Innovation and efficiency

Sustainability
We will continue to develop our sustainability impact plans.

A colleague engagement plan was developed and implemented, featuring regular updates and promotion of key dates in the sustainability calendar. Additionally, we revised and published our environmental policy, along with implementing new waste management procedures.

Governance
We will develop our Governance Framework to support streamlined, efficient and effective Processes and good governance.

Due to competing priorities in other departments, work on operational policies and procedures within the Society's Finance and Operations Directorate was continued into the 2023-24 operating year.

Improvements to committee recruitment and associated policies and processes were put in place, with the conclusion of recommendations from an internal report on committee governance set for the first quarter of 2023-24.

Not complete

Value for money
We will embed value for money as a principle consideration in decision making to ensure we create and maximise value for members.

We focused on implementing our new finance system, while maintaining and improving standard analysis and reporting. The focus for 2023-24 will be embedding the new finance system, expanding functionality and further improvements to reporting that will enhance value-based decision making.

Not complete

IT transformation
We will improve our systems and processes and use this to drive efficiencies.

Our move to a new CRM is broadly on track with implementation to be carried out during the 2023/24 practice year.

Not complete

IT transformation
We will transform internal collaboration through new IT systems.

New internal systems were implemented on schedule. The training and adoption pilot was implemented and evaluated. A training project for 2023-2024 was agreed and scheduled, based on the assessment of the pilot.

IT transformation
We will improve the technology infrastructure underpinning our work, enhancing security and resilience.

We have made a number of improvements to our technological infrastructure, including enhancing our IT security and disaster recovery processes and decommissioning old servers.

Complete

Data analytics
We will use our new systems to drive cross platform reporting and improved BI.

Our progress in moving to a new CRM underpins our data analytics strategy - particularly in providing context-sensitive dashboards to our internal teams as well as sophisticated cross-platform analysis.

Not complete

People strategy
We will develop a people strategy which will place our people at the heart of our five-year strategy and plans, and build on our value based work environment.

Following a process of engagement, work to shape our people strategy was concluded. Our people strategy prioritises colleagues as central to the business strategy and provides a structured framework for supporting our long-term objectives. Work will continue in the 2023-24 operating year to deliver on our commitments.

Complete

Committee volunteers
We will recruit the best people possible into our committees and governance structure and maximise contribution from our volunteers through effective and efficient processes and systems.

We streamlined our volunteer recruitment approach, completing four successful rounds, with new platforms for advertising vacancies identified. Additionally we published policies, processes, and new induction documentation. Further improvements were identified for implementation in the 2023-2024 operating year.

Complete

Equality, diversity and inclusion at the Law Society
We will maintain our Investors in Diversity accreditation and ensure that the Law Society is a safe space to be your true self, whether you are a colleague or volunteer.

We have maintained virtual communications systems established during Covid, ensuring continuity for our staff team and volunteers. New equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) training, including refresher training on unconscious bias, was delivered to all members of staff. We ensured new colleagues were clear about the Society's organisational culture and values and that they were aware of the support available to them. We implemented a new performance review policy, emphasising discussions on professional development and career advancement opportunities. The performance award was replaced by a new appreciation scheme. Additionally, a new EDI section on our website has been created along with updates to our intranet to showcase the internal EDI initiatives we undertake. We have revised our recruitment and selection policy to promote inclusivity at all organisational levels. Additionally, we celebrated key EDI dates, including International Women’s Day, Pride, Mental Health Awareness Week, and religious calendar dates, demonstrating our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Complete