Pondering, praising and planning – a Christmas message from Nicola Moore-Miller at Jayva
The joy of Christmas
As epitomised in the popular song, Christmas really is ‘the most wonderful time of year’. In truth, I’m Christmas mad. I just love gathering everyone together, spending quality time with family, socialising with colleagues and friends, giving gifts and totally embracing the festive spirit.
To spread the holiday cheer, we’re closing our offices for a week over Christmas and New Year to make sure our staff take a well-deserved break – this includes our team in America which, as you may know, isn’t common as the major vacation takes place over Thanksgiving in November.
Pondering the year that’s gone
As 2022 draws to a close, it’s natural to look back at events from the past twelve months – what’s changed, and which challenges have been faced and overcome. Businesses depend upon this type of annual reflection as it allows them to build upon successes, learn from failures and future proof as an organisation.
From a Jayva perspective, we’ve certainly experienced our fair share of challenges coupled with lots of wonderful opportunities too. Our team is resilient, hard-working, dedicated and loyal – the markings of a formidable workforce. Our growing client testimonials are proof of the service quality our employees deliver all in a day’s work. We’re extremely proud of them and value each individual’s contribution. Our people are, after all, the agents of our success.
On the employee front, this year we’ve welcomed several new members into the Jayva family – Karina Grocott, Leanne Pearson, Leon Vallely, Stephanie Lee and Sabina Branagan. With another new team member, Rosa, joining in February, it’s been, and continues to be, an exciting period of growth in our almost-nine-year-old company.
Praise where it’s due
Christmas is the ideal time to take stock, be thankful for life’s blessings and offer thanks to those who stand alongside you. At Jayva, we’re grateful to our employees for their unwavering commitment, to our partners for their ongoing professional backing, and to our clients for their continuous support by bringing new and repeat business. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
We’ll be celebrating with our work family throughout Christmas, New Year and beyond, not only for Yuletide, but also to rejoice in three impending big birthdays – Leanne turns 30, Alison Brown turns 40 and Kim Roberts turns 50 over the coming weeks.
Late December, we bid temporary goodbye to Beck Roberts who begins his six-month globe-trotting sabbatical. We’re delighted to be able to support Beck’s dream of travelling with his girlfriend, Alex, and we’re eager to see the adventures unfold on their Instagram page. We wish him well on his journeys but cannot wait to have him back. He’ll be missed!
It’s almost upon us… 2023 is nearly here so get planning!
January has a tendency to be a tricky month for many. The third Monday of January has been labelled ‘Blue Monday’ for supposedly being the most depressing day of the year, which is not something I personally subscribe to – I see it as a bit of negative media hype – but there’s no doubt it can be a very tough month for lots of people. By then, the festivities are over, purse strings are tight, cold weather and dark nights take their toll, and for many firms, caseloads are heavy. In the USA, it’s often the start of the financial year for law offices and for a contingent of legal practices in the UK as well. Switching instantly from holiday relaxation mode into hectic “busyness” when the mood is low after a period of downtime will always be hard.
Planning for the busy spell, with the welfare of our staff and satisfaction of our clients our foremost considerations always, we have some good stuff planned for the first month of 2023.
We’ll be introducing a series of wellbeing initiatives involving a mental health workshop and paid-for day’s leave for charitable or volunteering activities. We also have our strategy event where our managers, UK and Ireland teams regroup and refocus in the Lakes to prepare for an even bigger year ahead.
There are other exciting plans afoot in 2023 for the benefit of our expanding client base, not least quarterly newsletters and webinars. So, watch this space!
In the meantime, on behalf of myself and everyone at Jayva, we wish you and yours a truly magical Christmas, and hope 2023 brings good health and happiness. Now, let the seasonal merriment begin…
