Welcome to another bumper People Update!

We’re focused on the firm's long-term growth and are excited to update you on our ambitious plan for a ‘house of brands’ strategy to take us into our future!

You’ve heard Sarah say that she has been on the ‘dancefloor’, proactively seeking merger, acquisition, team and lateral recruitment opportunities. Plans for a ‘house of brands’ group were first introduced in Sarah's strategy webinars and cuppa & a cake sessions towards the end of last year. We're now able to move this forward and making it happen will see us more than double in size over the next five years and pursue even bigger ambitions beyond that.

We're giving you a sneak peek here - you'll hear more at the SHMA Collaboration on Wednesday 9 December.

Of course we’re already a multi-brand model group - with Lime, Corclaim and Marrons Planning sitting alongside our Shakespeare Martineau brand. As a professional services business specialising in law our priorities are executing the plans developed this summer to grow these brands further as well as welcoming new brands into our group – including both legal and complementary services. 

What we’re trying to achieve – for our existing brands and those like-minded people who join us – is the best of both worlds. Sarah has often talked about ‘making the cake bigger’ and furthering that analogy, now we want each brand to be able to ‘have their cake and eat it’ by offering other firms alternative routes to growth.

We’re looking for teams, individuals and brands that are similar to our current offering to enhance existing teams. There might be different locations, service offerings, client types, routes to market, or stand-out brands with a loyal client base – but by joining our group they (and we) will benefit from scale, buying power, higher profile and access to a wider client base while maintaining their own personality, identity and what makes them special.

Culture is absolutely critical to us and so it’s crucial that any brand or people we choose to work with share our values and purpose. As a result we’ll have heavyweight brands across the major UK regions, each playing a key role in their communities while together providing national reach and strength – providing clients with a superior integrated experience. 

A portfolio, ‘house of brands’ approach helps mitigate risk for anyone who joins us and having a wider sector and service offering means we’ll be in a better position to weather future economic shifts – it’s win/win!

What’s also important to us is allowing people to play to their strengths and so a ‘house of brands’ allows individual brands to focus on what they do best, without limiting the broader group’s growth.

Now feels like the right time for this evolution – the current environment is a unique opportunity to drive permanent changes in our sector and business community, for the benefit of all.

Look out for more from Sarah next week and on Wednesday 9 December!

Our HR Business Partners will be working with their Business Units/Super Teams to develop specific actions for your teams, which will be shared with you.  

Developing your career starts with a conversation; book in a career conversation with your line manager or consider a “skip” career conversation with your team leader to discuss how you want to shape your career. You can also speak to your  HR Business Partner/Advisor.

The Performance Conversation toolkit and videos are helpful in preparing for your own conversation along with the resources available on getAbstract. 

Finally, our promotion window for Partners, Legal Directors and Associates will open in January 2021.

Look out for more details in the coming weeks, including drop-in sessions and videos to help you find out more.

According to Mind, the mental health charity, 1 in 2 adults say their mental health has worsened since the start of lockdown. 

The Academy is running more Mental Health Awareness and Mental Health Awareness for Managers training on 16 & 17 December.

Please sign up if you haven't already attended any mental health awareness training to help you spot early warning signs in yourself and others.

As well as our Wellbeing Hub please make use of getAbstract's Mental Health channel too.

It's part of our firm-wide access to getAbstract, the online business library with thousands of book summaries, videos and articles on topics including Leadership and Management, Remote Working and Collaboration, in addition to Mental Health.

Remember too that our Mental Health First Aiders are trained listeners if you need to talk.

Or our Employee Assistance Programme offers free, confidential advice 24/7: 0800 048 2702 / unumuk.lifeworks.com (username: unum, password: lifeworks).

We're also offering an inclusive workshop from 12.30-2pm on Wednesday 18 November to open up the conversation about perimenopause, menopause and men’s health in the workplace.

Women and men experience changes to hormones and natural bio rhythms as they age which may affect their behaviours and lifestyle. 

Health coach Pamela Windle will be facilitating discussions of: the role of hormones; stress; anxiety; depression; fatigue; sleep issues; brain fog; and more.

Plus there'll be a firm-wide Mental Health During Lockdown live webinar at 1pm on Wednesday 25 November led by coach Rachel Cutler who will:

• ask you to consider how you're looking after your mental health whilst working remotely and how you're feeling about the lockdown
• give you an understanding of the signs and symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression and what to do if you feel that you or someone else are experiencing any of these
• help you to examine fear and how to handle it
• show you how to manage and embrace change, both expected and unexpected
• provide you with tools to help you build resilience against adversity

These courses are part of our extensive online learning programme. We’re working on the schedule into the new year - in the meantime, please explore the new Academy Hub to see what's on offer in the coming weeks.

And if there’s a particular topic you’d like to work on but can’t see a relevant session, contact The Academy team to discuss your needs.

Thank you,