I'm Vicky Brackett, group chief commercial officer at Irwin Mitchell.
My role is to work with my team to come up with ideas about how and where we can grow our business, in line with our Group’s strategy. This involves thinking about what our clients need, why they need it and how we can provide an excellent service.
Our whole strategy is client-centric. We focus on providing value to individuals and businesses by offering joined up and cohesive solutions that are relevant to them.
The law can be seen as quite inaccessible and hard to navigate. But we put ourselves in our client’s shoes, so we can understand their needs and present the information in a way that’s more accessible. It’s really important to build relationships with our clients because it develops trust. This bond is invaluable and sets us up for a lifetime relationship, so we can support them whether that’s in their personal or commercial lives.
Bringing Positive Change
From considering the voice of our clients to taking a group-wide view on our policies and decisions, my role on the executive board is multifaceted.
I was the first female member of the board. Coming from legal teams that were mixed gender, it was really fascinating for me to work in what had been an exclusively male environment. I also felt empowered to be part of this positive change.
I've worked in various law environments and one of the first things that struck me about working here was how people care about one another. They really go the extra mile to make sure you’re okay.
It’s so important in our work environment that we recognise people’s strengths, their capabilities, and how they bring positivity into a room. Communication within my team is vital, so we can understand each other, learn from one another and recognise when someone needs support. That’s the human touch that matters to me.
Having a diverse team and recognising everybody’s strengths creates powerful results. Watching the people around me grow, develop and challenge my thinking makes me very proud to have played a small part in their development.
Inclusive And Diverse
The culture here is inclusive, and encourages curiosity. We welcome ideas and challenge existing practices without fearing hierarchy, so we get a real richness of thought.
We have a range of diversity across the business, which allows us to learn from each other by looking at situations through different lenses. This helps us make better decisions.
Diversity and inclusion is a huge part of my personal life. My second child, Sam, was born with Down syndrome, so it was a really big transition for my family to make when he was born. But he’s been an integral part of our family from day one. He’s taught us that we’re all different and embracing our differences really brings richness and value into the world.
Owning Our Responsibilities
Another key part of our business is making sure everything we do positively impacts our future. It’s important that we lead by example and build a responsible business, especially in a world that’s constantly changing.
Looking at the ESG agenda, we need to understand how we can play a part in promoting social values, environmental conscience and having strong governance. Environmentally, we’re doing things to move the agenda along. Even if they’re small such as using less paper or travelling less, they’re all contributing to the overall goal.
Socially, we work closely with charities in our communities. Some of our charity relationships have stemmed from the work we do with our vulnerable clients. We offer our colleagues two volunteering days every year, where they can make a positive difference in their community.
We also encourage our corporate clients to think about their own social agenda. As a law firm advising and guiding our clients on governance issues is an integral part of our technical excellence.
Flexible By Choice
I think balancing work and personal life is one of the trickiest things to do, whether you have a child with a disability or not.
We’ve introduced a flexible by choice policy, which has really instilled trust across our business and has been very well received. We trust our colleagues to shape their days so they can play their role in delivering great experiences for our clients and communities.
Watching them share the things they’ve been able to do is extremely powerful. Some have been able to attend their child’s school play or sports day. Others have been able to spend some time with an elderly relative before coming back at a time that works for them and their clients.
Come Join Us
If you're considering joining the journey that we’re on, Irwin Mitchell is a great place to be. If you’re creative, ambitious, innovative, compassionate, and care about the world around you and the people in the world around you, you belong here.
There’s a genuine warmth here that I’ve never experienced anywhere else. Our environment is created around what you need to succeed, so you can build a career with a purpose.
Read Vicky's professional profile
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