Kirsty Hinchcliffe
As part of our series of publications the last few weeks bringing you features from various leading professionals and charities that support the mental health of those who work in the legal sector, we chatted with Jason Spence and Stuart Jones who work in the marketing department of Oakwood Solicitors about the resources and benefits there is in place for staff.
Established in 2001, Oakwood Solicitors has steadily grown from a local solicitor specialising in personal injury claims, to a multi-service law firm based in the heart of Oakwood, North Leeds.
The firm is proud to be part of the beautiful Oakwood community, on the edge of the locally-renowned Roundhay park. The teams aim to deliver a service tailored to the individual, putting the client first – both locally and nationwide, establishing them as the solicitor of choice in Leeds.
Led by Solicitor and Managing Director, Abbie Keech, Oakwood’s staff comprises largely of female-led departments with an excellent family atmosphere throughout.
Oakwood Solicitors flag ship departments are Stress at Work, Clinical Negligence and Employment Disputes and have all increased in size recently. They have also got an exciting partnership with Tim O’Keefe of FrontFoot (helping veterans), which has now been officially announced.
During our chat we spoke about what Oakwood Solicitors provides for staff to support mental well-being in the workplace.
Work/ Life balance support
Oakwood Solicitors are signed-up to the LifeWorks App via their EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) and this also comes with death in service insurance. The company also has four Mental Health First Aiders, these are members of staff who have been trained and are qualified to spot signs of a mental health concern and can provide early support to that person through a chat or signposting to places they can seek professional help. Another useful benefit to staff at Oakwood Solicitors is the ability to have flexible working hours, some staff only work 4 days and they can also work from home and many staff choose to work one day a week from home. Whilst working remotely might not seem that different given recent times we have lived in, post-covid some firms and other businesses have since mandated that all staff attend the office 5 days a week. When staff are in the office there are frequent dress-down days for non fee earners to allow for that less informal environment amongst teams.
Team Celebrations
Despite being a large and growing firm it is felt crucial to highlight the hard work and effort put in by the teams at Oakwood Solicitors and also the day-to-day tasks that staff members do for each other. As a firm they take the time to celebrate ‘Team of the Month’ – when we chatted with Jason and Stuart it was actually the turn of the marketing department. The reward is a ‘team treat’ which involves use of the boardroom from 12pm – 2pm – the marketing team had chosen to have Taco Tuesday and apparently it was rather delicious. ‘Golden Tickets’ are also awarded to staff by fellow staff members when they’ve appreciated something they have done. For example, Jason nominated a staff member for sorting his PC issues out. With this ticket, the staff member takes it to HR and they can then choose a chocolate bar from ‘the bag’.
‘Staff Perks’ within the local community
It is of great importance to Abbie Keech, Oakwood Solictors MD that the firm also supports the local community where it resides. Quite often department meals out will be chosen at local eateries and Abbie will pay for these as a thank you and in recognition of the work that team has done for the firm. The staff also receive discounts for the majority of shops / businesses that they share “Oakwood High Street” with. Throughout the year local third party shops and businesses are invited to come into Oakwood Solicitors and sell what they have to offer. Staff are given time off from work to speak to and buy from the guest firms such as; ice cream van, florists and gin distillers.
Feedback from Staff
Recently Oakwood Solicitors sent a questionnaire to the departments asking for feedback on the support that was in place for staff, this has allowed them to feed back into what they provide. One piece of feedback that stood out in regards to the question ‘What staff perk do you find particularly valuable?’ someone answered “None of them are financial or physical. It is the spirit of the workplace, the can-do attitude and the interaction with colleagues. The intangible becomes tangible in that it creates the smile, the interaction and the happiness.” What that staff member so eloquently describes is a workplace environment that is very hard to create but that feeling in the working environment will be of great support to everyone working there.
Oakwood Solicitors certainly doesn’t claim to be leaders in providing mental health support to their staff but they provide essentials for staff well-being with approachable mental health first-aiders, they celebrate the efforts of teams and individuals in the workplace and have organised staff benefit with local businesses.
Is there something that your firm does well to support mental well-being of staff or are you able to take something from this example at Oakwood Solicitors?
Fancy your firm being in the Chronicle Law ‘spotlight’ – get in touch with Kirsty Hinchcliffe and let’s chat about what your firm gets right!