Last month we hosted our first ever, ETL Global UK Conference. We take a look back at the brilliant two days we enjoyed, with both our UK and international partners in the heart of Manchester, the home of ETL UK!
Thursday
Our first day began in The Midland Hotel, Manchester for a productive morning with our UK partners. Sara Brassington, Managing Director, and Peter Brassington, Director, of ETL Global United Kingdom did a brilliant job of leading the presentation throughout the day. They were keen to encourage everyone to engage and make the day as interactive as possible.
The focus of our UK session was engaging productive working relationships and strengthening the bonds between our UK partners. We began by discussing the current position of our UK network and introducing each of our partner firms. Our first breakout session gave us a great opportunity to discuss in detail our values as a network and how we can work better, together to achieve our core values;
- Collaboration
- Empowerment
- Adaptability
- Personalised Service
Partners explored the ways these values are already highly represented within our network and business practices. Each table presented their current thoughts surrounding our core values, in line with the value of ‘adaptability’, everyone proposed ways in which our network can use our values even more moving forward.
As a network, our values are something we are extremely proud of and believe they are at the heart of everything we do for both our clients and employees. The conference allowed us to highlight their importance to all our partners and look at the various ways we can use them throughout our network.
Our morning session paused for a well deserved coffee break as attendees gathered their thoughts and enjoyed a cake (or two!) Our second topic focused on the centralised services available in our UK network. After an insightful overview of our existing services, Sara and Pete presented the future possibilities for our service offerings. This was a great chance for all partners to discuss their thoughts for the next steps of the network and the best opportunities for their practices.
We were delighted to welcome Dan Holloway, Director of Client Services at IT Farm to give a thought provoking presentation on cyber security for professional service firms. Dan pointed out the ways in which cyber security issues are more pronounced in professional service firms and the best prevention methods. It was staggering to learn over 80% of cybersecurity attacks are preventable!
After a delicious lunch in Mr Cooper’s restaurant in The Midland Hotel, we were joined by our international partners from Spain and Holland for a collaborative afternoon session. The agenda for the rest of the conference, concentrated on the growth, performance and success of the ETL Global business models. Of course, we had to start with an official welcome to Manchester for our global partners, and inform them of the brilliant strength of ‘the original business city’!
It was a privilege to welcome Anne-Kathrin Steinröder, Head of the ETL Network, to explore the cross-border opportunities available as part of ETL. Anne provided an exciting insight into the possibility for client referrals across borders and how we are able to develop our client offering on an international scale.
Following on with the theme of international synergies, David Jones, Partner & Head of Litigation at Glaisyers Solicitors LLP presented an enganging case study. David explained how Glaisyers have utilised the interational connections around the ETL network to serve clients and the principles of building succesful working relationships.
The final talk of the conference involved a panel discussion led by Juan Bermudez Calveria , Sara Brassington and Peter Brassington. As Sara pointed out, this was a unique opportunity to question global leaders in the ETL network and it was great to hear Juan’s experience with the development of ETL Global Spain.
After an eventful conference day, guests enjoyed a well deserved break and informal networking. The evening reception was held at the stunning, 20 Stories Restaurant & Bar, the highest restaurant in Manchester. The building offers breathtaking, 360 degree views of the Manchester skyline, accompanied by an exquisite three course meal and drinks. This was a great experience to reflect on a busy day and build even stronger working relationships across our network. The evening saw over 90 guests enjoy a great night in the lively city of Manchester, with good food and great company!
The final day honoured the ETL tradition with a friendly football match between our global partners. After a series of mini tournaments between Holland, UK and Spain the winners were crowned! ETL Holland came out on top this year, we look forward to a rematch at next year’s international conference!
We are overwhelmed with the positive feedback we have received from all attendees, and were thrilled to see some great discussions and collaborations forming. We are excited to see these working relationships develop and hope they continue to enhance our partners’ success within the network.
If you would like any more information regarding the ETL Global UK network, please email: info@etl-uk.com
For media enquiries please email: marketing@etl-uk.com
