_How real estate is supporting structural and cultural change at DAC Beachcroft

Lee Elliott: Virginia, what strategic issues are you trying to address as the Senior Partner of a leading international law firm?

Virginia Clegg: Our market is moving very fast and there are many new entrants coming into the market. This leads us into what is described as the ‘war for talent’ and our ability to attract, retain and develop really talented people to serve our clients is absolutely key for us, and does help to frame our thinking in relation to real estate.

Clients want high quality, value-added services. Therefore, they want us to look at the use of technology and, of course, provide a cost efficient solution. The other strategic drive is to grow our international business, which of course has real estate implications.

LE: How can real estate support those strategic priorities?

VC: We have guiding principles that sit within our real estate strategy which ensure that our presence in a location aligns to clients, colleagues and to the availability of talent. If you look at our UK footprint, for example, we are in the main centres of excellence for the provision of legal services.

Above: Virginia Clegg

I think the key is to enable people to work in the way that they are increasingly wishing to work, set against the maxim that work is something you do, not necessarily somewhere that you go.

We have real estate that is affordable, that is appropriate for us, and reflects our brand and ambition. We also locate work where it can best be delivered. So for example, Birmingham is an important location for our Claims Solutions Group from which we deliver a cost efficient, effective solution for our clients.

LE: How does real estate help you in that war for talent, if at all?

VC: It absolutely does because it reflects our brand and culture. I have always said that unless your real estate actually fits within your asset class you shouldn’t be in it. Unless you can explain why you happen to be in a location, in a building, with the fit-out you have, then I think you are missing something in terms of your ability to attract and retain talented people.

So our new London office will have a variety of different workplace settings. Work will not be limited to individual desks. We will have quiet areas, quiet meeting rooms and project rooms. There are also areas where people can collaborate, where they can talk together, where they can work on files in a truly collaborative way.

I think if you are able to express all of that, alongside strong IT support, then you are starting to look like a more forward looking, more interesting place to work. We should not forget that the professions are all competing for the same group of people all coming through.

To my mind, you cannot have the provision of legal services going through a very old-fashioned route because looking and feeling old-fashioned does not help us compete against others.

LE: Can the workspace support cultural and behavioural change too?

VC: Yes, and you do very definitely change behaviours. The generations that will come after me do not want to sit at a desk in a corner office all day long. They want to be able to communicate with their colleagues both at their own level but also with those more senior.

They want to learn, and a key way to learn is to be close to those who are more senior and more experienced. Collaboration is so important. That is why we look for large floor-plates – our largest will be the building we will shortly move to in London. We know that increasingly our clients want us to deliver a service that pulls in various different disciplines and in a very consistent way.

By working open-plan, by working on large floor-plates, it is easier to find your colleague and collaborate to create client solutions. That is what our clients are expecting from us.

Above: The Walbrook Building near Bank

LE: An important business culture is one of innovation. How do you support innovation through workspace?

VC: We spend a lot of time thinking about innovation and have a dedicated Innovation Lab in our Birmingham office. Innovation is not just about technology; it is as much about culture. It is about being open to ideas, encouraging ideas, having a culture that is prepared to develop ideas and progress them.

We do it all of the time, creating solutions for our clients. We need to engender a cultural shift that encourages people to bring forward their ideas so that we can build on them. Open, collaborative and respectful working environments are fundamental to innovation.

LE: There is growing concern over employee well-being. How does this all translate into your real estate portfolio and the environment it creates for your people?

VC: Well-being is a really interesting area for us and it is, as it is with every responsible business, an important part of the work that we do. We very much recognise that concept of ‘together alone’ and we are very, very mindful of it. In our workspace design we build in a ‘nudge’. We may position the printers in a slightly inconvenient place, meaning that people might have to get away from their desks and go for a little walk.

We provide focal points through coffee machines and the water-coolers to, once again, ensure that people are getting up and are having social interaction. But they are gentle things. We are not making requirements of people. We are just nudging to support their well-being.

LE: What do you think the fundamental change will be within your real estate portfolio over the next three years?

VC: The cost of real estate is so high that we haveBto be able to have efficient space that enables us to work it very hard and future proof it. Strategically, we will ensure that we stay light on our feet because the world is changing very quickly and real estate, by its nature, has involved long-term commitments.

We will look for flexibility. We like multi-let buildings, because they enable us to take on a bit more space or drop a bit of space. The flexibility delivered by a multi-let building is something we would take over having our own front door.

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