Modern Law Magazine Issue 69

Equality
and inclusion:
making it work
for you
Diverse representation at Board level and
throughout a business enhances decision-making
and drives growth. So establishing an active
commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is
important at every stage and in every area of the
business. This way, everyone has the opportunity
to grow and develop– irrespective of age, race,
position or gender.
As an official ‘Great Place to Work’, we strongly
believe in actively encouraging equality and
inclusion in the workplace, and we are firm
believers that our people are our greatest asset.Our
unwavering commitment to delivering excellence,
both in the services we provide and the nurturing
environment we have cultivated, all play a pivotal
role in client’s receiving the very best service.
Actively encourage diversity
With International Women’s Day in our midst and
as GBBA Technology Businesswoman of the Year,
I’m taking this opportunity to champion all women
in business. Julie Green recently joined our Board,
which improved our gender representation to 4:3
males to females, which is tremendous.
In legal, finance and technology services, we’ve
seen great strides in the industries making it easier
for women to join and progress in firms and while
there’s still work to do, it’s fantastic to see not just
strong female role models throughout SmartSearch,
but now a 50/50 gender split across all levels of the
business. But we can always do more. For example,
we should increase the number of training routes
and mentoring opportunities to encourage women
to explore management and leadership roles. We
should allow more flexible working, and greater
support and development initiatives.
Nurture, nurture, nurture
I applaud all firms that work hard to remove barriers
and proactively encourage their staff to reach their
potential. At SmartSearch, we work really hard
to ensure we are providing our customers with
market-leading digital compliance solutions, but
also, market-leading expertise and advise with the
very best customer service in the industry. Working
closely with individuals will ultimately harvest a
happier environment for them, but also clients.
I help lead our Smarter Futures programme, which
finds people in our teams with untapped potential
and gives them the opportunity to pitch, develop
and execute their own live business project. It’s
schemes like this alongside strong mentoring and
role models that nurture staff, so they make goals
realities.
Promote from within
Some firms are at breaking point amid increased
regulatory and budget pressure. Having a support
structure of the best people to deal with these
issues, clients and customers is key for both survival
and success.
With an inclusive, internal promotion strategy,
people learn to truly understand the business and
want to stay.
You can find out more at www.smartsearch.com.
Collette Allen,
chief operating officer (COO), SmartSearch
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