In today’s blog we talk to a member of our Extended Leadership Team, Chris Horton, about what life is really like to be a ‘LACEr’. We are in an exciting period of business growth with lots of new clients and a growing team, of which Chris is a big part of it.

Chris joined the organisation in 2021 from a Big Four background and today he shares his story and his first year at LACE Partners.

30 years (I started very young I promise)

During my three decades of employment, I have had the pleasure of working at a range of different companies. Over half of that time at a big consulting firm and a large telecommunications company, with the remaining years spent at other mid to large size companies as a contractor. 

I have enjoyed different types of work environments and cultures. I have made great work colleagues, good friends, and mentors along the way. On the flip side I have also had bad bosses and worked in toxic environments. I want to let you into a secret: Working for LACE is the first time that I have really enjoyed my job. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am a positive person, have had good experiences working for other companies and my career has been rewarding. However, I have never had the level of personal and company alignment of values, before working at LACE. So why do I think things are different working for LACE? 

And the answer is yes!

I think to be truly happy at work there are some questions that you need to be able to answer with a ‘yes’. Let’s walk through those key questions and examples that have resulted in me being happy. 

My first questions are to do with my values and the values of LACE. As an organisation LACE has three great values that form the basis of our culture. This is brought to life in the way all employees and leadership interact and complete their everyday work.  The values are care, passion and innovation. 

Passion and innovation I have seen in abundance at other organisation and think this is shown well at LACE.  Passion for our people and ensuring that they develop and grow.  Passion for our clients to deliver above and beyond what is expected, and most of all a passion to continuously learn and improve.   

This leads me to innovation. Innovation to me is about research, about making data led decisions, and being provocative both with our clients and with our employees. The leadership and the team are constantly challenging each other in the ways that we do things and invest the time and effort to develop new and better ways of working and offerings. How each of these values is brought to life at LACE aligns well with my personal values. 

Care is at the heart of LACE

The biggest differentiator that I have seen is care. Fundamentally the difference that I have seen at LACE at all levels is people care about you as a person, a work colleague, as a Mum or a Dad, as a son, a daughter as of a member of a family (you get the point) they also care about your well-being, your mental health, your growth, how you work as part of the team and how best you can develop.  It is care and how it is shown daily that is the secret (or not so secret) sauce that makes LACE a great place to work. 

What else should you know?

Apart from value alignment, there are a few additional elements of being a ‘LACEr’ that I think are important and you should know. 

I have a couple of great bosses who want me to succeed, I have peers and colleagues who I enjoy working with, which means I can grow and push myself further. I have a voice and my voice is heard – not always agreed with – but that is healthy, and good debate results. This is not just at senior levels within the business, but at all levels, colleagues are encouraged to speak up and share their thoughts. We have a real range of clients from the full range of industry. We have a great range of work from People Strategy, HR Transformation – Employee Experience, HR Technology, Change Management, HR Operating Models, and Programme Delivery.  We get paid fairly and have a good range of benefits. In addition, we have flexible working, which for me I typically do a couple of days in the office and a few at home. We have a type of work life balance that I like. We encourage people to take breaks, to go for a walk to get outside. We also appreciate that there are times when you are going to have to work later, or sometimes on weekends to get things done. The difference to me is this is not about policing. It is about trusting people to get on with their job and also live their life. 

For anyone who is thinking about working for a boutique consulting firm there are a lot of pluses.  “It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine” I know I have found mine. 

Want to join us?

If you would like to work at LACE Partners – either as a permanent member of staff or as an associate, reach out to us using the form below, or visit our vacancies page.  

Find out more about our culture here.