workshop designed to strengthen communication, influence and stakeholder engagement skills.
The program brought together participants from across the Technology Risk and Compliance function, ranging from graduates through to the executive management level. Through our performance-based learning approach, participants explored techniques to enhance their physical and vocal presence, actively listen, build rapport and adapt their communication style to different audiences.
The workshop equipped participants with practical tools to prepare for challenging conversations, clarify objectives and influence outcomes more effectively. Most importantly, it established a shared framework for communication that participants could apply consistently across teams and stakeholder groups.
Our Impact
By the end of the program, participants were able to:
- Develop strategies to manage a range of communication scenarios with greater confidence.
- Apply practical techniques to build rapport and strengthen workplace relationships.
- Enhance their ability to influence stakeholders and navigate complex conversations.
- Establish a shared approach to communication across teams and functions.
The program received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with participants highlighting the practical nature of the training and the immediate relevance to their day-to-day roles.
“Amazing presenters. Really engaging. I will be taking a lot of what I learned into my day-to-day work.”
Jonathan, Senior Technology Risk Manager
“Excellent punchy session that gets to the heart of effective communication.”
Hendy, Risk Manager
“NIDA were professional, engaging and insightful in the training they delivered. We had approximately 80–100 people with two NIDA facilitators and they were excellent at engaging the audience and instilling new skills to each person.”
Matthew, Operational Resilience Risk
Through our training, Commonwealth Bank strengthened its capability to communicate with clarity and build stronger stakeholder relationships across one of Australia’s most dynamic and complex business environments.
Find out more about our custom team training solutions, and contact us to find out how we can support your team to reach your goals.
