Last year I was lucky enough to be mentored by an industry-leading expert, someone who has established, grown and sold iconic property businesses.
He was impressed that our relatively new conveyancing firm had grown so quickly and retained its ‘family business feel, but when he asked me what we stood for, what our values were, I realised that while I knew this in my head, our staff across all three of our offices might not – they’re not mind readers after all!
So, we invested in the process of working with a brand strategist to define our overarching company mission and five company values, which we now uphold in everything we do across all of our offices as we grow. It was an insightful process, involving everyone across the business. They were interviewed individually about what they felt were the most important elements of their job and what they enjoyed about the industry and Aconveyancing. We also listened to what they wanted to change. This helped us map out a framework including the opinions of everyone in the business – not just the director team being short-sighted about the things that matter to fee earners and support staff. Because the mission and values were developed by the whole team, this has given us such a strong sense of purpose and structure, I urge other firms to do the same.
Outside of putting our mission and values at the forefront of our comms and website, we now display them in each office, reminding us daily of what we believe in. Our Investors in People ambassador team meet regularly to keep the directors and wider business accountable to these values. This allows our values to be flexible to change if and when needed, they’re not just a few words printed on a wall. This also gives our staff the confidential platform they need to communicate what’s important to them, not just the figures that a director team want to see on the end of year spreadsheets!
After the busiest period I’ve known in 20 years, we are taking the time to reflect on the last 18 months, and our values provide a structure to this reflection. Are we innovating? Are we still working as One Team? Are we retaining the highest standards of compliance and communication despite being busier than usual? Now is the moment for us to collectively raise the standards in this quieter period before 2022 kicks in. It will enable us to keep fees higher across the industry, supporting the collective good rather than racing to the bottom. Conveyancers have proved their worth more than ever before over the past 18 months, we need to keep it that way.
So, I’m asking fellow business owners, what do you stand for? What difference do you want to make to our industry and your clients’ lives? What makes you different? They’re not easy questions to answer, it needs an expert to guide you through this which I would highly recommend investing in. The involvement of staff at all levels is crucial to help define an authentic company ethos and not just one the boss has regurgitated from a marketing book. But I can promise you it’s worth the time, thinking and effort.
Our Mission: Aconveyancing was founded to lead change in the conveyancing industry, delivering a fully compliant and personal service through transparency, integrity and innovation. For more information, visit www.Aconveyancing.com.
Natalie Moore is Director at AConveyancing