Impact Report 2020

Personal and Professional Development
Towards the end of 2020, we followed through on our commitment to launch a
Personal and Professional Development Allowances (PPDAs) scheme across the
firm. Despite our financial constraints, it felt important to make this a reality at
last: rewarding hard work and commitment across the business through
funding investments in colleagues’ personal interests and professional growth.
Upon completion of their probation period, every Society colleague now has access to an annual
allowance of £250 to use as they want for any kind of course, purchase, activity, or subscription
that interests them. This isn’t intended to cover work-related training that may be required, as that
will always be paid for by the company. Instead, it’s about supporting Society colleagues to be
more rounded, relaxed, and happier versions of themselves.
So far colleagues have spent their PPDAs on a wide range of things, including:
driving LESSONS
YOGA CLASSES
anti-racism training
academic textbooks
online subscriptions
genealogy research
The feedback on the scheme has been overwhelmingly positive so
far, with colleagues reporting a wealth of advantages, from greater
expertise to more confidence and enthusiasm about their work.