Why did you enter the Investors in People 2023 Awards? 

We were invited to enter the Award for UK Employer of the Year: Accredited 50-249 after our successful IIP reaccreditation last year.  We were keen to take this opportunity and demonstrate how we’ve grown.  We also decided to enter the Award for Leadership and Management as this gave us the opportunity to give more insight in to our training and development programmes across our workforce. We invest time and costs in the training of our staff from early in their careers– more recently we have started training our junior fee earners in the core skills needed at more senior level as we believe effective managers and leaders are the key to our success. 

What has it meant to you, your team and your organisation to be shortlisted for an Investors in People 2023 Award?

Our corporate values include acting with honesty and integrity, approachability, valuing our clients, colleagues and community and striving for a friendly and inclusive environment. These are genuinely entrenched in everything we do – from how we train our staff, through to addressing wellbeing in the workplace (we have signed the Charter for Employers Positive about Mental Health (Mindful Employer). Against that background, we feel recognised for our hard work and proud to be able to tell others of our affiliation with such a prestigious accreditation scheme.

What would it mean to your organisation to win an Investors in People 2023 Award?

We see it as not just recognition of our achievements but a real opportunity for the business in terms of being able to promote the quality of our staff externally, attract high quality applicants and retain our existing workforce. It is one thing for an employer to expose certain values internally, but for those values to be recognised and ratified externally is very special. It provides reassurance to staff that they are in safe hands and that their employers genuinely care.

How important is it for your organisation to be a part of the Investors in People community and engaged in awards and events like this one?

We are proud of being IIP accredited and keen supporters of the standard as it constantly challenges us to improve our learning and development strategies for the business.