From Left: Kelly Pougher, David Emery-Jones, Sarah Denney-Richards, Charlotte Perry, Mercedes King-Jones, Michelle O’Hara and Nicola Pearce.
Thursfields Solicitors has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award after judges were impressed by several of its new training initiatives.
The leading Midlands law firm has been named as a finalist in the Excellence in Learning and Development category of The Law Society’s Excellence Awards 2018.
The winners will be announced in a black-tie dinner, awards ceremony and dance at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London on 17 October.
Michelle O’Hara, HR director at Thursfields, said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised by judges in such respected national awards.
“Providing learning and development opportunities to colleagues has been the cornerstone of our recruitment and retention strategy over the last 12 months and this has been really rewarding for all involved.
“We have recruited many new joiners this year from city firms, some of whom have certainly been attracted by our focus on developing the individual to deliver excellent client service.
“Our flagship training programme, called Learning Agility, equips employees with often overlooked skills vital to working in a legal practice.
“By encouraging colleagues to be self-aware, reflective of their interaction with others and equip them with the skills to cope with change and understand and build rapport with clients, we aim to deliver distinguishing excellence in customer service.”
The Learning Agility programme, devised and presented by Ms O’Hara, incorporated training on STRES3, a financial engagement tool created by fellow director, Sarah Denney-Richards.
Ms O’Hara said that the company had already seen the benefits of its investment in development programmes with improved financial engagement, better internal communication and positive staff retention data.
She added: “Colleagues enjoyed the chance to practise new skills in a safe training environment. Some reported using these skills in their family life too and found improved relationships generally.
“In a competitive market for legal recruitment, we hope that by delivering something innovative, we become an employer of choice for lawyers seeking a great place to work.”
The Law Society’s Excellence Awards 2018 will be hosted by BBC news presenter Mishal Husain, while business leader, lawyer and diversity leader Funke Abimbola MBE will be making the keynote speech.
