This week we’re going Behind the Division to meet Glenny’s 17-strong Valuation and Business Space Lease Advisory team who have been shortlisted for Property Week Awards’ Professional Team of the Year 2020.
Renowned for their regional expertise and deep knowledge of local markets, the team operate from the firm’s head office in Stratford where they provide on the ground advice to clients.
Last year, the team completed an impressive 1,027 valuations, which amounted to over £1.1 billion of property assets, and, despite a bumpy start to the year, continued to flourish in the face of challenging market conditions.
Join us as we speak to the people Behind the Division in a two-part interview we’ll be releasing in the run up to the awards ceremony on Thursday 19 November.
What’s been the biggest achievement for the team this year?
Scott Hubbard, Divisional Partner:
Our biggest priority was that we continued to provide clients with the same level of service and communication while we moved to a whole new way of working from home. We’re always in touch – from weekly team calls to discuss the market and share information like we used to in the office so we can keep clients up to date on any changes to legislation which may impact on their lending.
Our aim was for there to be no discernible change to our client service, which we’re confident we’ve achieved based on the feedback we’ve had.
What have you learned? And what impact has it had on how you work together as a team?
We have always been team focused, but the lockdown and decentralisation of working practices has brought us even closer. When we are apart, regular virtual meetings connect us on both a professional and personal level – our lives are much more in the open and we often marvel at each other’s living room wallpaper choices! Communication remains the central pillar to our success, with our clients and each other.
Ultimately, we’ve learned that with the right team and the right technology in place, remote working is not only sustainable, but also has its benefits.
How do you create a successful culture?
Nick Davies, Divisional Partner:
We too often focus on the information we need to impart to colleagues to ‘get the job done’ but it is easy to lose sight of the humanity. Giving people feedback on work is very important. Letting someone know when a job went badly or well helps keep people on track and affirms, while giving value and worth to the tasks. But, listening and being aware of the world that person lives in allows for feelings of real appreciation. A team is not just a single entity, but a mix of people with different abilities and needs.
If you feel valued, you are more likely to feel motivated and care about the work you and your colleagues do. This is something that is trickier to replicate when working remotely and we shouldn’t lose sight of that. We’re lucky to have the technology that we do, but face to face interaction is key to nurturing relationships as well as professional development and growth.
We have a high retention rate because of our strong working culture, so while we are proud of how we have come together during this period we are equally keen to get back to how we were with the added benefit of more flexible working for everyone. After all, we’ve proven that we can do it and that we do it well.