I read this article about ‘listening’ in HR Magazine with real interest. As a firm, we have always been proud of our culture and our people. They are inextricably linked – the way that a firm’s people interact with clients, colleagues and community stakeholders define your culture. Over recent years Covid-19 and hybrid working have tested legacy concepts of culture across many businesses. So, what does a ‘good culture’ look like in the post-Covid world? In my mind, in order to develop a strong culture, it is imperative to engage with your people. This can be done effectively at a local level within high-performing teams, but it can be even more powerful when done at a wider firm-wide level. Another focus that sets successful businesses apart is their determination to seek continuous improvement in all that they do.

Tying these points together, I, along with our Chief People Officer Robert Halton, have recently been involved in conducting firm-wide Listening Sessions with all of our people. We wanted to engage across the firm to encourage people to put forward their ideas for how we could improve both client service delivery and the way in which we run and manage processes internally. Those working in our legal and business service teams are the true experts in their fields. By providing the right forum, we were able to tap into a host of excellent new ideas.  Through the use of remote Teams meetings, we were able to engage with the maximum number of people.  The sessions were a rewarding experience and I was delighted to be able to witness the enthusiasm and innovative thinking that the Listening Sessions promoted. I am very proud to work with such talented and committed people.

The key to making the Listening Sessions effective is to ensure the ideas are accurately captured so that they can be considered and prioritised. We are now in the process of implementing a number of the ideas that arose.  To close this virtuous circle, we also regularly report back to the firm on the progress we are making. I will be talking about some of the best ideas at our forthcoming Autumn AGM. If you want to engage properly, you have to listen, capture ideas, do something with those ideas and, crucially, report back on the outcomes.

I am a firm believer in the concept of listening - it really is one very effective way to support and demonstrate a strong people-first culture.