When we set up WKM we always knew the day would come when the four of us would be joined by an ‘outsider’. After spreading the word amongst family and friends we were fortunate to have two very talented candidates apply for the role. Putting together a job spec was a challenge as trying to document a brand new role which we didn’t know exactly what it would entail was far from easy. Luckily for us our successful candidate, Loz, saw that as a challenge and liked the fact that the role could be shaped to her skillset and desire to get job satisfaction.

All through the business establishment phase we were keen for the business to break away from the view of our industry of middle aged men in grey pinstripe suits. We are all in our late 30’s or early 40’s and see the future of our industry very different to how it has been previously. Building a forward thinking business really focussing on working with clients to meet their long term objectives has been easy to get across to Loz and she has really embraced the culture of the business and rolled her sleeves up getting involved in all manner of tasks in the office.

Having a relaxed office environment with plenty of flexibility for the team is vital to being the business we want to be. My co-director Ben Wattam put together a really interesting staff manual / handbook which really gets to the core of the culture we are trying to build. We all spend lots of our lives at work and therefore ensuring we enjoy that time and work with people we get on with and respect sure helps that goal.

Growing a business is demanding and challenging. Having the right sized team is critical for its success, whether that means recruiting a person, or outsourcing tasks to create bandwidth. It is a pertinent issue for many businesses, particularly SMEs, which are often owned and managed by a small team and often just one Director. We made the decision to recruit ‘ahead of the curve’ and give ourselves, and Loz, the time to embed herself into the team and learn how our business works, so we are better placed to achieve our growth aspirations and provide the best service to our clients.

With how the first 5 or so months have gone it is highly likely that Loz will be first of many people to join the team in the years ahead. We have been really pleased with how the first three weeks of Loz joining the team have gone and long may that continue…….

Thanks for reading.