Neil Lloyd is the Managing Director at Midlands based law firm FBC Manby Bowdler.
He believes that by focusing on staff engagement, client service will also improve which will lead into better business results.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
FBC Manby Bowdler is a full service law firm, with over 190 people. It has 5 offices across Shropshire, West Midlands and Worcester but services clients across the country.
- How did you get into the industry?
Prior to joining FBC Manby Bowdler I’d spent 21 years working for a division of The Royal Bank of Scotland. The opportunity to join FBCMB came following a call from a head hunter and excited by the potential of the firm I was delighted when I was offered the chance to join them
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
Opportunities
- High growth rates underline the good health of the sector
- The sector is recording strong long-term financials above the rate of inflation
- Driving the focus on achieving better profit margins
Challenges
- Staff engagement, retention, mental health and well-being are all key themes in the sector at the moment
- As ever having sufficient capital and cash flow to run the business remains a focus
- Succession and future planning.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
Collaborative and transparent.
- How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
I like to think I get the most out of people by being visible and sharing with them as much about the business as I can. I don’t have an office or a desk for that matter so each week try to spend time in each of the offices – engaging with the team.
- What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
The most crucial elements to this business running smoothly are:
- Having a common purpose – all our business plans are shared each year with regular reminders as to our progress across every element
- Great leadership – our teams are no bigger than 8 and ran by the best people leaders, not the best fee earners
- An engaged team. This is key. If the team aren’t engaged with the business we will fail. We measure engagement twice a year formally and through other interactions at least once a quarter
- Happy clients. Most of our work is either repeat business, referrals or reputation. We talk about the client experience at every opportunity and it’s a fixed agenda point on our weekly Operations Board meetings.
- How has the past 12 months been for you?
They’ve been good. Staff engagement has never been higher, our clients rate us number one for service across the West Midlands and financially we’re in a strong position. This is creating opportunities for us, which for the right ones we’re well placed to take
- What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
There is no doubt it will be a challenge.
We’re fortunate that we’re a full service business which generally means if one area is experiencing a slow down, another is enjoying growth. We noticed this during the pandemic. I’d hope therefore that it will be ok. We’re forecasting growth but not as strong as previous years.
My main focus though is looking after our people and to that end we’ve started making additional cost of living payments to them for the next few months to try and ease the burden.
- What are the highlights of your career so far?
I’ve had some many over the years. I loved my time at RBS, had a great team and achieved some amazing things. At FBCMB it has to be the strong level of staff engagement way which means we continue to attract and retain great talent allowing us to continue to grow the business year in, year out
- What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
Don’t run before you can walk. There have been a few times where I’ve tried to implement a change, for what I think is the better, but the business, teams or clients haven’t been ready for it. That also creates the opportunity to learn and as a business we understand that we will fail at some things and that’s ok – providing we fail quickly and learn.
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Not so much the best piece of business advice but I do have a couple of phrases I try to drum into the teams.
- Price is what you pay, value is what you get – Warren Buffet
- If you think you can or you can’t you’re probably right – Henry Ford
They resonate with me so much and over the many years I’ve been in business have held me in good stead.
