Next week sees the start of the new financial year at Burns Sheehan, so as we close the door on 2019 and with Christmas just around the corner, it's the perfect time to look back over the last 12 months as a business and assess the good, the bad and the ugly. Every year towards the end of Q4, we bring the whole team together at our annual company offsite to reflect on the year gone by, align our goals for the new year and have a laugh together.
2019 has been a busy year for Burns Sheehan. We've gained 14 new additions in the last 12 months and our Mancester team are all set to move into their new offices in the new year, having out grown their current space - again! Following the growth and change within the business we decided it was time to revisit our company values to see if they truly reflect the current culture and behaviours of the team. Enlisting the help of Sara and Jez from Just Add Water, who've worked with us for the last 5 years, we set out to re-define the Burns Sheehan values.
In the month leading up to the offsite, Just Add Water ran a series of focus groups with everyone in the company to get an idea of Burns Sheehan from our perspective. What behaviours did we think defined the Burns Sheehan culture? Everybody was given the opportunity to have their say and our responses were used to shape the days activities.
So what did we get up to on the day? After kicking off the morning with a conversation with Baz & Burnsie as they reflected on the last year, we heard from our Managing Director Chris Spranklen and our Principal Product Recruiter Louise Smith. As they both shared stories of their journeys into recruitment, it was inspiring to hear about the challenges they faced and the decisions they made along the way that got them to where they are today.
Next up was a group exercise centred around our proposed new values and a voice and body language workshop with actress Julia Haythorn. As recruiters, being able to communicate confidently with our candidates and clients in person and over the phone to build relationships is fundamental to our success. We rounded off the day with 'Burns Sheehan in Theatreland', where we put our best put forward and our acting skills to the test by re-enacting one of the five values.
In true Burns Sheehan fashion we finished off the day with dinner and drinks, taking everything on board and ready to kick-start the new year with a fresh mindset and action-plan for success.
With the new financial year beginning next week and the new year bringing us into a new decade, we have plenty to look forward to as a business. From our exciting embedded recruitment offering, a brand new website under construction and a jam-packed event schedule, 2020 is looking to be another biggie.
Special thanks to Jez & Sara from Just Add Water for their help and support in creating and coordinating the days activities.
We have been delighted to work with Burns Sheehan over the last 5 years and we have seen a lot of growth and change in the business over that time – new people joining in London and the Manchester office growing in size. Over the years we have worked with you on a variety of topics including- story telling, exploring the role of the recruitment consultant of the future, your purpose and Values, navigating business paradoxes and some fun building activities! We look forward to continuing working with you into the new year on supporting the Values and behaviour work.
-Sara Vandenberghe, Just Add Water
