Reflection 43: The Future of LCS!

For a while now, the principals of the business have been considering employing a Health & Safety Advisor. The role will help us meet current demand as our client base grows. For the right candidate, it’s also a chance to be part of LCS’s long-term growth and organisational development in the ever-changing field of compliance we work in.

Not only will this strengthen the support and opportunities we provide to our clients, it will also prepare us for future challenges and provide continuity of service as we grow. Our current clients and partners will continue to receive the same level of service they rely on.

For the prospective advisor, there’s the opportunity to develop their skills with the support of Leon & Lee and the wider team, and to progress within our client-focused business to lead consultant.

We took a step closer to this goal this week, holding round 1 of interviews on Monday and round 2 on Friday. It’s a very exciting time for the business! Keep checking in for updates on our decision.

Another conversation point between Leon & Lee this week was retirement! The traditional view is that we work through our chosen career, or even our stuck career (hold that thought), and as a reward we retire and head into the sunset, hand in hand with our loved one. Not so fast, I hear Lee say! Firstly, we do have a choice of career. If we do not like our stuck career, we can change it; it’s often fear of the consequences that stops us. We will return to that in another reflection.

As for retirement, it’s a surprisingly modern idea. When most of us worked the fields or in cottage industries, there was no such thing. People worked for as long as their bodies allowed, moved on to lighter tasks as they aged, and relied on family when they could no longer work. The industrial revolution changed that. Work moved from the home to the factory, and older workers who couldn’t keep pace were left with nothing. Employers such as the railways began offering pensions in the 1800s, and Germany introduced the first state pension in 1889. The UK followed in 1908, paying a modest, means-tested pension from the age of 70. Unions campaigned hard for these changes, but retirement as most of us know it only really arrived after the Second World War, with the National Insurance Act of 1946.

So retirement began as a reward for service. Surely, though, the best time to enjoy it is when we are physically fit, active, and wise enough to know what to do with the time we have. Perhaps we have it wrong, and we should spread retirement throughout our careers rather than leave it all to the end, when our healthiest days may be behind us. It might also keep workplaces vibrant, with engaged people staying longer and passing on their knowledge and wisdom to the next generation through mentoring, something we hope to do with our new advisor.

Let’s dive in!

Monday — Interview Day!

Leon & Lee were based at Regus for three round 1 interviews. The purpose? A non-technical, getting-to-know-you conversation in a relaxed environment. Our thanks to the three candidates for engaging with us, answering our questions and posing their own. An enjoyable day. Three became two for Friday’s round 2 technical appraisal.

Tuesday — Client Focus

We were out in the field on the Isle of Wight: bike-ferry-bike, site tour, bike-ferry-bike, then back to base to complete a fire risk assessment. We were also out of county early for a site tour of a 500m refencing project at a school in Haywards Heath. Our client is making the most of the school holiday, with deadlines to meet so the school is fully operational when term starts. We arrived on site in the rain to a crew in good spirits and left in the sun with a good feeling from our time with the team.

Wednesday — New Forest Fencing Day & Site Tour

We were back with New Forest Fencing & Gates for our regular day at their facility, continuing to help them develop their systems and processes for the benefit of all. We are now filming manufacturing activities to identify opportunities for improvement and highlight good practice, and the clips will be turned into training material. Leadership in action! One of our criteria for the advisor role is how they will be viewed by the businesses we work with. Whoever joins will represent LCS with our clients, so they need to meet our clients’ expectations as well as our own.

We were also on site locally, conducting a SHEQ compliance tour for a refurbishment project and catching up on other CDM duties.

Thursday — Appledown Day & Oxford

We were out on site in Oxford, Basingstoke and Leckford: three very different projects, each needing its own approach despite all being construction of one form or another. The first was an ecclesiastical heritage project, the second a refurbishment of a homeless hostel for a local authority, and the third a new build “bat hotel”. The bat hotel will be ready for when the hibernation season is over, and a licence has been obtained for demolition to begin.

We also completed the second interview in our Voices from Industry Series. What a fantastic conversation, and it will be published soon.

Friday — Team Day

Friday is our team day! The school holidays meant we did not have a full house, but we move forward by the actions we take. We made space for our usual commitments, planning and associate catch-up, as well as round 2 of our interview process. More on this in the coming weeks.

A rewarding day with good conversations.

Closing thought — The Future of Work & Retirement!

This week we have been thinking about both ends of a career. At one end, we are looking for someone to join LCS, learn alongside Leon & Lee and grow into a lead consultant. At the other, we have been questioning whether retirement as one long break at the end really makes sense. Perhaps the two are connected. A business that gives people room to breathe mid-career, and a reason to stay involved as mentors later on, keeps its knowledge where it belongs: with the next generation. We know that’s not possible for everyone, especially in the physical trades, but it’s the kind of business we want to build.

Passing it on, not walking away.