The end of May 2019 marked my one year anniversary of joining TandonHildebrand and what a 12 months it has been. The last year has been brilliant, challenging, exciting, hard work and eye opening, all in one. I have never in my career felt quite as excited and passionate as I do about what we are doing at TandonHildebrand. Here are my “Top Five” in terms of seminal moments and the things I have learned and am enjoying:
1. Quality, in terms of the clients we are working with and the work we are doing
We have, to an extent, been able to handpick our clients. We are committed to working with likeminded people and businesses. This has meant that I have had the pleasure of working and building relationships with people I really want to work with. Sharing visions and ethos’ with our clients has enabled me to provide the best advice for their specific business, which is often reflected in our own business model and approach. I have worked with household names in terms of telecommunications, music streaming, electronics and the international charity sector. I have worked on a range of matters and projects including staffing restructures, collective consultations and international business expansions, and that’s in addition to our ever growing litigation practice!
2. Freedom with fees
Recording time was never my strongest discipline! In fact, I hated it … The freedom to provide genuine fixed fees for the work we do and agreeing fees based on the value of our input in terms of complexity, urgency and risk has revolutionised how we do work and what we can do for our clients. It has enabled me to provide a better service to clients to meet their needs and has facilitated me essentially becoming part of a client team to deliver a project. The response we have received from clients and in the press to our abolishment of time recording has been excellent and something I am very proud to be a part of.
3. “Adult trust working”
My view of the working world is perhaps quite old fashioned – I respect and endorse hard work, structure and rules in the workplace. Like any successful business, we of course have that at TandonHildebrand but my working relationships with my colleagues are based on trust and support. We have flexibility in terms of working hours and where work is done, where burdensome approval processes for attending appointments or taking home deliveries are not required because we trust each other. We trust each other to get the work done and we support each other to make sure that it gets done. Flexible working doesn’t translate to less working, if anything it’s the reverse enabling us to work at times and in places that suit us whilst never disadvantaging the client or the service that we deliver. And I love this.
4. The buzz from getting new work and delivering a result
When a client contacts you to assist them with an issue they’re dealing with, or that they want resolved, it is a compliment and a pleasure to be able to assist. I get such a buzz from a new instruction, an introduction to a potential new client and from resolving an issue for a client. Having a positive impact on a client’s business, having the opportunity to work with the client team and feed into their business, is a privilege. As a relatively small business I have revelled in having the freedom, encouragement and support to build and develop client relationships.
5. Camden and our co-working space
Working in Camden is a far cry from the City, and it’s brilliant. Being located in a co-working space is a wholly different experience: from the bi-weekly community social events; to the endless foodie temptations for lunch; to the opportunity to have met numerous growing businesses, many of whom have now become our clients and friends.
As one of my colleagues recently said “time flies when you’re having fun and not recording it”. Here’s to the next 12 months … and beyond.
Carly Barrett
