People are the priority at a North West law firm where holiday draws, guest speakers and a ‘dream machine’ maintain a family-like culture.
In a competitive industry to attract the best talent to their organisation, many job listings promote workplace perks. Flexible working, a good pension or office drinks on a Friday are some of the most common.
But employees at CEL Solicitors, based in Liverpool, are offered a unique benefits package.
People before profits at CEL Solicitors
Jessica Hampson, chair at CEL Solicitors, said: “Our mantra is ‘people before profits’ and we don’t just mean that for the clients we help, we really care about the culture here, too.
“The work we do can be intense, helping people who have been victims of fraud, housing disrepair, data breaches or have faced other difficulties.
“Our staff work tirelessly to help people. We want to make sure they’re properly rewarded for what they do, we couldn’t do what we do without them.”
Each team – whether that be fraud or marketing, first response or repairs – has targets to reach, and when goals are met, a holiday is offered per team that has met their goal.
“Recently a target was hit which unlocked two holidays, one for the winning team and the other for the rest of the firm – Iceland and Amsterdam were the chosen locations by the winners.
“For the draw itself, we do it on a Friday afternoon and let everyone tool-down early so we can all get together to enjoy the celebrations.
“Anyone across the firm can win the holiday which brings excitement for everyone,” Jessica said.
Guest speakers
A usual Friday afternoon also features a guest speaker. CEL Solicitors employees have been joined by sports legend Eddie the Eagle, authors Tony Schumacher and Malik Al Nasir and leading geographer Dr Mike Kirkby.
Jessica said: “After a long week, I don’t want anyone going home feeling deflated. Having inspirational speakers helps everyone finish on a high.
“If we don’t have a speaker, we’ll organise a fun activity or a member of staff will deliver a talk on something they’re passionate about.
Dream machine
“Also on a Friday, our ‘stars of the month’ can spin our ‘Dream Machine.’ The prizes up for grabs include a late start one morning, an extra day of annual leave, theme park tickets, a free lunch and cash prizes too.”
To nurture the culture Jessica has strived to develop at her firm, which is currently recruiting across all areas of the business, she has created three committees that staff can opt into.
There is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee organise fundraisers for colleagues to get involved in.
So far they’ve supported a local food bank, competed in a dragon boat race to raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and taken part in Tough Mudder.
Jessica said: “Our Diversity Committee aims to celebrate the many identities within our firm and beyond.
“We’ve had Pride events, awareness days such as Menstrual Hygiene Day, and we also celebrate our employees’ own lifestyles and traditions.
“The Diversity Committee has published blogs and social media posts about Easter in Greece and Christmas in the Czech Republic, for example.”
Culture club
CEL Solicitors also have a culture club which meets monthly to give staff an opportunity to provide feedback on different aspects of the firm.
“Since setting up the firm in 2017, I’ve always wanted it to feel like a family no matter how much we expand. I genuinely value my employees’ opinions and allowing them to have this autonomy means that the culture at CEL can be an authentic and positive reflection of the people working here,” Jessica added.
“We will always prioritise our people above all else. An organisation is only as good as the people within it, we’re only successful if our people are succeeding, so it’s so important that they feel valued and enjoy coming to work.”
For more information on recruitment opportunities visit: https://celsolicitors.co.uk/
