Five new team members have just joined a Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire chartered accountancy firm, taking the number recruited over the past year to 21.
Wright Vigar, which has offices in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Sleaford, (as well as Newark, Retford and London) now employs more than 95 people – and there are more jobs in the pipeline.
Among the latest recruits are Hannah Tomlinson and Stephanie Peel, who are part of the Business Services team in Wright Vigar’s Lincoln head office, and colleague Georgina Barth – who works in the firm’s Retford office.
IT systems team members Oliver Cross and Ollie Meigs provide expertise and support across all the practice’s offices. The firm’s expansion is great news, but it has not been left to chance. Its Directors started planning for it before the end of one of the longest recessions to test the UK.
At a time when many other businesses contracted, Wright Vigar not only continued recruiting, but also equipped itself ready for an uplift in the economy and, in early 2013, it also devised a five-year plan for its development and growth.
But rather than turnover or profit, the focus of the firm’s Directors was firmly on the importance of the accountancy practice’s employees. Director Neil Roberts said that, at the end of the recession, the firm spotted an increased demand for good quality accountancy and taxation services.
“We realised that, without increased focus on our recruitment and training strategy, we would not be in a position to expand to meet that demand. However, we were not prepared to compromise on quality and customer service.”
Colleague HR and Training Manager John Richmond said that, as the recession faded, everyone from surveyors to solicitors, electricians and hauliers, found it hard to attract the right candidates to fill their vacancies.
“The last recession was a lot longer than previous ones. A lot of businesses cut back on people and training, with the result that there was a severe shortage of skilled and experienced labour in many sectors,” said Mr Richmond.
“At Wright Vigar we continued to take on trainees throughout the recession but, with current demands and our plans for the future, we still have vacancies for experienced and motivated candidates.”
The firm is nearly half-way through its five-year plan, and has supercharged it by tapping into the Government-based Growth Accelerator Programme. Mr Roberts added: “Being accountants it would have been all too easy to focus on budgets and push for growth in turnover and profits but, from past experience, we knew that the best way to give our clients the support they needed and take on new work, was to focus on our people.”
“One of our main strengths lies in developing and empowering our team to take the business forward.”
Key aspects of the plan have included the strategic recruitment of a new Director of Tax and a new Senior Tax Manager – both from top UK accountancy firms; expanding the IT department and implementing new ways of working, and boosting the trainee recruitment programme to include every branch within the firm.
Trainees are offered formal training in accounting and taxation skills, giving them the opportunity to achieve professional qualifications, as well as personal development and mentoring.
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