Tees Business Issue 32 | Seite 145

FEATURE
Invested – Muckle LLP has achieved Investors in People accreditation . on open and honest communications ” and praised the leadership team for modelling behaviours that bring to life the firm ’ s values of trust , teamwork , responsibility and care .
Assessors collected feedback from Muckle employees , reviewed documents and evaluation metrics , and held one-toone sessions .
They gave a total score of 817 , which is 89 above the average Investors in People benchmark and places the firm 69th of all 50,000 organisations in the global Investors in People network , and in the top two of all organisations in the legal activities sector taking part across 75 countries .
Jason Wainwright , managing partner at Muckle , said : “ We ’ re thrilled to achieve the ‘ We invest in people ’ platinum accreditation .
“ The award is only given to companies that truly look after their people , so to be placed second in the world in the legal activities sector and 69th overall worldwide is a huge achievement and a credit to every single person working at Muckle .
“ As a team , we focus on our four core values of trust , teamwork , responsibility and care . That approach has allowed us to create a people-focused environment where our people are engaged and feel valued , delivering a high-quality experience to our customers .
“ Every single person at Muckle is involved in supporting each other and doing their best to make work better , but we won ’ t be resting on our laurels – there ’ s always something to learn , so we ’ re using the feedback received to keep making changes , keep improving and keep moving forward .”
People-focused Having previously achieved the Investors in People gold award accreditation , the platinum award indicates Muckle ’ s continued commitment to leading , supporting and engaging its people .
Paul Devoy , CEO of Investors in People , said : “ We ’ d like to congratulate Muckle . Platinum accreditation on ‘ We invest in people ’ is a remarkable effort for any organisation and places Muckle in fine company with a select group of organisations that understand the value of people .”
In order to achieve Investors in People standard at the platinum award , companies need to meet at least seven of the nine indicators at the highperformance level . Muckle received top scores in seven , with the other two still ranking as “ above average ”.
Leading and inspiring people , creating sustainable success and empowering and involving people were just three of the indicators highlighted to demonstrate the firm ’ s commitment to supporting people in developing their careers and the work undertaken connected to succession planning .
The report noted that the firm had “ invested in a wide range of development activities to the extent that learning had become an almost day-today activity ”.
Commitment to the region Investors in People also highlighted Muckle ’ s commitment to diversity and the local community , with the firm ’ s approach to environmental , social and governance described as a “ key feature of the business ” that provided “ an authentic , ethical purpose that further connected people to Muckle and its leadership ”.
Muckle donates one per cent of its annual profits to its Muckle Community Fund and this year celebrated 20 years of giving .
Since 2002 it has awarded more than £ 600,000 in grants to nearly 700 charities and organisations across the region . The firm also gives its people two days of volunteering leave every year and provides up to £ 140,000 worth of free legal advice to charities and community organisations every year .
Investors In People said Muckle ’ s sustainability and community scores are what they ’ d expect in a charity , not in a commercial law firm .
The platinum accreditation requires businesses to show continuous improvement against a wide-ranging framework over three years .
Jason added : “ I am extremely proud and privileged to be a part of such an amazing team , and I would like to thank everyone who took part in this assessment . Their hard work and dedication , despite the challenges faced in the last few years , have been absolutely central to this achievement .
“ Our people are our greatest asset and without them and their continued commitment , we wouldn ’ t be able to provide the best possible service to our clients . It ’ s so important that we continue to invest in the development and wellbeing of our staff to allow us to grow and develop .”
For more information about Muckle LLP ’ s people-first approach to business and associated accreditations , visit muckle-llp . com / about-us or call 0191 211 7777 .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 145