This has been a great year for Paradigm Norton, with a big transformation that was the culmination of five years of conversations. After implementing a significant governance restructuring in 2024, including appointing a new CEO and senior partners, and creating a newly defined executive committee and board structure, these changes have proved very positive.
Strengthened governance framework
Our governance structure now provides the stability and clarity needed. Below are the changes we have made to help increase accountability, improve our reporting, and drive the cadence of change:
- We implemented our new governance structure, which involved a restructuring of the groups responsible for governance board of directors, Executive Committee, Employee Trust Board and Partner Voice Forum.
- We appointed three new regional directors to oversee our Bristol, Exeter and London offices. They hold regular meetings at their offices to talk about wins, the direction of travel, and challenges faced. This is a great way of improving our communication and developing relationships, surfacing the things that get in the way of us doing our job. By dealing with the things that really matter, we can keep moving forward.
- The new Executive Committee meets weekly (rather than monthly) with one meeting each month focused on strategy. Every six months, the leadership team has a day of deep discussion, asking ourselves if we’re still doing the right thing and what we need to achieve next. These sessions now include our regional directors, who have responsibilities for our partners in each of our offices. Their input is invaluable because they bring what’s happening locally to the fore.
- Our new Partner Voice Forum initiative has fostered positive, two-way feedback loops across the firm.
- A new board member and non-executive director, Caroline Rainbird, former CEO Financial Services Compensation Scheme, joined our team, bringing a valuable perspective to our leadership.
- We established weekly one-to-one meetings for all employees with their manager. Our recent employee survey found 96% of partners agree or strongly agree that they had a meaningful conversation with their manager in the last week.
- Revamped our internal communication strategy to keep everyone connected and informed.
- The Employee Ownership Trust restructuring that we reported on in our last Impact Report has been a positive step, and the EOT remains consistent in representing partners.
- Established in-person town hall roadshows where the leadership team visit our Bristol, Exeter and London offices to talk progress and strategy. We also continue to run our annual in-person team day. In a recent employee survey, 100% of our partners agreed or strongly agreed that they understood our strategy and what we are trying to achieve together.
Making difficult conversations easier
As well as increasing governance around our employee ownership and boosting the support we give our partners, a big theme has been clarity of communication. Often, the biggest obstacle to progress is avoiding difficult conversations. But our new structure means we’ve created the right conditions to have these conversations with more ease.
“It’s building relationships that allows us to understand ourselves and approach difficult conversations with curiosity and calm, instead of defensiveness and fear.” Philippa Hann, CEO
We’ve also made our leadership team more accessible. Several times a year, we encourage partners to join us for coffee with Philippa (to talk strategy), herbal tea with Jayne (all things finance), or a chat with Matt (digging into the world of operations).
Energy, momentum and ambition
The governance changes we shared in our last Impact Report, as well as those above, have embedded this year and have proven transformative. The change can be felt across the Paradigm Norton team.
“We remain morally ambitious. There’s a different feeling in the business and a real sense of clear direction. We’re continuing to set a higher bar and set ourselves bold challenges, while offering support. Our people are energised and driving momentum.” Philippa Hann, CEO
By creating clarity in leadership, opening channels for honest dialogue, and maintaining our commitment to transparency, we’re paving the way to continue being brave and bold for the future.