Case Study: Creating a fundamental transformation in Nicholas & Co
“The appointment of Danton as external HR advisor has been a fundamental part of the transformation of the firm over the last 12 months.”
Nicholas & Co is an established legal practice in Central London. The business initially came to Danton for support with the LawNet application and Danton has been supporting the firm as their outsourced HR service ever since.
Legal practices who are members of LawNet need to be ISO9001 accredited within two years of joining. For Nicholas & Co, this meant putting the right policies, procedures and staff handbook in place as well as evidencing that the documentation was part of the company culture.
“It wasn’t just about re-writing all the policies and handbook,” explains Matt Jackson, Nicholas & Co Partner, “it was about creating a strategy to make sure these policies were embedded within the business.
At the time, the Practice Director was taking on the HR role alongside her significant workload. Hiring Danton reduced the pressure on both the Practice Director and other areas within the business. “
Changing the culture
One of the biggest shifts for Nicholas & Co since working with Danton is how the culture has changed within the practice.
“The appointment of Danton as an external HR advisor has been a fundamental part of the transformation of the firm over the last 12 months,” explains Jackson.
“They have modernised our way of doing things, they have freed up management time and our Practice Director can now focus on other areas of the business.
“Plus, the employee feedback I receive is that they feel so much more supported now there is a proper HR provision in the business. Every time we have implemented a recommendation from the Danton team, the team tell me that it is incredible. We have put in place changes to benefits that are better than what our competitors offer.”
Expert customer service
Danton is proud of the customer service our clients receive, and Nicholas & Co has benefitted from this during highly pressured times.
“I rely on the Danton team. They work in much the same way we work with our clients. If I give my clients advice, I expect them to listen and take my advice on board. I treat Danton the same. If Danton tells us that we ought to do something, we will do it. Everything they’ve advised has been right because the team make sure it’s right.”
The outcomes
“Historically, we were a business where we paid people, we looked after them, but you turned up, did your job and went home. Now, we have so much more in place as a result of working with Danton.”
Since working with Nicholas & Co, we have put in place a new HR system to automate as many of the processes as possible, a new maternity package, and personal development plans.
“We didn’t have any of this in place before. Our employees can now outline what they want to achieve and we’re able to put objectives in place to help them reach their goals. It’s been a huge change for us.”
Danton has fundamentally changed things for Nicholas & Co
“There are three significant changes from a director’s perspective. Firstly, they have freed up management time. Work that would usually be done by our Practice Director is now either automated or on the cloud which means this time is saved.
“They have freed up senior leadership time. Things that I would have to do are now handed over to Danton. In fact, Danton is reinforcing key changes that I’m driving through the business such as efficiency and not accepting sub-standard.
“We recently had a difficult situation where, traditionally, we would have put it in the ‘too difficult to deal with’ pile and assumed it would solve itself. Of course, these things never solve themselves. We called Danton and within a week the matter was resolved.
“That is a big cultural shift for us. It means that thanks to the support of Danton, we now deal with both positive and negative HR issues that previously would be overlooked or ignored.
“While Danton deals with some of the more negative aspects of HR, they also support with the positive side. It’s easy to overlook or make a promise to someone and then forget about it, which inevitably erodes trust. Now, we have systems in place that if someone needs rewarding, we hand it over to Danton and they make sure that it’s done.
“We have higher morale, greater trust from our people, and this change has been huge.”
Working in partnership
Danton always works towards the business goals you want to achieve. We help embed the actions and behaviours that reinforce the culture you want to create and give advice to support that change.
To find out more about how we can help your business, get in touch.