SHIRLEY HALL ,Edinburgh and Newcastle Senior Office Partner, Employment, Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP
What did you set out to achieve this year?
I wanted to support our clients and our people as much as possible in these difficult circumstances.
Has everything went according to plan?
The plan was relatively simple, implementation was difficult.
One of the main challenges for our clients was the Furlough rules being adapted. Both ourselves and our clients had to manage local and national lockdowns being introduced and re-introduced; different government’s guidance on returning to the office applying to the different nations, which were regularly being updated which required constant policy and procedural changes. Add to this the anxiety that staff will inevitably have in the middle of the pandemic and things become challenging to ensure that the needs of staff and the business are effectively managed.
How has the ongoing Covid crisis affected your business and how have you mitigated this?
As a global law firm the pandemic reduced our ability to meet with our clients around the world, and bring our teams together across the business. We mitigated against this by using technology to connect, primarily by Zoom and Teams to provide as much “virtual” face to face contact as much as possible.
What are you most proud of this year?
Implementation of our blended working model, combined with our move to our new office in Rotterdam House on the Quayside in Newcastle. Our new office, and our flexible working model, provides modern facilities in a fantastic location and enables our staff to have the best of both worlds. Our people have the flexibility to work remotely and have time in the office with colleagues.
How has your team changed?
It has grown and developed and we now have a number of new hires using the Newcastle office, as well as other offices within our Network, flexibly which is great for team growth and development. When we attend the office now we use that time more efficiently and benefit from the time together.
What have you learnt about yourself this year?
That I really enjoy connecting with clients and colleagues, whether virtually or in person. I am very much a people person and enjoy these interactions. I have actually found that using Zoom and Teams a lot more now, rather than the previous telephone calls which we used to conduct on a regular basis, means I have more quality time with clients and colleagues enabling us to build stronger and deeper connections.
What’s been the most enjoyable business social event you have attended?
The first team lunch after we were allowed to eat inside as a larger group! It was so lovely to be out and having a social get together and really catch up with my colleagues over good food. Whilst we were catching up regularly via Zoom or Teams, you lose some of the social “chit chat” and it becomes very structured rather than natural discussion.
Describe 2021 in three words…
Back to office!
What does the remainder of the year hold? A lot of client work as we head towards Christmas and clients become busier with their business trying to catch up after the impact of the pandemic and Brexit.
