Building Something New in Cardiff
When Carpenters Group opened the doors to its brand-new Cardiff office, there was plenty to be excited about.
Our eighth UK office, and first in Wales, represented another important step in the growth of the business. But, behind the new location was a much bigger ambition, to invest in talented people and create additional capacity to support our clients' evolving needs.
Colleagues are now working across several areas of the business, including Recoveries, Serious Injury, ULR, OIC Portal claims and Fast Track litigation. New teams are taking shape and, perhaps most importantly, Cardiff is starting to feel like part of Carpenters.
For Ian Hocking, Deputy Team Manager in Litigation, the attitude of the people who have joined the office has played a big part in that.
“Everyone came in wanting to make Cardiff a success,” Ian said. “There’s a real sense of togetherness here. People are comfortable supporting each other and there’s a lot of mutual respect across the office.”
Many Cardiff colleagues already knew one another before joining Carpenters, giving the new office a sense of familiarity early on. What was new to everyone, however, was the business itself.
Unlike joining an established office, there was no existing Cardiff team with years of experience in the business to turn to. Helping colleagues understand how Carpenters works and feel connected to the wider Group has therefore been an important part of establishing the office.
Support has come from colleagues across the business, with managers regularly spending time in Cardiff alongside more structured systems and induction training. Legal Trainer, Jamie O’Rourke has been closely involved since the establishment of team Cardiff and has seen the difference that support has made.
“You could see straight away how much enthusiasm there was,” Jamie said. “Everyone was excited to join Carpenters and genuinely wanted to understand the business. Each time I’ve been back, you can see that confidence growing.”
Starting the way you mean to go on
For Jamie, supporting Cardiff has meant so much more than delivering training sessions.
Joining a new business naturally comes with questions, particularly when the Cardiff team itself is made up of brand-new colleagues. Creating an environment where people feel comfortable asking those questions has been just as important as the formal training programme.
“My priority has been helping people settle in and understand who we are as a business,” Jamie explained. “Training is obviously part of that, but so is simply being there to answer questions and make sure people feel supported.”
That approach has been met with a genuine appetite to learn. Jamie has seen colleagues become increasingly confident in their roles and more familiar with the way Carpenters work. At the same time, the Cardiff office has been developing an identity of its own.
“The attitude has been brilliant. People want to learn and they want to get involved. There’s a lot of enthusiasm around what we’re building here.”
That enthusiasm matters because Cardiff was always intended to be more than another pin on the Carpenters Group map.
Investing in the future
When CEO Donna Richards wrote about the opening of Cardiff earlier this year, she described Carpenters’ approach as "growth with purpose". That principle is central to why Cardiff exists.
The decision to establish a presence in Wales gives Carpenters access to an experienced talent pool and creates further capacity within the business. As our clients' requirements change, having talented people in place helps us respond while continuing to deliver the service and outcomes they expect.
Growth, however, only works if people are given the right environment in which to succeed. That is why the experience of Cardiff’s first few months has been so encouraging. For Ian, establishing his Litigation team remains a work in progress. As more colleagues join, the immediate priority is getting people comfortable in their roles and building the knowledge they need to deliver for clients.
“My focus is on building the team properly,” Ian said. “We want people to have the support they need to get up to speed and then really start showing what the Cardiff team can do.”
It is an important distinction. Cardiff is growing, but there is no rush to grow simply for the sake of it. The aim is to build teams with the expertise and confidence to make a genuine contribution to our client base and the wider business.
Making Cardiff an integral part of Carpenters
Perhaps the biggest test of a new team and location is not how it looks on opening day, but how quickly it starts to feel connected to the rest of the organisation.
That has required effort on both sides.
Colleagues from our other UK locations have shared their knowledge and spent time with the new teams, while Cardiff colleagues have embraced the opportunity to learn about the wider business. Those relationships will continue to matter as the team develops.
Jamie believes the people in Cardiff have made that process particularly rewarding.
“There’s something really exciting about watching a new team establish itself and seeing people become more confident in where they fit within Carpenters.”
For Carpenters, Cardiff is part of a wider commitment to sustainable growth that strengthens the business and allows us to continue responding to the needs of our clients. For the people building the office, it is also an opportunity to shape something new.
As Jamie puts it: “There’s a real sense that we're building something together. Cardiff has so much potential, and we're only at the beginning.”
